"Jukebox in My Mind" is a song written by Dave Gibson and

Ronnie Rogers Randall "Ronnie" Rogers (born in Nashville, Tennessee) is an American country music singer and songwriter. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, Rogers charted eight singles on the ''Billboard'' country charts, including the top 40 hits "Gonna Take M ...

, and recorded by American

country music Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...

group

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

. It was released in July 1990 as the second single from their album '' Pass It On Down''. The song reached number one on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

Hot Country Songs Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. This 50-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly by collecting airplay data along with digital sales and streaming. ...

in the United States and the defunct ''

RPM Revolutions per minute (abbreviated rpm, RPM, rev/min, r/min, or r⋅min−1) is a unit of rotational speed (or rotational frequency) for rotating machines. One revolution per minute is equivalent to hertz. Standards ISO 80000-3:2019 def ...

'' country music charts in Canada.

Content

The song uses a

jukebox A jukebox is a partially automated music-playing device, usually a coin-operated machine, that plays a user-selected song from a self-contained media library. Traditional jukeboxes contain records, compact discs, or digital files, and allow user ...

as a metaphor for the memories within the narrator's mind. It is composed in the key of

B-flat major B-flat major is a major scale based on B, with pitches B, C, D, E, F, G, and A. Its key signature has two flats. Its relative minor is G minor and its parallel minor is B-flat minor. The B-flat major scale is: Changes needed for ...

with a moderate tempo and 4/4

time signature A time signature (also known as meter signature, metre signature, and measure signature) is an indication in music notation that specifies how many note values of a particular type fit into each measure ( bar). The time signature indicates th ...

Critical reception

An uncredited review in ''Stereo Review'' magazine of ''Pass It On Down'' described "Jukebox in My Mind" as "a fine song in the pure

honky-tonk A honky-tonk (also called honkatonk, honkey-tonk, honky tonk, or tonk) is either a bar that provides country music for the entertainment of its patrons or the style of music played in such establishments. It can also refer to the type of piano ...

mold...which lead singer

Randy Owen Randy Yeuell Owen (born December 13, 1949) is an American country musician. He is best known for his role as the lead singer of Alabama, a country rock band that saw commercial success throughout the 1980s and 1990s. Alabama became the most su ...

delivers in his best

Merle Haggard Merle Ronald Haggard (April 6, 1937 – April 6, 2016) was an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, and fiddler. Widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential figures in country music, he was a central pioneer of the Bakersfield ...

syntax. The tune is vastly different from anything else the band has recorded". In 1991, the

Academy of Country Music The Academy of Country Music (ACM) was founded in 1964 in Los Angeles, California, Los Angeles, California as the Country & Western Music Academy. Among the founders were Eddie Miller (songwriter), Eddie Miller, Tommy Wiggins, and Mickey and Chris ...

nominated the song for Single of the Year.

Chart performance

Year-end charts

References

{{authority control Alabama (American band) songs 1990 singles Songs written by Ronnie Rogers Songs written by Dave Gibson (American songwriter) Song recordings produced by Josh Leo RCA Records Nashville singles 1990 songs Songs about country music Songs about jukeboxes