What's This Song?

What's This Song? was a game show based on the popular game show, Name That Tune. It marked the national game show hosting debut of Wink Martindale (whom on this show was known as Win Martindale).

Broadcast History

The program lasted for almost one season. From October 26, 1964 - September 24, 1965 on NBC.

Gameplay

Two teams of two (consisting of one celebrity & one contestant) compete in a game identifying & singing songs. A song was played, and if the team in control guessed its title correctly, they get 20 points plus a chance to earn 20 points more by singing the first two lines of the song. After the first team sings the first two lines, their opponents can challenge the first team if they think the lines they sang were incorrect; if they challenged right they can sing the first two lines and earn 20 points of their own, but if they challenged wrong, they lose 20 points. The first team to reach 100 points wins the game.

Minute Medley

The winning team played a bonus round called "The Minute Medley". In the Minute Medley, the winning team attempts to guess 10 songs in one minute (60 seconds), earning $20 for each correct song title. They can pass on anyone by pressing a buzzer, and can return to it if time permits. Getting all ten won $200 & a round trip to anywhere in North America.

Notes

• What's this Song? was revived 1968 under the name of Win With the Stars hosted by Allen Ludden.
• Announcer Steve Dunne appeared in an episode of The Brady Bunch in which the Brady Kids sang in a talent show (in which he played the host). He also appeared as a TV news reporter in the movie Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory.
• Monty Hall substituted for Wink Martindale for one week.

Episode Status

The status is unknown, and rumored to be wiped/destroyed by NBC. They would reuse the tapes for other programming in an era when videotape was very expensive. Only one complete episode is known to exist because in 2001, a clip of it was seen on The Today Show's segment about game shows.