On the postings from Maine that have gone
up in the last day or so, there's mention
of a 1970 NBC game show called "Words And
Music." For those who've forgotten, or
never saw it, the show was hosted by Wink
Martindale. The idea was that a clue would
be given (e.g., "right between the eyes")
and the contestants would have to listen for
a word in a song that fit the clue (in this
case, they'd be listening for the word "nose").
The first player to buzz in with the correct
answer received money and picked the next clue
(a la "Jeopardy!" but without deducting for a wrong
answer). Four rounds of four songs, with the dollar
amounts increasing, were played; the player with the
most money returned as champ and could win a car for
winning three times. None of the singers who were
regulars on the show ever went on to much in the way
of a career.
The show itself ran about six months in the 1970-71
season (Sept. 28, 1970-Feb. 12, 1971, to be exact).
Airing at 1:30 (ET) it was no match for "Let's
Make A Deal" on ABC and "As The World Turns" on CBS.
It was replaced by the even-less-successful "Joe Garagiola's
Memory Game" (which virtually no one remembers).
In August 1971 Bill Cullen's "Three On A Match"
started a three-year run at 1:30, the most successful NBC
show to occupy that time slot following the loss of "Deal"
to ABC in 1968 until "Days Of Our Lives" went to an hour
in 1975.
"Words And Music" was the second musical game hosted
by the Winker. His first hosting job (when he was
known as "Win" Martindale) was "What's This Song?" on
NBC in 1964-65. The idea here was that two celebrity-
contestant teams tried to name a song title, then sing
the first two lines. The idea started on radio in the
'40s as "What's The Name Of That Song?" (a longrunning
local LA television show in the '50s) and was revived
as "Win With The Stars" with Allen Ludden as host in 1968.
Source: "The Encyclopedia of TV Game Shows" by Wostbrock,
et. al.<P ID="edit"><FONT class="small">Edited by bpatrick on 12/01/05 01:14 AM.</FONT></P>
up in the last day or so, there's mention
of a 1970 NBC game show called "Words And
Music." For those who've forgotten, or
never saw it, the show was hosted by Wink
Martindale. The idea was that a clue would
be given (e.g., "right between the eyes")
and the contestants would have to listen for
a word in a song that fit the clue (in this
case, they'd be listening for the word "nose").
The first player to buzz in with the correct
answer received money and picked the next clue
(a la "Jeopardy!" but without deducting for a wrong
answer). Four rounds of four songs, with the dollar
amounts increasing, were played; the player with the
most money returned as champ and could win a car for
winning three times. None of the singers who were
regulars on the show ever went on to much in the way
of a career.
The show itself ran about six months in the 1970-71
season (Sept. 28, 1970-Feb. 12, 1971, to be exact).
Airing at 1:30 (ET) it was no match for "Let's
Make A Deal" on ABC and "As The World Turns" on CBS.
It was replaced by the even-less-successful "Joe Garagiola's
Memory Game" (which virtually no one remembers).
In August 1971 Bill Cullen's "Three On A Match"
started a three-year run at 1:30, the most successful NBC
show to occupy that time slot following the loss of "Deal"
to ABC in 1968 until "Days Of Our Lives" went to an hour
in 1975.
"Words And Music" was the second musical game hosted
by the Winker. His first hosting job (when he was
known as "Win" Martindale) was "What's This Song?" on
NBC in 1964-65. The idea here was that two celebrity-
contestant teams tried to name a song title, then sing
the first two lines. The idea started on radio in the
'40s as "What's The Name Of That Song?" (a longrunning
local LA television show in the '50s) and was revived
as "Win With The Stars" with Allen Ludden as host in 1968.
Source: "The Encyclopedia of TV Game Shows" by Wostbrock,
et. al.<P ID="edit"><FONT class="small">Edited by bpatrick on 12/01/05 01:14 AM.</FONT></P>