My Music
Encyclopedia
My Music was a radio panel show which premiered on the BBC Home Service
on January 3, 1967. It was a companion program to My Word!
, and like that show featured comic writers Denis Norden
and Frank Muir
. It was also broadcast via the BBC World Service
. There was also a short television series on BBC2
.
My Music followed My Word!s pattern of two teams of two competing in a series of challenges, based this time on music rather than words. Again, the quiz element was subordinate to the entertainment. In later years, each episode featured a final round in which each contestant was required to sing a song, regardless of his vocal ability. Initially, this was a genuine test of whether the contestants knew the songs, but later the songs were always ones that they were certain to know. Indeed, towards the end Denis Norden decided what song he would sing, supplying some rather bizarre ones. Many of these were written by the English music hall
songwriters R. P. Weston
and Bert Lee
.
The teams were
The show was hosted for its entire run by composer Steve Race
, who also set the challenges (after an early period in which they were set by series creator Edward J. Mason
) and provided piano accompaniment where appropriate (except in the first five series, in which accompaniment was provided by Graham Dalley on mellotron
). Neither Race nor Wallace missed a single one of the more than 520 episodes broadcast.
Graham Dalley, the series' first accompanist, also composed the signature tune, and his original mellotron version was used from 1967-75. A new arrangement of the theme, featuring trumpet
s, bass guitar
, electric guitar
, conga
drums, and cabasa
, was used from 1976, and was succeeded in 1983 by an arrangement for piano.
Producers of the series included Tony Shryane
and Pete Atkin
.
The show was last recorded in November 1993 and broadcast in January 1994. It is still rerun in The UK on BBC7, in Australia
and the United States
.
In the US the show is syndicated on the WFMT
radio network.
BBC Home Service
The BBC Home Service was a British national radio station which broadcast from 1939 until 1967.-Development:Between the 1920s and the outbreak of The Second World War, the BBC had developed two nationwide radio services, the BBC National Programme and the BBC Regional Programme...
on January 3, 1967. It was a companion program to My Word!
My Word!
My Word! was a long-running radio panel game broadcast by the BBC on the Home Service and Radio 4 . It was created by Edward J. Mason and Tony Shryane, and featured comic writers Denis Norden and Frank Muir, famous in Britain for the series Take It From Here...
, and like that show featured comic writers Denis Norden
Denis Norden
Denis Mostyn Norden CBE is a former English comedy writer and television presenter. After an early career working in cinemas, he began scriptwriting during World War II. From 1948 to 1959, he co-wrote the successful BBC Radio comedy programme Take It from Here with Frank Muir...
and Frank Muir
Frank Muir
Frank Herbert Muir was an English comedy writer, radio and television personality, and raconteur. His writing and performing partnership with Denis Norden endured for most of their careers. Together they wrote BBC radio's Take It From Here for over 10 years, and then appeared on BBC radio...
. It was also broadcast via the BBC World Service
BBC World Service
The BBC World Service is the world's largest international broadcaster, broadcasting in 27 languages to many parts of the world via analogue and digital shortwave, internet streaming and podcasting, satellite, FM and MW relays...
. There was also a short television series on BBC2
BBC Two
BBC Two is the second television channel operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It covers a wide range of subject matter, but tending towards more 'highbrow' programmes than the more mainstream and popular BBC One. Like the BBC's other domestic TV and radio...
.
My Music followed My Word!s pattern of two teams of two competing in a series of challenges, based this time on music rather than words. Again, the quiz element was subordinate to the entertainment. In later years, each episode featured a final round in which each contestant was required to sing a song, regardless of his vocal ability. Initially, this was a genuine test of whether the contestants knew the songs, but later the songs were always ones that they were certain to know. Indeed, towards the end Denis Norden decided what song he would sing, supplying some rather bizarre ones. Many of these were written by the English music hall
Music hall
Music Hall is a type of British theatrical entertainment which was popular between 1850 and 1960. The term can refer to:# A particular form of variety entertainment involving a mixture of popular song, comedy and speciality acts...
songwriters R. P. Weston
R. P. Weston
Robert Patrick Weston was an English songwriter. He was born and died in London. Among other songs, he co-authored , "With Her Head Tucked Underneath Her Arm", a macabre little ditty about the ghost of Anne Boleyn haunting the Tower of London, seeking revenge on Henry VIII for having her...
and Bert Lee
Bert Lee
Bert Lee was an English songwriter. He wrote for music hall and the musical stage, often in partnership with R. P. Weston.Lee was born 11 June 1880 in Ravensthorpe, Yorkshire, England....
.
The teams were
- 1967-1973: Ian WallaceIan Wallace (singer)Ian Bryce Wallace OBE was a British bass-baritone opera and concert singer, actor and broadcaster of Scottish extraction....
and Denis Norden versus David FranklinDavid Franklin (broadcaster)David Franklin was a British opera singer and broadcaster.Born in London in 1908, David Franklin originally trained as a schoolteacher. A bass singing in amateur productions, he was discovered in 1934 by John Christie, the founder of the Glyndebourne festival...
and Frank Muir - 1974-1994: Ian Wallace and Denis Norden versus John AmisJohn AmisJohn Preston Amis , is a British broadcaster, classical music critic, music administrator, and writer. He has been a frequent contributor for The Guardian and to BBC radio and television music programming....
and Frank Muir
The show was hosted for its entire run by composer Steve Race
Steve Race
Stephen Russell Race OBE was a British composer, pianist and radio and television presenter.-Biography:Born in Lincoln, the son of a lawyer, Race learned the piano from the age of five...
, who also set the challenges (after an early period in which they were set by series creator Edward J. Mason
Edward J. Mason
Edward J. Mason was born on May 8, 1912 in Birmingham, England and died on February 3, 1971. He was a script writer for radio, television and movies for both the British Broadcasting Corporation and its rival Radio Luxembourg.-Brief biography:Edward J...
) and provided piano accompaniment where appropriate (except in the first five series, in which accompaniment was provided by Graham Dalley on mellotron
Mellotron
The Mellotron is an electro-mechanical, polyphonic tape replay keyboard originally developed and built in Birmingham, England in the early 1960s. It superseded the Chamberlin Music Master, which was the world's first sample-playback keyboard intended for music...
). Neither Race nor Wallace missed a single one of the more than 520 episodes broadcast.
Graham Dalley, the series' first accompanist, also composed the signature tune, and his original mellotron version was used from 1967-75. A new arrangement of the theme, featuring trumpet
Trumpet
The trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...
s, bass guitar
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
, electric guitar
Electric guitar
An electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker...
, conga
Conga
The conga, or more properly the tumbadora, is a tall, narrow, single-headed Cuban drum with African antecedents. It is thought to be derived from the Makuta drums or similar drums associated with Afro-Cubans of Central African descent. A person who plays conga is called a conguero...
drums, and cabasa
Cabasa
The cabasa, similar to the shekere, is a percussion instrument that is constructed with loops of steel ball chain wrapped around a wide cylinder. The cylinder is fixed to a long, narrow wooden or plastic handle....
, was used from 1976, and was succeeded in 1983 by an arrangement for piano.
Producers of the series included Tony Shryane
Tony Shryane
Anthony Joseph Shryane was a long-serving producer of radio programs for the British Broadcasting Corporation.He was born in Harborne, Birmingham....
and Pete Atkin
Pete Atkin
Pete Atkin is a British singer-songwriter and radio producer notable for his 1970s musical collaborations with Clive James and for producing the BBC Radio 4 series This Sceptred Isle.-Early life:...
.
The show was last recorded in November 1993 and broadcast in January 1994. It is still rerun in The UK on BBC7, in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
and the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
In the US the show is syndicated on the WFMT
WFMT
WFMT is an FM radio station in Chicago, Illinois, featuring a format of fine arts, classical music programming, and shows exploring such genres as folk and jazz). The station is managed by Window To The World Communications, Inc., owner of WTTW, one of Chicago's two Public Broadcasting Service ...
radio network.
Further reading
- Race, Steve (1979) My Music; with the contributions of Frank Muir, Denis Norden, Ian Wallace, John Amis and David Franklin; drawings by John Jensen. London: Robson ISBN 0860510727 (Based on the radio and television program My music, "the panel game originated by Edward J. Mason and Tony Shryane.")
External links
- My Music via streaming audio
- My Music via streaming audio
- My Music by Steve Race (1980)