Topic: Nostalgia TV
6 JULY 1953 - "Name That Tune" premiered on television
Name That Tune was a television game show that put two contestants against each other to test their knowledge of songs. Continued to 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. DeWitt could sing well, which was vital to the show's success; Benson and Cullen did not possess such talents. Richard Hayes also emceed a local edition from 1970 to 1971. However, the best-remembered syndicated version aired once a week (expanded to twice a week for its final season) from 1974 to 1981, with host Tom Kennedy [photo]. Another version aired weekdays during 1984 and 1985, hosted by Jim Lange; this version was heavily re-run on cable TV for almost a decade. The orchestra was conducted by Bob Alberti (1974-1976), Tommy Oliver (1976-1979, and the entire run of the Lange version), and Stan Worth (1979-1981); a second band, Dan Sawyer and the Sound System, was also featured from 1978 to 1981. These versions were both titled "The $100,000 Name That Tune". NBC also aired two versions of Name That Tune in the 1970s. The first, hosted by Dennis James, ran from July 29, 1974 until January 3, 1975. MORE Wiki Notes | IMAGES