Name That Tune

Background and production

Development

Name That Tune had its conceptual origins in an earlier radio and television series, Stop the Music. Stop the Music was created by Mark Goodson, orchestra conductor Harry Salter, and advertising executive Howard Connell. Stop the Music relied on studio audience members and random telephone calls to potential viewers/listeners to identify melodies played by an orchestra. Name That Tune changed this idea to a head-to-head competition between two onstage contestants.

Incarnations of Name That Tune over the years have maintained core concepts. These include an orchestra and/or a band, head-to-head contestant identification of songs played by that orchestra/band, and a bonus round known as the "Golden Medley", where the winner of the head-to-head competition plays on their own for the episode's grand prize. Previous winners would sometimes be invited back to identify songs for much larger prizes – in the 1950s television version the prize was $25,000, and by the 1970s–1980s, this grand prize was increased to $100,000.

Bob Alberti was the conductor of the orchestra for the first season of the 1970s run, with Tommy Oliver replacing him in 1975 and Stan Worth replacing Oliver in 1978. From 1977 on, the orchestra featured a vocalist, with Kathie Lee Johnson taking on that role. She left after one season and was replaced by Monica Pege of the singing group Lady Flash, who performed under the name Monica Burruss.

Also for the 1978–79 season, 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 for that season only, although Fiala stayed on until the series ended in a similar role to the one she held on The Cross-Wits. Worth's orchestra was joined by The Sound System, a rock music ensemble led by Dan Sawyer with Steve March as its featured vocalist. They remained as part of the show through the final season in 1981.

In the 1984–85 series, Tommy Oliver returned to lead the orchestra.

The 2021 version sees musician, record executive and former American Idol judge Robin Thicke as bandleader. also performs announcing duties at the beginning of the show.

Gameplay

1950s version

In the 1950s version of Name That Tune, the contestants stood across the stage from two large ship's bells as the orchestra started playing tunes. When a contestant knew the tune, they 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 contestant with the most money after four tunes won the game and played the "Golden Medley" bonus round. From 1955 to 1959, only three tunes were played, worth $10, $20 and $30. If both contestants were tied at $30 each, both played as a team in the Golden Medley.

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".

In the Golden Medley Marathon, the winning home viewer and the winning studio contestant worked as a team. This time, the two contestants 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.

The top prize for the prime time CBS show, by 1959, was $25,000.

1974–81 version

Two contestants selected from the studio audience compete in various song identification games to earn points as well as cash and prizes. Three rounds were played per game, typically beginning with Melody Roulette, followed by a second game which varied by-episode, and culminating with Bid-a-Note. Each of the first two games awarded 10 points to the winner, but Bid-a-Note was worth 20 points. A round's points were split between the contestants in the event of a tie. If the contestants were tied after the final competitive round, a single tiebreaker tune was played to determine who advanced to the Golden Medley bonus round for a chance at more prizes.

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 to $1,000 from 1974 to 1976, $50–$1,000 from 1976 to 1977, and $50–$500 on the 1977 daytime series. The amounts were $100–$1,000 from 1977 to 1981 on the syndicated series. Also, after the switch to dollar amounts on the wheel, each contestant selected a space on the wheel (a $100 space in daytime, a $200 space in the syndicated series). If the wheel landed on one of those spaces, that contestant won that amount automatically prior to the start of the tune. This was discarded in 1976.

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 to 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. In order for a tune to be worth double the value or to have a prize on the line, the corresponding space had to be covering the space where the inner wheel had stopped.

Both contestants kept the cash they earned.

These games were typically played during the second round:

Build-a-Tune, played only on the short-lived 1977 daytime version, where 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 contestants were tied, each received five points and the prizes.

1984 version

The show was revived in 1984 as a daily series, with some of the same elements of the 1970s series. Typical episodes featured Melody Roulette and the new game Tune Topics for 10 points each, and Bid-A-Note for 20. The day's winner advanced to the Golden Medley, which if won, qualified the contestant for a monthly tournament for the grand prize.

Melody Roulette: The outer wheel had one Double space (except for the pilot week wheel, which had three). Initially, the wheels were spun before every tune to determine its value, with the inner wheel displaying amounts from $100 to $500 in increments of $100, and only the winner of the round kept their cash. The maximum number of tunes was seven in the earliest episodes, but was reduced to five shortly thereafter. In a further later change, the inner wheel displayed amounts from $250 to $1000 in increments of $250, and one spin determined the award for the winner of the round. The maximum number of tunes was increased back to seven temporarily, but by the end of the series had been reduced again to five.

Tune Topics: This was the second game of the day on all episodes except for the pilot week. The orchestra would play a maximum of five tunes with a specific theme. Originally, one topic was exclusively shown, but it was quickly changed to a presentation where one of five categories was shown to be chosen at random. Ten points were given to the contestant who identified more tunes.

Tune Countdown: This was the second round for the pilot week, and was basically a 20-second version of the Golden Medley Showdown.

Bid-a-Note played the same, except the contestants no longer chose the clues by number. Bonus prizes were awarded to the winners of Tune Topics/Countdown and Bid-a-Note.

Golden Medley: Each tune was worth at least $250 in prizes, with an unspecified amount in prizes - usually including a vacation - awarded for naming all seven tunes, along with an entry into the monthly tournament.

$100,000 Tournament: Each episode varied in the number of contestants playing, which depended on how many of them qualified for the tournament. If more than two contestants were competing on any particular episode, a qualifying round was played in lieu of Melody Roulette, and the first two contestants to identify two tunes advanced to the next round. The two contestants then played Tune Topics and Bid-a-Note for 10 points each and the Golden Medley Showdown for 20. For games with two contestants, they played Melody Roulette and Tune Topics for 10 points each, Bid-a-Note for 20, and the Golden Medley Showdown for 40. The contestant with the most points at the end of the Golden Medley Showdown advanced in the tournament, with a sudden death tune played if necessary. The winner of each month's tournament won cash and prizes totaling $100,000, which included $10,000 cash and a Pontiac Fiero, while the runner up received a vacation for two to Hong Kong.

2021 version

Each hour-long episode consists of two complete games, with two new contestants per game playing for cash through two rounds. In each round, an incorrect response by one contestant gives the opponent a chance to steal the money. Bid-a-Note is always played as the second round. The high scorer at its end keeps their entire winnings total and advances to the Golden Medley for a chance to win up to $100,000 more. Tunes in all first-round games are played as toss-ups, open for either contestant to buzz in. One tune also awards a bonus prize, which the contestant keeps regardless of the final outcome of the game.

Celebrity contestants playing for charity are guaranteed $10,000.

Lyrics are sung in the first round, except for those that constitute the title. Six to eight tunes are played in each game, with each worth $1,000 (in the first season, tunes increased from $1,000 to $6,000). Some tunes missed by both contestants are edited out of the program.

The rotating first-round games include:

By Request: A contestant chooses one category from a list of six or more, and a tune fitting it is played. The one who correctly names it gets to choose the next category, with the just-used one removed from the list.

Mixtape: All tunes fit a single topic given by the host.

On Shuffle: Contestants must name one tune by each of six different artists, chosen at random from a displayed list. Each artist is identified and removed from the list only after the tune has been named.

Remix'd: Contestants must name a series of pop tunes as they are performed in a range of different styles. After a tune is correctly named, the house band performs it in its original style.

Spin Me Round: An electronic wheel is spun before each turn to choose one of nine musical genres, and a tune from that genre is played.

Broadcast history

Name That Tune ran in prime time from 1953 to 1954 on NBC, with Red Benson hosting. It moved to CBS in fall 1954, and hosting was taken up by Bill Cullen. George DeWitt took over in fall 1955 until the end of its run in October 1959. 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. On October 18, 1959, CBS cancelled Name That Tune in the wake of the quiz show scandals. Its final episode aired on October 19, 1959.

In 1974, the syndicated Name That Tune premiered, hosted by Tom Kennedy, and produced by Ralph Edwards in association with Sandy Frank Productions. It became The $100,000 Name That Tune in 1976 and continued until 1981.

Also in 1974, NBC picked up a weekday version of Name That Tune for its daytime lineup, which ran from July 29, 1974, to January 3, 1975, and was hosted by Dennis James. A second iteration of the daytime version, this time hosted by Kennedy, ran on NBC from January 3 to June 10, 1977 (replacing the Kennedy-hosted 50 Grand Slam in its timeslot). Both were lower-paying versions of the concurrent syndicated version.

The New $100,000 Name That Tune returned to syndication as a weekday series in 1984, hosted by Jim Lange and produced by Sandy Frank. It lasted one season.

Episode status

The 1950s primetime versions are believed to be wiped and lost. A handful of episodes have survived and clips have been shown on other programs.

The 1974-1975 and 1977 NBC daytime versions are believed to be wiped due to NBC's practice of wiping daytime game shows during this time.

The 1974-1981 syndicated version is believed to be completely intact, but has never aired in reruns on national American television, both due to Ralph Edwards not selling the rights and music clearance issues. Clips from this version have aired on other shows in the past.

The 1984 syndicated series is fully intact and was rerun on American television on a fairly heavy basis for almost a decade. Christian Broadcasting Network (now Freeform) 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. It then returned to the renamed The Family Channel (again, now Freeform), which aired it from June 7, 1993, to March 29, 1996. Prestige Entertainment Group, the format's current distributor, holds the rights to the syndicated Kennedy and Lange versions.

Twenty episodes of the 1984-85 version were added to the streaming service Tubi in June 2021. They were removed in 2024.

Revivals

During the 1996-1997 season, an attempt to revived the show was made by Quincy Jones-David Salzman Entertainment after their normal producing partner Warner Bros. passed up on the project, they later went to Columbia TriStar Television in an attempt to possible pair up with a revival of 50s/70s/80s game show Treasure Hunt but both were scrapped later on in their respective lifespans.

An attempt to revive the show in 2001 with producer Phil Gurin fell through. This would have been "a game-variety hybrid," such as incorporating live performances.

In October 2006, CBS ordered a pilot for a revival with Donny Osmond as host, but it was not picked up for a series order. This attempt would have included a new bonus round where contestants guessed 15 songs in 60 seconds for a shot at $1 million.

In October 2007, it was reported that MTV Networks had bought the rights to the series and planned to create concurrent versions of the show to air on MTV, VH1 and CMT in 2008. Their musical content was to be tailored to the networks' respective formats and audiences (for example, the CMT version would have focused on country music), and the show was to be "[reinterpreted] for the digital age" with new online elements. None of these efforts ultimately made it to air.

In March 2012, it was reported that FremantleMedia had bought the rights and planned to revive the series. However, that plan never came to fruition.

In October 2017, CBS ordered another pilot for a revival, this time with Elizabeth Banks as host. However, it was not ordered to series.

2021 revival

In October 2020, it was reported that Eureka Productions and current rightsholder Prestige Entertainment were preparing to begin production of a new version of Name That Tune in Sydney, Australia for an unspecified network, with American Australians as contestants. It was filmed with a studio audience under local COVID-19 protocols. Filming began on November 17 at ICC Sydney.

On November 18, 2020, Fox officially announced the series, with actress Jane Krakowski as host and former American Idol judge Robin Thicke as bandleader. Premiering on January 6, 2021, to accompany the Masked Singer spin-off The Masked Dancer on its Wednesday-night lineup, the series co-exists on Fox's programming slate with its similar series Beat Shazam. It was co-produced by Eureka, Prestige, and Fox Alternative Entertainment.

A second season premiered on March 29, 2022, which primarily features celebrity episodes. Production was moved to Dublin, Ireland at the RDS and Font Hill Studios, with BiggerStage (which had previously collaborated with Fox Alternative Entertainment on its new talent show format The Big Deal) replacing Eureka as co-production partner.

A third season titled Celebrity Name That Tune premiered on January 11, 2023.

A fourth season premiered on June 3, 2024, and a fifth season was ordered for the 2024–2025 season as well, with Robin Thicke as the bandleader.

International versions

Germany

Hast du Töne? (Do you have sound?), hosted by Matthias Opdenhövel, aired daily on VOX from 1999 to 2001. Gameplay was somewhat different from the U.S. version, but the final round was the same as the Golden Medley. In 2024, the show was revived with 6 new episodes, Opdenhövel returning as host, and the same band as before. The contestants are all celebrities.

Russia

Ugaday Melodiyu (Guess the Tune), hosted by Valdis Pelšs, aired daily on ORT from 1995 to 1999. It was produced by the VID television company. The version was presented like the German version. Later, the series was presented as Ugadai i kompaniya (Guess and company) called Ugadaika (Guessing), also by Pelšs, 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 January 2, 2013, the program was once again revived, and since 2017, it has been aired during winter holidays. Starting from January 2023, the show continues to air without Fremantle's involvement in the production due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Brazil

Qual é a Música? ("What Song Is It?" or "Which Song Is It?"), hosted by Silvio Santos, has been a hit on Sistema Brasileiro de Televisão for the past two decades. On June 4, 2023, a revival version of the show was broadcast as a segment of Programa Silvio Santos, which currently hosted by Patricia Abravanel.

Italy

Il Musichiere (The Musician) aired on Saturdays from 1957 to 1960 on the then-called National Program, but it ended after the conductor Mario Riva accidentally fell from the stadium and subsequently died. Sarabanda (Sarabanda), aired from 1997 to 2004 and 2005 on Italia 1 and presented by Enrico Papi, in 2009 on Canale 5 by Teo Mammucari with participation of Belen Rodriguez and in 2017 again on Italia 1 with the return of Enrico Papi, in some games he was inspired by the 70s and 80s versions of Name That Tune. Name That Tune – Indovina la canzone, which aired from September 2020 to March 2023 on TV8 in the first two editions with Papi, replaced in the third and fourth by Ciro Priello with the participation of Fabio Balsamo (both members of the comedy group of The Jackal), focused on the challenge between two teams of famous people in Italy: this formula mixes the variety and the quiz. Sarabanda Celebrity, which will air on Italia 1 from 2025 with Enrico Papi once again as host, follows the same format as Name That Tune - Indovina la canzone, while in the summer of the same year it re-proposed the classic version of Sarabanda in the early evening slot on Canale 5.

Poland

Jaka to melodia? (What Melody Is It?) was first broadcast on September 4, 1997, on TVP1 and currently airs seven days a week. From 1997 to 2018 the show was hosted by Robert Janowski, an actor and singer. During the 2018/2019 season Norbi served as a host, but on September 7, 2019, that role was taken over by Rafał Brzozowski.

The show combines a standard music quiz and musical performances performed by either the host, the in-house band and singers or guests (including artists who perform given song originally). Three contestants compete at the beginning of each episode which consists of four rounds (including the final round – Golden Medley). The grand prize for a finalist who successfully completes the Golden Medley is PLN 10,000 in a regular episode and PLN 80,000 in the finale of the month or the finale of the year (although formerly the grand prize of the finale was PLN 10,000 and a car). Typically, episodes aired on Saturdays and Sundays feature celebrities (unless the finale of the month is played), whose appearance on the show, and the style of episodes of that kind, is criticised by the program's fans.

Vietnam

The Vietnamese version was called Nốt nhạc vui (Happy Notes). 272 episodes of the show aired from January 14, 2004, to March 25, 2009. It became popular and was among the most-watched TV series of Ho Chi Minh City Television. Thanh Bạch is the host of that version.

Lebanon

شو إسم اللحن؟ (Name that Tune), is hosted by Maya Diab, airs weekly on Saturdays on LBCI starting on January 6, 2024. It is produced by the LBCI.

Name That Video

Name That Video was a variation of the series that aired in 2001 on VH1. The show was hosted by Karyn Bryant and featured contestants competing to name song titles by viewing the music video.

Merchandise

Arcade game

In 1986, a coin-operated arcade game based on the 1984 version of the show was released by Bally/Sente Technologies, created by Owen Rubin. The show's bandleader, Tommy Oliver, was hired as the game's music consultant. The contestant's task was to guess the tune being played from among four choices. It also featured a two-contestant mode.

While playable, critics and contestants considered the machine's difficulty to be high due to the technical limits of the very basic synthesized music the machine was capable of generating, and songs being too difficult to name mostly because the wrong audience was targeted as teenage contestants of the arcade era simply weren't interested in trying to name songs from the 1940s through the 1970s. Critics also believed the game would have served better as a tabletop unit for bars and other adult-oriented entertainment establishments instead of as an arcade game.

The game only utilized three of the six games shown in the 1984 version of the show, Tune Topics, Bid-a-Note, and The Golden Medley. The game required the contestant to score 18,000 points, playing five tunes apiece in the Tune Topics and Bid-a-Note rounds. In Tune Topics, the contestant scored up to 990 points per tune based on how quickly they named it. In Bid-a-Note, the value of each tune was determined by how many notes the contestant requested, starting at 100 for nine and increasing by 100 for each note below that threshold (to a maximum of 900 for one). For both rounds, the contestant had to correctly name at least three out of five tunes in order to score a bonus that started at 9,900 points and counted down throughout the round.

If the contestant failed to score at least 18,000 points after both rounds, the game ended immediately. Reaching this minimum allowed the contestant to enter the Golden Medley, with the goal of naming five tunes in 15 seconds. Each tune had three choices instead of four. The fourth button could be used to pass. Tunes were scored as in Tune Topics, and successfully completing the round awarded a bonus as in the other two rounds. If time ran out or the contestant made an incorrect guess, the game ended and the bonus was forfeited.

Sente had developed several different upgrade chips for the game containing different musical selections and game modes, but it is unknown if they were shelved or destroyed as the game was a flop.

Video game

A game based on the show was released for the short-lived CD-i home console. This version was hosted by Bob Goen and was based on the unsold 1990 Peter Allen version of the show. A game adaptation for the Game.com was announced, but never released.

Mobile phone game

In 2003, a mobile 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 contestant 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.

DVD games

In 2005, Imagination Games released a DVD game called Name That Tune: 80s Edition. The DVD game featured elements from the TV show, as well as Name That Video, like the Bid-A-Vid round.

In 2007, Imagination Games re-released Name That Tune: 80s Edition, under the new name Name That Tune Eighties.