The Glenn Miller recording peaked at #7 on the Billboard pop singles chart in 1942.
Background
The song was first recorded on July 15, 1942 in Chicago by Glenn Miller and his Orchestra on RCA Victor. The 78 single was released in October, 1942, peaking at #7 on the Billboard pop singles chart. The B side was "Sleepy Town Train", recorded the following day. The Stars on Ice cast did the first live performance on July 2, 1942.
Glenn Miller was one of the top-selling musical performers of the 1940s whose recordings were in every jukebox in America. "By the early 1940s, a third of all records played on American jukeboxes were Glenn Miller recording."[3]
"Juke Box Saturday Night" was later covered by
Nino and the Ebb Tides,[4] whose version charted at #57 on
Billboard's Top 100 on September 4, 1961.[5] This was an updated version of the 1942 song in a rock and roll style.
The Modernaires recorded a version in 1946 on
Columbia Records featuring
Paula Kelly with
Mitchell Ayres. A
soundie was also filmed in 1944 featuring Harriet Clark on vocals with The Modernaires: Tommy Morgan, Hal Dickinson, Fran Scott, and Ralph Brewster.[6] The Modernaires also released an updated version of the song entitled "New Juke Box Saturday Night" in 1953 on
Coral Records with
George Cates.
The Glenn Miller Army Air Force Band performed the song during World War II. A recording appeared on the 1955 5 disc LP box set Army Air Force Band and the 2001 remastered 4-disc CD release.
The New Glenn Miller Orchestra under Ray McKinley performed the song on the 1961 CBS TV series Glenn Miller Time.
The Glenn Miller Orchestra led by Wil Salden released a version on the eponymous 2017 album.