Papa Joe's Music Box was the creation of Nashville pianist and producer Jerry Smith. Smith coined the group name from the Dixiebelles' 1963 hit (Down at) Papa Joe's, which Smith wrote and co-produced with Bill Justis.
Smith put his honky-tonk piano sound on wax for Sound Stage 7, Decca, Ranwood and Nuggett, both under his own name and as Papa Joe's Music Box. He was also behind some of The Magic Organ releases on Ranwood.
Closing Time came out on the Nuggett label in May 1968. It was the "B" side of a single that had something called Speakeasy 1929 as the "A" side that was promoted to disc jockeys. Billboard picked the 45 to make the Top 60 of the Hot 100 chart (it didn't). The trade magazine called the record, "A hot jukebox item with the old-timey feel of Bonnie & Clyde fever." Well, maybe...
In any case, you can grab Closing Time from the link below.
Closing Time
None of Jerry Smith's piano recordings seem to have made the transition to digital, although I believe some of The Magic Organ tracks made it on to CD. If you're a fan of skating rink organ, you can look it up.
Below, from YouTube, is the Dixiebelles' (Down at) Papa Joe's, with Jerry Smith on piano.
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