January 20, 1975
August 17, 1975
The first Tune In featured in a Sunday Showcase proper is "Lyin' Eyes" by the Eagles. It was the November 9, 1975 issue if you really want to search it out. Why did The Tennessean begin putting the Tune In page in the Sunday Showcase? I would guess the biggest reason is that the Sunday Magazine and it's sub-section Young World ceased to exist and was replaced by the nationally syndicated Parade insert. Here's one of my all time favorite entertainers Groucho Marx on the cover of that first Parade featured in The Tennessean.
From here on out the Tune In section would be in the Sunday Showcase thrilling us kids, teenagers, and adults alike with songs and artists we might sometimes like. It would be popular tunes of the day from rock, country, and soul featured. This was a real treat in an era where the only way to get song lyrics and music was to either buy a songbook or perhaps Hit Parader magazine which featured songs of the day. This part of the Sunday Showcase was usually on one of the last couple of pages of the section right after the Ask Showcase page so I'd flip to the back just to see if I liked the tune or not before starting at the front. I hope all of these tunes take you back to those days. My method for picking the songs was to randomly take a date and see if it was a song I enjoyed back when I was a kid except for one. If you think you know which one I didn't like feel free to add a comment with your guess. One hint: it's not "Hot Rod Hearts." I was rather overjoyed that I found that one randomly. I bought the 45 when I was in 8th grade. I was just a dreamer killing time. I'm posting the songs chronologically.
November 23, 1975
January 18, 1976
August 8, 1976
March 6, 1977
December 18, 1977
February 5, 1978
August 13, 1978
March 11, 1979
August 26, 1979
September 2, 1979
April 13, 1980
October 19, 1980
A few short weeks later on November 2, 1980 Tune In would feature "Coming Out" by Diana Ross. That was a tune that was in heavy rotation at the skating rink just like the "Hot Rod Hearts" single so it's cool to see it here. Next week's paper wouldn't have a Tune In. There is a story about celebrity children facing perils instead. November 16, 1980 would have a song, but it's not labeled Tune In. It's just a country tune called "She Can't Say That Anymore" made popular by John Conlee. "Smoky Mountain Rain" is featured the following week and a Brenda Lee tune in the November 30th edition of the paper. The Milsap sung "Smoky Mountain Rain" had crossed over to the pop charts (I bought the 45) so maybe the paper was just forgetting the Tune In title. Sadly, that wasn't the case. The December 7, 1980 paper revealed that Tune In had been tuned out as from now on only country songs would be featured under the new page title of Nashville Beat. No longer would I flip straight to the back of the Sunday Showcase to see if it was a song I liked. A part of my youth was now gone. It's the nature of life. I loved the Tune In page, but for whatever reason (probably money) it was removed and something else took its spot. This sounds very familiar in light of Nashville's current boom. Oh well, enjoy this Diana Ross song written by Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards of Chic that used to get me roller skating at top speed at Skatecenter West aka Jack's.
December 2, 1980
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