Musical Chairs (1975 TV series)

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This article is about the 1975 CBS TV game show Musical Chairs. For the 1955 NBC game show of the same name hosted by Bill Leyden, see Musical Chairs (1955 TV series) .
Musical Chairs
Format Game Show
Starring Adam Wade
Country of origin Flag of the United States United States
No. of episodes 95
Production
Running time 30 Minutes
Broadcast
Original channel CBS
Picture format NTSC
Original run June 16, 1975 – October 31, 1975


Musical Chairs was a game show that aired from June 16 to October 31, 1975 on CBS. Adam Wade hosted, making him the first African-American host of a game show. The show was recorded at the Ed Sullivan Theater (CBS Studio 50) in New York City. Sportscaster Pat Hernon served as the announcer for the show.

Also usually appearing were guest singers and musical groups, among them The Tokens, The Spinners, and Sister Sledge, as well as up and coming singers and stars such as Alaina Reed, Kelly Garrett, Jane Olivor, and Irene Cara.

[edit] Format

Four contestants competed (with three new challengers and the returning champion (or a new challenger)).

Three rounds and nine songs were played. A singer (host Wade and/or one of the guest performers) would begin to sing a song, but would stop at a certain point. At said point, Wade would ask the players a question with a set of three possible answers. The contestants would then lock their answers in - with their desks showing the order in which the competitors rang in their answers. The first 3 who rang in correctly in round 1 won $50 each, the first two in the second round $75, and the first in the third and final round $100.

At the end of each round, the player with the smallest prize total left the game (but kept the money that was won). After the third round, the player with the most money won the game and competed in a "rapid fire" bonus round in which the contestant was expected to name each song that was sung (with the singer humming through any place that would "normally" would have the title being mentioned in the song). Getting a certain amount in 60 seconds won a bonus prize. A few months later, the show dropped the bonus round, but towards the end, a new bonus round was created. The lyric to a song was shown, with ten of its words missing. Each time a word was correctly in place, he/she earned $100 more, but getting all 10 in the proper place within 30 seconds won $2,000.

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