Sing It Again

This program first aired on CBS RADIO in September 1948. Musical quiz shows were the rage and CBS decided to out-do them all with a program that would offer first-rate performers and the largest jackpot EVER! Musical conductor Ray Bloch assembled a cast consisting of handsome crooner Alan Dale, songstress Eugenie Baird, and pianist-singer Bob Howard. The m.c. was the smooth and affable Dan Seymour (not to be confused with the portly character actor of the same name). The show's gimmick was this: A song would first be performed straight, then sung again (hence the show's title) with new lyrics, describing a famous celebrity. If the contestant (or a listener, phoned at random) solved this easy puzzle, he would have the opportunity to try to identify the Phantom Voice from the clues that had been piling up during the preceeding weeks. The jackpot was huge for its time: $25,000 in cash and prizes. Proof of the show's popularity is the fact that it was the program featured in the 1950 James Stewart film "JACKPOT" (in which Stewart's life is complicated by winning the show's top prize. In 1950, SING IT AGAIN, became one of the few programs ever to be "simulcast" (broadcast on both radio and television). However, the move to TV resulted in some changes in format. For economic reasons, the size of the jackpot was reduced, and everyone was replaced --- except for singer Alan Dale, who by then had become the show's top attraction. Comedian Jan Murray became the m.c., thus opening the door to comedy sketches, which Dale also excelled at. Alan Dale's collapse (from a perforated ulcer) in 1951 took him off of the show during the crucial May-June ratings sweeps. Dale eventually recovered, but SING IT AGAIN didn't.