Name That Tune
Name That Tune is an American television game show that put two contestants against each other to test their knowledge of songs. Premiering in the United States on NBC Radio in 1952, the show was created and produced by Harry Salter and his wife Roberta.
Name That Tune ran from 1953–59 on NBC and CBS in prime time. The first hosts were Red Benson and later Bill Cullen, but George DeWitt became most identified with the show. Notable contestants during this period included the young singer Leslie Uggams and child actor Eddie Hodges who were followed by Betty Leary, a popular contestant whose 12 children filled the first row in the TV studio theater for seven consecutive shows. The series finished at #30 in the Nielsen ratings for the 1956–57 season.
Richard Hayes also emceed a local edition from 1970–71, which ran for 26 weeks in a small number of markets. However, the best-remembered syndicated Name That Tune aired once a week from 1974–81 with host Tom Kennedy. John Harlan was the show's announcer. This series was a Ralph Edwards production in association with Sandy Frank Productions, who distributed the series.
The centerpiece of each Name That Tune series was an orchestra, which would play the songs for the contestants to guess. Bob Alberti was the conductor of the orchestra for the first season, with Tommy Oliver replacing him in 1975 and Stan Worth replacing Oliver in 1978. The orchestra also featured a vocalist for the show's entire run. Originally the position was held by Kathie Lee Gifford, then known as Kathie Lee Johnson, who performed until 1978. She was replaced by Monica Burruss for the 1978–79 season, who remained with the series until its 1981 cancellation.
In the 1978–79 season, two changes were made. The series brought in choreographers Dennon Rawles and Jerri Fiala, the latter of whom was already working for show producer Ralph Edwards as hostess on The Cross-Wits, to serve as background dancers. In addition, the Name That Tune Orchestra was supplemented by The Sound System, a rock music ensemble led by Dan Sawyer with Steve March as its featured vocalist. The dancers were done away with after one season but The Sound System, along with March, stayed on for the rest of the show's run.
From 1976 onward, the show's title was The $100,000 Name That Tune. This was done to reflect the addition of a six-figure bonus prize to the game, originally awarded for correctly guessing one song and later for winning a tournament of champions.
Name That Tune returned to syndication as a daily series in 1984 with 1970s series syndicator Sandy Frank taking over production from Ralph Edwards and ran for one season. Jim Lange became the host with John Harlan returning as announcer. Frank called upon Tommy Oliver, with whom he had worked on the 1980 series Face the Music and the Tommy Oliver Orchestra to provide music. Like its syndicated predecessor, the 1984 series was known as The $100,000 Name That Tune and conducted a series of monthly tournaments to award the prize.
Two daytime Name That Tune series were broadcast by NBC in the 1970s. The first ran from July 29, 1974, to January 3, 1975, with Dennis James hosting; while the second was broadcast from January 3 to June 10, 1977, and was hosted by Tom Kennedy. Both series were lower-paying editions of the concurrent syndicated series and were both produced by Ralph Edwards.
The format is currently distributed by independent distributor Prestige Entertainment Group, LLC.
Gameplay
1950s version
The contestants stood across the stage from two large ship's bells as the band started playing tunes. When a contestant knew the tune s/he ran across the stage to "ring the bell and name that tune!" Four tunes were played every game, and each tune was worth increasing dollar amounts. The first tune was worth $5 and each subsequent tune was worth double the previous tune, up to $40 for the fourth and final tune. The player with the most money after four tunes won the game and played the bonus game called the "Golden Medley."From 1955–59, only three tunes were played, worth $10, $20 and $30. If both players were tied at $30 each, both played as a team in the Golden Medley.
1970s and 1980s versions
Two contestants selected from the studio audience competed in various games to earn points as well as cash and prizes. Each of the first two games awarded 10 points to the winner and the winner of the third game scored 20 points. Whoever was ahead at the end of the third game was the day's winner and played the Golden Medley for a chance at more prizes. If the score was tied after three games, one sudden death tune was played to determine the winner; if both players were incorrect, the procedure was repeated.Games
Bid-a-Note—The host read a clue to a song and the contestants alternated bidding as to how few notes they needed to identify the song. Bidding ended when one contestant challenged the other to name the tune or a bid of one notes was given by a player. Correctly identifying the song earned the contestant a point, while missing it gave the point to the opponent. It took three points to win the game, and for most of the 1974 series and all of the 1984 series, it was the last game of the day, determining the winner of the match.Build-a-Tune—The orchestra played a tune starting with minimal instrumentation and gradually added more until it became a full orchestral arrangement. Whoever named more tunes out of five received 10 points and a prize package. If both players were tied, each received five points and the prizes. This game was played only on the short-lived 1977 daytime version.
Cassette Roulette—Eight oversized 8-track tapes were displayed, each containing a category. Contestants alternated in choosing a tape, and the corresponding tune was played. Four of the cassettes also contained a bonus prize, which would be awarded to the contestant who correctly named the tune. Seven tunes were played, and the contestant who correctly named the most tunes won the round and 10 points. This was played during the first few months of the 1970s syndicated version.
Melody Roulette—A wheel was spun onstage to determine a cash prize for identifying the tune. Early in both the daytime and syndicated versions the wheel contained categories. Each contestant selected a category before each spin and received $100 if the wheel stopped on their choice. However, the categories were later replaced by money amounts ranging from $20–$1,000 from 1974–76, $50–$1,000 from 1976–77, and $100–$1,000 from 1977–81 on the syndicated series and $50–$500 on the 1977 daytime series. Also, after the switch to dollar amounts on the wheel, each contestant selected a space on the wheel. If the wheel landed on one of those spaces, that contestant won that amount automatically prior to the start of the tune.
An outer wheel was added in 1976 which held two spaces marked "Double" and was spun in the opposite direction of the inner. From 1977–80, it also featured a space offering a new car, but the car could be won only once per episode. In 1980, this was replaced by two generic "prize" spaces, which worked the same way, along with only one Double space. On the 1980s version, up to five tunes were originally played and the dollar amounts initially ranged from $100–$500, with money awarded after every tune and the wheel spun again prior to the next tune. This was later increased to seven tunes with only one spin for the entire round, with dollar values increased to $250–$1,000. The outer wheel on the 1980s version featured only one Double space.
If both contestants were tied at the end of the round, five points were given to each contestant on the 1970s series. On the 1980s syndicated episodes, a sudden death tune was played instead. On the 1970s series, all contestants kept the cash they earned, but only the winner of Melody Roulette got to keep the cash on the 1980s series.
Money Tree—Both contestants were given their own "tree" with 100 $1 bills on it. While one contestant tried to guess a tune, his/her opponent would remove bills as fast as possible from the first contestant's tree until that contestant guessed correctly or ran out of time. The contestant with the most money left on his/her tree at the end of the round earned 10 points and a prize package, though it wasn't uncommon to see both trees stripped clean. The game was featured on the syndicated series from 1974–77. It is also known to have been used at least once on the 1974 daytime series.
Pick-a-Prize—Another game played only on the 1977 daytime series, this one had the contestants shown an assortment of prizes, then alternating between listening to tunes and trying to name them for a prize of their choice each time. The first player to name three tunes won the round and 10 points.
Pick-a-Tune—Each tune would feature a list of words which included the words in the tune's title. Contestants eliminated words so that only the words in the title remained. This game was featured early in the first season of the 1974 syndicated series.
Ring That Bell—As on the 1950s version, two bells were suspended from the ceiling, with each contestant about 20 feet away. The first contestant to correctly "ring the bell and name that tune" scored a point. Five tunes were played, and the contestant who correctly guessed the most tunes won the round and 10 points. This game was seen only on the 1974 daytime series.
Sing-a-Tune—After hearing a tune sung by the show's vocalist Kathie Lee Johnson, contestants wrote down the name of the tune. Johnson replaced any words normally part of the song title with "la-las." Five tunes were played and the winner of the round received 10 points and a prize package. If contestants were tied, each received the prize package and 5 points. The game was played only during the 1977–78 season. Johnson left the show in 1978 and was replaced by the team of Monica Burruss and Steve March.
Tune Topics—Exclusive to the 1984 series, the orchestra would play five tunes with a specific theme. Originally, one topic was exclusively shown, but it was quickly changed to one of five categories chosen at random by a computer. Ten points were given to the contestant who identified the most tunes out of the five and, as with Melody Roulette, a sudden death tune was played if the contestants were tied after the initial five tunes had been played; should both players guess incorrectly, the procedure was repeated.
Golden Medley
The show's bonus game was called the Golden Medley, with the object to identify seven tunes within the span of thirty seconds.1950s version
In the original series, all the tunes played were selected by home viewers. Each correct tune won money for the winning contestant as well as the home viewers. The first correct answer was worth $25, and each subsequent correct answer doubled the money. Naming all seven won $1,600 and gave a home viewer a chance to come to the New York studio where the show was taped at that time, and play along with the studio contestant in a special round called the "Golden Medley Marathon".The Golden Medley Marathon
In the Golden Medley Marathon, the winning home viewer and the winning studio contestant worked as a team. This time, the two players had to correctly guess five tunes in 30 seconds, and if they did so they split $10,000 and returned the next week to try and do it again. They could keep coming back for up to four additional weeks, and potentially could win a combined $50,000.All subsequent series
For the 1970s and 1980s Name That Tune series, the Golden Medley was played for a grand prize and each tune correctly guessed earned the champion a prize of some sort.As before, with one exception, the goal was to identify seven tunes in thirty seconds to win the grand prize. The champion stopped the clock by hitting a buzzer, which was a cue for the band to stop playing, and could either give an answer or pass if he/she was not sure. Once all seven tunes were played, the champion went back to play the passed tunes if there were any.
Play continued until the champion correctly identified all seven tunes and won, until he/she ran out of time, or if a wrong guess was given at any point, which resulted in an automatic loss.
1974 daytime series
The winning player had to correctly identify six tunes. Each correct guess won $200, and $2,000 was awarded if the contestant guessed all six in 30 seconds. No matter what the result of the Golden Medley was, the champion returned the next day and played until s/he had won five times or had been defeated. Any champion that made it to a fifth day won a car.Later in the run, corresponding with the change to five tunes, a champion was required to win the Golden Medley in order to return the next day. The car was awarded if the champion successfully completed the Golden Medley four times.
Syndicated version
In the Kennedy syndicated series, each tune was worth $500 in cash and/or prizes, and any contestant who named all seven tunes won a $15,000 prize package. On the 1977 daytime version, each tune was worth $250, and all seven won a $2,500 prize package.The $100,000 Mystery Tune
Beginning in 1976, Golden Medley winners were given a chance to win an additional $100,000 in cash on the next week's episode by identifying one more song.The contestant entered the "Gold Room" backstage, which contained a safe with a carousel inside containing various envelopes with sheet music. When the round began, security guard Jeff Addis opened the safe, and the player chose an envelope. Addis then escorted the contestant onto the stage and gave the show's pianist the sheet music. The contestant entered an isolation booth, which was wired so only the pianist and Kennedy could be heard. The tune was played for twenty seconds, and after that the contestant had ten seconds to provide a guess.
After a guess was made, it was recorded and the contestant left the booth while Kennedy opened the envelope the contestant chose. After Kennedy read the song's copyright information and the recording of the contestant's guess was played back, he announced the correct title. If the contestant's guess matched it they won $100,000.
When Name That Tune returned to daytime in 1977, the Mystery Tune round was brought along with it. Played the same way as the syndicated round, a correct guess won the contestant a lump sum of $25,000.
On days when the Mystery Tune was played, the front game was abbreviated. For instance, Bid-a-Note would become a best of three instead of five in order to leave enough time to play the Mystery Tune.
$100,000 Tournaments
In 1977, eleven of the twelve Golden Medley winners who did not win $100,000 returned for a three-week tournament. In the first two weeks, five or six players competed in an otherwise normal game, except that in Melody Roulette, only the first two players to answer two tunes continued, and the Golden Medley was turned into a competitive game called Golden Medley Showdown worth 20 points, while Sing a Tune and Bid a Note each scored 10 points. The two winners came back on the third week, playing Melody Roulette, Sing a Tune, and Bid a Note for 10 points each, and Golden Medley Showdown for 30, to determine the $100,000 winner. Unlike the mystery tune prize, this $100,000 was in cash and prizes. Runners-up won $2,500.In 1978, the show discarded the Mystery Tunes and the entire season was set up to have four nine-week $100,000 tournaments. The first six weeks consisted of two-player games, featuring Melody Roulette, Bid a Note, and Golden Medley Showdown. The six winners returned for a three-week tournament, played like the 1977 tournament, except that three players played Melody Roulette and two of those players played the remaining two games. After six episodes played in this fashion, the six winners return to play, three at a time, over two episodes. Every ninth episode would be a tournament final. The winner of each tournament won $10,000 a year for the next ten years, while the runner-up won a car. A number of celebrity specials filled out the season.
1984–85 version
The daily 1980s Name That Tune conducted its Golden Medley in the same manner as the previous series had. Each tune was worth at least $250 in prizes for a correct answer, and correctly guessing all seven won a trip. Any contestant that won the Golden Medley over the course of a month returned at the end of the month to play in the $100,000 Tournament of Champions.Each tournament episode varied in the number of contestants playing, depending on how many players qualified for the tournament. If more than two players were playing on any particular episode, a qualifying round was played in lieu of Melody Roulette, and the first two players to identify two tunes advanced to the next round. The two players then played Tune Topics and Bid-a-Note for 10 points each and the Golden Medley Showdown for 20. The player with the most points at the end of the Golden Medley Showdown advanced in the tournament, and a sudden death tune was played if necessary as before. For games with two players, the game was conducted as it normally was with Melody Roulette and Tune Topics worth 10 points, Bid-a-Note worth 20, and the Golden Medley Showdown worth 40.
The winner at the end of the tournament won $10,000 in cash, plus $90,000 worth of prizes: a new automobile, an emerald and diamond necklace, a grand piano, a home entertainment center, a pair of watches, a spa, a vacation, and seven days per year in perpetuity at a timeshare resort in Palm Springs. The runner up won a vacation package.
For several weeks of non-tournament shows in late 1984, a "Home Viewer Sweepstakes" was held. The day's winner picked a name out of a drum, then randomly selected one of the above prizes. A Golden Medley win earned that prize for the home viewer.
Super Champions Tournament
For the first two weeks of the 1984 daily Name That Tune series, fourteen $100,000 winners from the previous series were brought back to compete for a second $100,000 in what was called the Super Champions tournament. The winner of that tournament was Elena Cervantes.2018 CBS Pilot
The show was attempted as a pilot for CBS in 2018. This version, which would have been one night a week in primetime, was hosted by actress Elizabeth Banks. The episode never aired and the program was never picked up by CBS.''Name That Video''
Name That Video was a variation that aired from 2001–02 on VH1. The show was hosted by Karyn Bryant and featured contestants competing to name song titles by viewing the music video.International versions
UK
Germany
Hast du Töne?, hosted by Matthias Opdenhövel, aired daily on VOX from 1999–2001. Gameplay was somewhat different from the U.S. version, but the final round was the same as the Golden Medley.Russia
Ugaday Melodiyu, hosted by Valdis Pelšs, aired daily on ORT from 1995–99. It was produced by the VID TV Company. The version was presented like the German version. Later, the series was presented as Ugadai i kompaniya called Ugadaika, by Pelsh also, but it was not as successful as the first version. In 2003, the program was revived and aired for two years on Channel One Russia. Gameplay remained the same and the only difference was the size of prizes. On 2 January 2013 the program was again revived, now it's airing during winter Holidays.Brazil
Qual é a Música?, hosted by Silvio Santos, has been a hit on SBT for the past two decades. The show is currently placed on hiatus.Italy
Il Musichiere aired on Saturdays from 1957–60 on the then-named Programma Nazionale, but ended after host Mario Riva accidentally fell from the stage and subsequently died. Sarabanda, a similar program, aired from 1997–2004 on Italia 1.Poland
Jaka to melodia? airs 7 days a week on TVP1 and was first broadcast on September 4, 1997. The program was hosted from 1997 to 2018 by Robert Janowski, an actor and singer. From September 1, 2018 to June 12, 2019, the program was hosted by Norbi, but on September 7, 2019, that role was taken over by Rafał Brzozowski.The show is noted for starting and ending each episode with a musical performance by either the in-house band and singers, or guests, or sometimes both. Performances also occur at random points throughout the show, usually after a correct answer. These performances are usually shorter in length than the proper song's length to accommodate a 30-minute time slot. The game is played entirely for cash, with the show's winner playing for 10,000 zloty. During the final on the month/year the game is played entirely for cash, with the show's winner playing the Golden Medley for 80,000 zloty. On some occasions, the host of the show will sing.
Vietnam
The Vietnamese version was called Nốt nhạc vui. 272 episodes of the show was aired from January 14, 2004 to March 25, 2009. It became popular and it was among the most watched TV series of Ho Chi Minh City Television. Thanh Bạch is the host of that version.Others
Versions also aired in Australia, Armenia, Canada, France, Ukraine, Poland and Spain. Recently, Romania and Hungary launched versions of the show. Other countries to get versions include Azerbaijan, Mongolia, Morocco, Portugal, Slovakia and Turkey.| Country | Name | Presenter | Channel | Date of transmission |
| Name That Tune | Bruce Gyngell Chuck Faulkner Tony Barber Stuart Wagstaff | TCN9 | 1956–57 1975 | |
| Գուշակիր մեղեդին Gushakir Meghedin | Avet Barseghyan | Armenia 1 | 2015–present | |
| Oyna Dostum | Elçin Cəfərov | Lider TV | 2011–12 | |
| Qual é a Musica? | Silvio Santos | SBT | 1976–91 1999–2008 | |
| Fa Si La Chanter | Patrick Bourgeois | Télévision de Radio-Canada | 1996–98 | |
| Jakákoliv melodie | ? | ČT1 | ? | |
| Fa Si La Chanter | Pascal Brunner Cyril Hanouna | France 3 | 1994–2000 2010 | |
| Hast du Töne? | Matthias Opdenhövel | VOX | 1999–2001 | |
| Βρείτε τον σκοπό Vreite ton skopo | Kostas Tournas | Star | 1993 | |
| Νότα Μία Nota Mia | Smaragda Karydi | Alpha TV | 2017–18 | |
| Hangszáll | Róbert Sikora | M1 | 1998–99 | |
| Berpacu Dalam Melodi | Koes Hendratmo | TVRI | 1988–98 | |
| Berpacu Dalam Melodi | Koes Hendratmo | Metro TV | 2000–05 | |
| Berpacu Dalam Melodi | Koes Hendratmo | TVRI | 2013–14 | |
| Berpacu Dalam Melodi | David Bayu Danangjaya | NET. | 2014–15 | |
| Berpacu Dalam Melodi | David Bayu Danangjaya | Trans7 | 2017–present | |
| Il Musichiere | Mario Riva | Programma Nazionale | 1957–60 | |
| Sarabanda | Enrico Papi | Italia 1 | 1997–2004 2005 2017 | |
| Sarabanda | Teo Mammucari and Belén Rodríguez | Canale 5 | 2009 | |
| Atspėk dainą | Beata Tiškevič and Arūnas Valinskas | LRT | 2016–17 | |
| Fa Si La | Imad Ntifi | 2M | 2003–08 | |
| Аяыг таа Ayaig taa | Bayarsaikhan Bold | Edutainment TV | 2015–present | |
| Jaka to melodia? | Robert Janowski Norbert "Norbi" Dudziuk Rafał Brzozowski | TVP 1 | 1997–present | |
| ? | ? | RTP1 | ? | |
| Sarabanda | Horia Brenciu | TVR1 | 1999 | |
| Угадай мелодию Ugaday Melodiyu | Valdis Pelšs | ORT | 1995–99 | |
| Угадайка Ugadayka | Valdis Pelšs | ORT | 1999–2000 | |
| Угадай мелодию-II | Valdis Pelšs | Pervyi Kanal | 2003–05 | |
| Угадай мелодию-III | Valdis Pelšs | Pervyi Kanal | 2013–present | |
| ? | ? | ? | ? | |
| :es:Valanota|Valanota | Óscar Martínez | Telecinco | 2008 | |
| Bir Şarki Söyle | Berna Laçin | Kanal D | 1998–99 | |
| Яка то мелодія Yaka to melodiya | Konstantin Kirkaryan | Ukrayina | 2008 | |
| Name That Tune | Tom O'Connor | ITV | 1976–83 | |
| Name That Tune | Lionel Blair | ITV | 1983–88 | |
| Name That Tune | Jools Holland | Channel 5 | 1997–98 | |
| Name That Tune | Red Benson Bill Cullen George DeWitt | NBC Radio CBS | 1952–59 | |
| Name That Tune | Richard Hayes | Syndication | 1970–71 | |
| Name That Tune | Dennis James Tom Kennedy | Syndication | 1974–81 | |
| Name That Tune | Jim Lange | Syndication | 1984–85 | |
| Name That Video | Karyn Bryant | VH1 | 2001–02 | |
| Nốt Nhạc Vui | Thanh Bạch | Ho Chi Minh City Television | 2004–09 |
Episode status
The 1950s version was likely destroyed, given network practices. The March 10, 1955, episode and a highlight episode from the final season are known to exist. Episodes from 1954, 1956, and 1957 are held by the Paley Center for Media.The status of the locally produced Richard Hayes series and the NBC daytime series hosted by Dennis James and Tom Kennedy are unknown. It is unclear whether any of the stations that aired Hayes' version kept their tapes, but the James and daytime Kennedy versions were likely destroyed given NBC's practices that continued into 1980. A clip from a James episode was used in a 1988 "Game Show Hosts Special" episode of FOX's The Late Show, and a full episode from December 26 was discovered in February 2010, and uploaded to YouTube by Dennis James' son Brad in October 2019. Another episode was discovered by Stu Shostak in May 2015, recorded by Dennis himself.
The syndicated Kennedy run is intact. Since producer Ralph Edwards' death, the episodes are in the possession of his estate. No broadcasters are planning to contact with, also Prestige Entertainment Group, format's current distributor.
The 1984 syndicated series is fully intact and was rerun on American television on a fairly heavy basis for almost a decade. CBN was the first to air reruns of the series, from September 2, 1985, to August 29, 1986. USA Network picked it up on January 2, 1989, and ran it until September 13, 1991. The Lange series was last seen on The Family Channel, which aired it from June 7, 1993, to March 29, 1996. It wasn't repeated since, as the format is not owned by a major company and there are a problems with contact with it.
Arcade game
In 1986, a coin-operated arcade game based on the show was released by Bally Sente, created by Owen Rubin. The player's task was to guess the tune being played from among four choices. It also featured a two-player mode. While playable, some gamers consider the machine's difficulty to be high due to the technical limits of the very basic synthesized music the machine was capable of.The game required the player to score 18,000 points, using the Tune Topics round and Bid-a-Note rounds. The faster the player named the tune, the more points they scored. In Bid-a-Note, the player also scored 100 points for naming the tune in 9 notes, 200 for 8 notes, and so on until they reached just 1 note, at which they'd score 900 points. In both rounds, the player needed a certain requirement to win both rounds.
The Golden Medley round required five tunes to be named in 15 seconds, giving 3 choices per tune instead of 4, and using the fourth button to use as a pass. Getting all five won the bonus. As on the show, one wrong guess ended the round immediately.