Name That Tune Information

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 1953-1959 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.

Richard Hayes also emceed a local edition from 1970-1971, which ran for 26 weeks in a small number of markets. However, the best-remembered syndicated Name That Tune aired once a week (expanded to twice a week for its final season) from 1974-1981 with host Tom Kennedy. The series was revived for daily syndication in 1984, and its lone season was hosted by Jim Lange. For the last two of these series, John Harlan served as announcer.

The centerpiece of each Name That Tune series was an orchestra, which would play the songs for the contestants to guess. The syndicated series' orchestras were conducted by Bob Alberti (1974-1975), Tommy Oliver (1975-1978, 1984-1985), and Stan Worth (1978-1981). A second band, Dan Sawyer and the Sound System, was also featured from 1978-1981. Beginning in 1976 and continuing for the remainder of the weekly syndicated series, as well as for the entire 1984 run, the show's title became The $100,000 Name That Tune.

Featured vocalists during the 1970s run of the show were Kathie Lee Gifford (then going by the name Kathie Lee Johnson), Monica Burruss (also known as Monica Francine Pege), and Steve March-Torm. The show also featured choreographers Jerri Fiala and Dennon Rawles during the 1978-1979 season. The 1980s syndicated series did not feature any singers.

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.

Ralph Edwards produced the 1974-81 series, including the daytime episodes. His syndicator, Sandy Frank, produced and staged the 1984 series by himself.

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 1955-1959, 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. Melody Roulette, Tune Topics and Bid-a-Note were the only three regular games played on the 1980s series.

Games

Each of the first two games awarded 10 points to the winner and the winner of the third game scored 20 points. After the third game, the contestant with the most points proceeded to the "Golden Medley" bonus round. If there was a tie at the end of the game, one last tune was played, and the first contestant to buzz-in and name that tune then went to the Golden Medley. The games alternated in each daytime or syndicated version, however the rules to each game are explained below.

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. Each contestant stated their bid to their opponent in the infamous format "I can name that tune in X notes," where X was any whole number. Bidding ended when one contestant challenged the other to "Name That Tune". Bidding also ended when one contestant bid one note or (rarely) zero notes, with intent to identify the song from only the clue read by the host. The first contestant to score three tunes (two in 1976-77 if someone was playing the Mystery Tune later in the show) won 20 points and a prize (most often a trip), and for most of the 1970s and all of the 1980s syndicated series won the game or forced the tiebreaker. This game is one of the most recognizable aspects of the television versions of Name That Tune.

Build-a-Tune"?The orchestra played a tune starting with minimal instrumentation and gradually added more until it became a full orchestral arrangement. The player who 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 over-sized 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 1976-1977, and $100-$1,000 from 1977-1981 on the syndicated series and $50-$500 on the 1977 daytime series. Also, during early playings on the syndicated version, each contestant selected a $200 space on the wheel. If the wheel landed on one of those spaces, that contestant won $200 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 1977-1980, 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 seven 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 reduced to five tunes, and later changed back 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 (three during the pilot episodes).

If both contestants were tied at the end of the round, five points were given to each contestant on the 1970s series and the pilot episodes of the 1980s syndicated version. In the regular 1980's syndicated episodes, a final tiebreaker 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 1975-1977.

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 (three in 1976-77 if someone was playing the Mystery Tune later in the show) 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 1977-1978 season. Johnson left the show around 1978 and was replaced by the team of Monica Burruss and Steve March-Torm, son of singer Mel Torm and stepson of $64,000 Question emcee Hal March.

Tune Countdown"?Played similarly to the Golden Medley Showdown and featured in the 1980s series pilot episodes, contestants attempted to name as many tunes as possible within 20 seconds. The clock stopped as soon as a contestant buzzed in to provide a response. The contestant who named the most tunes correctly won 10 points and a prize.

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 tiebreaking tune was played if the contestants were tied after the initial five tunes had been played.

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 could pass on a tune by buzzing in and saying "pass", and if any time was remaining on the clock after all the tunes were played they could go back and try the passed tunes. Any incorrect answer ended the round.

1974 daytime series

The winning player had to correctly identify six (later five) 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, it only took four match wins to win the car and retire undefeated. However, a contestant could also be retired if they lost the Golden Medley.

Syndicated version

In the Kennedy syndicated series, each tune was worth $500 in cash and/or prizes (usually, a contestant who got six won a car on the nighttime version), 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 the booth, which was wired so only the pianist and Kennedy could be heard. The pianist played the tune for 20 seconds. The contestant then had the remaining 10 seconds to name the title of the tune, and any guess was recorded.

After a guess was made, the contestant exited the booth and 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 (payable in ten yearly installments of $10,000).

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.

$100,000 Tournaments

In 1977, eleven of the twelve Golden Medley winners who did not win $100,000 returned for a three-week tournament (the twelfth was taking a 52-day Mediterranean cruise at the time, which was one of the Golden Medley prizes). 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 (the clock stopped when either player buzzed in or five seconds elapsed) 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 (which had switched to a disco set and theme) 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 as Sing a Tune was no longer played and a second round of Melody Roulette was played after one of the three players was eliminated. 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.

1984-1985 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 if a player correctly guessed all seven within 30 seconds, they won a vacation and automatically qualify for a monthly $100,000 tournament.

Each tournament episode varied in the amount 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 tiebreaking tune was played if necessary as before. For games with two players, as well as in the tournament finals, 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, a new Pontiac Fiero, an emerald and diamond necklace, a Schaefer and Sons grand piano, a Hitachi home entertainment center, a pair of Jules Jurgensen watches, a spa from Polynesian Spas, a Caribbean vacation, and one week a 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.

Name That Video

Name That Video was a variation that aired from 2001-2002 on VH-1. The show was hosted by Karyn Bryant and featured contestants competing to name song titles by viewing the music video.

International versions

UK

See Name That Tune (UK Gameshow) for more information

Germany

Hast du Tne? (Do you have sound?), hosted by Matthias Opdenhvel, aired daily on VOX from 1999-2001. Gameplay was somewhat different from the US version, but the final round was the same as the Golden Medley.

Russia

Ugaday Melodiyu (Guess the Tune), hosted by Valdis Pelsh, aired daily on ORT from 1995-1999. 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 (Guess and company) called Ugadaika (Guessing), 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 the 2nd of January 2013 the program was again revived.

Brazil

Qual a Musica (What Is Music?), 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 (The Musicians) aired on Saturdays from 1957-1960 on the then-named Programma Nazionale, however ended after host Mario Riva accidentally fell from the stage and subsequently died. Sarabanda (Sarabande), a similar program, aired from 1997-2004 on Italia 1.

Poland

Jaka to melodia? (Name That Tune?) airs 7 days a week on TVP1. First episode was broadcast on 4 September 1997. The program is hosted by Robert Janowski, an actor and singer.

Vietnam

The show called N?t nh?c vui (Happy Notes) 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 Bach served as the host.

Others

Versions also aired in Australia, Belgium, Canada, France, Ukraine, Poland, and Spain. Recently, Romania and Hungary launched versions of the show. Other countries to get versions include Morocco, Portugal, Slovakia, and Turkey.

Country	Name	Presenter	Channel	Date of transmission
	Name That Tune	Bruce Gyngell Chuck Falkner Tony Barber Stuart Wagstaff	TCN9	1956-1957 1975
	Qual a Musica?	Silvio Santos	SBT	1976-1991
				1999-2008
	Hast du Tne?	Matthias Opdenhvel	VOX	1999-2001
	Berpacu Dalam Melodi	Koes Hendratmo	TVRI	1988-1998, 2012-present
			Metro TV	2000-2005
	Il Musichiere	Mario Riva	Programma Nazionale	1957-1960
	Sarabanda	Enrico Papi	Italia 1	1997-2004
		Teo Mammucari	Canale 5	2009
		Beln Rodrguez
	Jaka to melodia?	Robert Janowski	TVP	1997-
	?????? ???????	Valdis Pelsh	ORT	1995-1999
	????????			1999-2000
	?????? ???????-II		Pervyi Kanal	2003-2005
	?????? ???????-III		Pervyi Kanal	2013-
	Bir ?arki Syle	Berna Lain	KANAL D	1998
	??? ?? ???????	Konstantin Kirkaryan	Donbass	2008
	Name That Tune	Tom O'Connor	ITV	1976-1983
		Lionel Blair		1983-1988
		Jools Holland		1997-1998
	N?t Nh?c Vui	Thanh Bach	Ho Chi Minh City Television	2004-2009

Episode status

The 1950s version was likely destroyed, given network practices. The March 10, 1955 episode (with Bill Cullen) and a highlight episode from the final season (with Johnny Olson announcing) 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.

The syndicated Kennedy run is intact. Since producer Ralph Edwards' death, the episodes are in the possession of his estate.

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.

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 (3 out of 5) 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.

Wireless version

In 2003, a wireless phone version of the game appeared on major U.S. cellular providers. The game follows the traditional format, with MIDI interpretations of popular and classic music played in short clips. The player then has several seconds to correctly identify the tune. Prizes such as free ringtones were available, a first in the mobile industry. The game is often mentioned as a pioneer in the emerging wireless entertainment industry.