''Stop the Music'' is a

prime time Prime time or the peak time is the block of broadcast programming taking place during the middle of the evening for a television show. It is mostly targeted towards adults (and sometimes families). It is used by the major television networks to ...

radio

game show A game show is a genre of broadcast viewing entertainment (radio, television, internet, stage or other) where contestants compete for a reward. These programs can either be participatory or Let's Play, demonstrative and are typically directed b ...

that aired on ABC Radio on Sundays, from March 21, 1948 to August 10, 1952.Alex McNeil, "Stop the Music", ''Total Television: The Comprehensive Guide to Programming from 1948 to the Present,'' 4th ed., New York: Penguin Books, 1996, p. 792 ''Stop the Music'' crossed over to

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...

on Thursdays, beginning on May 5, 1949 through April 24, 1952, and again for a half-hour from September 7, 1954, to June 14, 1956. During its first season, ''Stop the Music'' was broadcast on Sundays opposite ''

The Fred Allen Show ''The Fred Allen Show'' is a long-running American radio comedy program starring comedian Fred Allen and his wife Portland Hoffa. Over the course of the program's 17-year run, it was sponsored by Linit Bath Soaps, Hellmann's, Ipana, Sal Hepatica ...

'' on

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...

. This was the radio series responsible for eclipsing Allen's long-running comedy program in the Hooper ratings and forcing its demise. The concept was created by

Mark Goodson Mark Leo Goodson (January 14, 1915 – December 18, 1992) was an American television producer who specialized in game shows, most frequently with his business partner Bill Todman, with whom he created Goodson-Todman Productions. Early life and ea ...

, bandleader

Harry Salter Harry Salter (1899 – March 5, 1984) was an American music director and an orchestra conductor for radio and television programs. One of Salter's radio orchestras in the late 1920s had as members Tommy and Jimmy Dorsey, Artie Shaw, Gene Krupa and ...

, and advertising executive Howard Connell. The show's hosts were

Bert Parks Bert Parks (born Bertram Jacobson; December 30, 1914 – February 2, 1992) was an American actor, singer, and radio and television announcer, best known for hosting the annual Miss America telecast from 1955 to 1979. Early life Parks was bor ...

and

Dennis James Dennis James (born Demie James Sposa, August 24, 1917 – June 3, 1997) was an American television personality, philanthropist, and commercial spokesman. Until 1976, he had appeared on TV more times and for a longer period than any other televi ...

. Similar to the later ''

Name That Tune ''Name That Tune'' is an American television music game show. Originally created and produced by orchestra conductor Harry Salter and his wife Roberta Semple Salter, the series features contestants competing to correctly identify songs being p ...

'' on NBC and then

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainmen ...

, ''Stop the Music'' had players identify songs. After a song was played, a home viewer would be called and could win a prize by correctly naming the song. A correct guess won a prize and a chance to identify a short clip from the Mystery Melody for more prizes. If the viewer missed the first song, the viewer received a gift from the sponsor and members of the audience would be asked to identify the song. Among the vocalists and stars who appeared on ''Stop the Music'' were

Jaye P. Morgan Jaye P. Morgan (born Mary Margaret Morgan) is a retired American popular music singer, actress, and game show panelist. Early life Morgan was born in Mancos in Montezuma County in far southwestern Colorado. Her family moved to California by t ...

, Jimmy Blaine,

June Valli June Valli (June 30, 1928 – March 12, 1993), the stage name of June Foglia, was an American singer and television personality. Early years Born in the Bronx, Valli's father was Italian, and her mother was Austrian. She worked as a bookkeepe ...

, Broadway dancer

Wayne Lamb Michael "Wayne" Lamb (October 24, 1920 – June 5, 2001) was a Broadway dancer, choreographer, theatre director and professor of dance. Beginnings in Kansas Lamb was born in Centerville, Kansas and attended the University of Wichita and the U ...

, Estelle Loring, and

Ann Sheridan Clara Lou "Ann" Sheridan (February 21, 1915 – January 21, 1967) was an American actress and singer. She is best known for her roles in the films ''San Quentin'' (1937) with Humphrey Bogart, ''Angels with Dirty Faces'' (1938) with James Cagne ...

. The

FCC The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains jurisdiction ...

unsuccessfully attempted to ban ''Stop the Music'' and other giveaway shows of its type from television and radio in August 1949. A judicial stay was placed on the FCC's order, and a final ruling would not be brought on the merits of the FCC ban until April 5, 1954, in ''FCC v. American Broadcasting Co., Inc.'', 347 U.S. 284 (1954), when giveaway shows like ''Stop the Music'' were unanimously ruled by the court to be legal. When ''Stop the Music'' began airing on television in 1949, it aired at 9 pm ET on Thursdays for all five of its television seasons except for the 1954–1955 year, when it was broadcast at 10:30 pm ET on Tuesdays. ''Stop the Music'' finished at #23 in the

Nielsen ratings Nielsen Media Research (NMR) is an American firm that measures media audiences, including television, radio, theatre, films (via the AMC Theatres MAP program), and newspapers. Headquartered in New York City, it is best known for the Nielsen rat ...

for the 1950–1951 season. Its competition in the 1951–1952 year was ''

The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show ''The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show'', sometimes called ''The Burns and Allen Show'', was a half-hour television situation comedy broadcast from 1950 to 1958 on CBS. It starred George Burns and Gracie Allen, one of the most enduring acts in ...

'' and ''

Amos 'n' Andy ''Amos 'n' Andy'' is an American radio sitcom about black characters, initially set in Chicago and later in the Harlem section of New York City. While the show had a brief life on 1950s television with black actors, the 1928 to 1960 radio show ...

'', both on CBS. In its last season from 1955 to 1956, it was aired opposite

Jackie Cooper John Cooper Jr. (September 15, 1922 – May 3, 2011) was an American actor, television director, producer, and executive, known universally as Jackie Cooper. He was a child actor who made the transition to an adult career. Cooper was the first ...

's '' The People's Choice'' on NBC.McNeil, ''Total Television'', network television schedule The show was created by

Louis G. Cowan Louis G. Cowan (December 12, 1909 – November 18, 1976) was a president of the CBS broadcasting network in the United States and a creator of quiz shows (including ''Quiz Kids'' radio program, '' Stop the Music'', and ''The $64,000 Question'' fo ...

, previously known for creating the radio and TV series ''

Quiz Kids ''Quiz Kids'' is a radio and TV series originally broadcast in the 1940s and 1950s. Created by Chicago public relations and advertising man Louis G. Cowan, and originally sponsored by Alka-Seltzer, the series was first broadcast on NBC from Chic ...

'' and would later create the big money quiz show ''

The $64,000 Question ''The $64,000 Question'' was an American game show broadcast in primetime on CBS-TV from 1955 to 1958, which became embroiled in the 1950s quiz show scandals. Contestants answered general knowledge questions, earning money which doubled as the ...

''. During ''Stop the Music'''s radio run, one of the co-producers was

who with long-time partner

Bill Todman William Selden Todman (July 31, 1916 – July 29, 1979) was an American television producer and personality born in New York City. He produced many of television's longest-running shows with business partner Mark Goodson, with whom he created ...

had already created the radio hit ''Winner Take All'', and would go on to create many television hit game shows such as ''

What's My Line? ''What's My Line?'' is a panel game show that originally ran in the United States on the CBS Television Network from 1950 to 1967, originally in black and white and later in color, with subsequent U.S. revivals. The game uses celebrity panelis ...

'', ''

Beat the Clock ''Beat the Clock'' is an American television game show that involves people trying to complete challenges to win prizes while faced with a time limit. The show was a creation of Mark Goodson-Bill Todman Productions. The show began on radio as ' ...

'', ''

I've Got a Secret ''I've Got a Secret'' is an American panel game show produced by Mark Goodson and Bill Todman for CBS television. Created by comedy writers Allan Sherman and Howard Merrill, it was a derivative of Goodson-Todman's own panel show, ''What's My Line ...

'', '' To Tell the Truth'', ''

Password A password, sometimes called a passcode (for example in Apple devices), is secret data, typically a string of characters, usually used to confirm a user's identity. Traditionally, passwords were expected to be memorized, but the large number of ...

'', ''

Match Game ''Match Game'' is an American television panel game show that premiered on NBC in 1962 and has been revived several times over the course of the last six decades. The game features contestants trying to match answers given by celebrity panelist ...

'', ''

Family Feud ''Family Feud'' is an American television game show created by Mark Goodson. It features two families who compete to name the most popular answers to survey questions in order to win cash and prizes. The show has had three separate runs, the ...

'', ''

Card Sharks ''Card Sharks'' is an American television game show. It was created by Chester Feldman for Mark Goodson-Bill Todman Productions. The game features two contestants who attempt to predict the outcome of survey questions to gain control of a row o ...

'', and most notably, ''

The Price Is Right ''The Price Is Right'' is a television game show franchise created by Bob Stewart, originally produced by Mark Goodson and Bill Todman; currently it is produced and owned by Fremantle. The franchise centers on television game shows, but also inc ...

''.

References

External links

''Stop the Music'' at IMDB
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stop the Music (American game show) American radio game shows 1940s American game shows 1950s American game shows Musical game shows American Broadcasting Company original programming 1949 American television series debuts 1956 American television series endings Television series based on radio series English-language television shows Black-and-white American television shows American television series revived after cancellation 1940s American radio programs 1950s American radio programs ABC radio programs CBS Radio programs