Tomorrow marks the 55th anniversary of the television premiere of the musical identification show Name That Tune. This popular quiz show began on primetime television during the 1950's, reappeared in the 1970's as both a daytime and syndicated program, had a short-lived syndication from 1984-1985 on USA Cable and ultimately repeated on the Family Channel from 1993-1996. Red Benson, Bill Cullen and George DeWitt served as the hosts during the early years; Tom Kennedy and Dennis James led it during the 1970's, with Jim Lange closing it out in the mid-eighties.
Music director Harry Salter created this show in which two contestants competed in the recognition of popular tunes. Monetary prizes were given for the most correct answers with the stakes increasing for each round. This program gave all the musical connoisseurs, experts and fans a chance to show off their knowledge.
For those people who are planning birthday or anniversary parties or sometimes get nostalgic about the good days, John Javna's The TV Theme Song Sing-Along Song Book may be consulted. This compact two volume set has facts, a brief synopsis of the show, cast members and the music and words to the theme song. It covers childrens' shows, comedy sit-coms, commercials, drama, music variety and westerns that permeated the air waves from the 1950's through the 1970's. The Library also has a compact disc set Television's Greatest Hits as well as the soundtracks from some popular shows including The Drew Carey Show, Six Feet Under and The Sopranos.