Your Hundred Best Tunes
Encyclopedia
Your Hundred Best Tunes was a long-running BBC
radio music programme, always broadcast on Sunday evenings, which presented popular works which were mostly classical excerpts, choral works, opera
and ballad
s. The hundred tunes which made up the playlist were initially selected by the creator and presenter, Alan Keith
. Subsequently, the tunes were suggested by requests and polls of listeners.
It was first broadcast on 15 November 1959 on the BBC Light Programme
under the title The Hundred Best Tunes in the World which it used until 7 February 1960, when Alan Keith's personal list of one hundred had all been played. The more familiar title was adopted from 14 February 1960 onwards. At this point it ran for half an hour from 10 to 10.30 pm, but from 25 December 1960 it was extended and moved earlier in the evening, running from 7.35 to 8.30 pm. From 12 March 1961 it adopted the 9 to 10 pm time slot which it would occupy for the rest of its life, on four different networks; it moved from the Light Programme to the Home Service
from 5 January 1964, and remained there after it became Radio 4
from 1 October 1967, but returned to what had been the Light Programme, now renamed Radio 2
from 5 April 1970.
The last show was transmitted on 21 January 2007 – a remarkable run of over 47 years. For most of this time, it was presented by the original creator, Alan Keith who continued up to the age of 94. After his death in 2003, Richard Baker
presented the show until its conclusion. Holiday guest presenters included Lady Evelyn Barbirolli
, Rosalind Runcie
, Earl Spencer (father of Princess Diana
) and Ursula Vaughan Williams
.
The show was terminated by controversial BBC controller, Lesley Douglas
, who replaced it with a longer Melodies for You
, presented by Alan Titchmarsh
, which continues to play music from the same repertoire.
published a successful ten-volume series of records with the title The World of Your 100 Best Tunes. The BBC published a six-CD collection of the music selected by the final poll listed above.
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
radio music programme, always broadcast on Sunday evenings, which presented popular works which were mostly classical excerpts, choral works, opera
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
and ballad
Ballad
A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads were particularly characteristic of British and Irish popular poetry and song from the later medieval period until the 19th century and used extensively across Europe and later the Americas, Australia and North Africa. Many...
s. The hundred tunes which made up the playlist were initially selected by the creator and presenter, Alan Keith
Alan Keith
Alan Keith OBE was a British actor, disc jockey and radio presenter, noted for being the longest serving and oldest presenter on British radio, at the time of his death aged 94....
. Subsequently, the tunes were suggested by requests and polls of listeners.
It was first broadcast on 15 November 1959 on the BBC Light Programme
BBC Light Programme
The Light Programme was a BBC radio station which broadcast mainstream light entertainment and music from 1945 until 1967, when it was rebranded as BBC Radio 2...
under the title The Hundred Best Tunes in the World which it used until 7 February 1960, when Alan Keith's personal list of one hundred had all been played. The more familiar title was adopted from 14 February 1960 onwards. At this point it ran for half an hour from 10 to 10.30 pm, but from 25 December 1960 it was extended and moved earlier in the evening, running from 7.35 to 8.30 pm. From 12 March 1961 it adopted the 9 to 10 pm time slot which it would occupy for the rest of its life, on four different networks; it moved from the Light Programme to the Home Service
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...
from 5 January 1964, and remained there after it became Radio 4
BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British domestic radio station, operated and owned by the BBC, that broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history. It replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. The station controller is currently Gwyneth Williams, and the...
from 1 October 1967, but returned to what had been the Light Programme, now renamed Radio 2
BBC Radio 2
BBC Radio 2 is one of the BBC's national radio stations and the most popular station in the United Kingdom. Much of its daytime playlist-based programming is best described as Adult Contemporary or AOR, although the station is also noted for its specialist broadcasting of other musical genres...
from 5 April 1970.
The last show was transmitted on 21 January 2007 – a remarkable run of over 47 years. For most of this time, it was presented by the original creator, Alan Keith who continued up to the age of 94. After his death in 2003, Richard Baker
Richard Baker (broadcaster)
Richard Baker OBE is a British broadcaster best known as a newsreader for the BBC News from 1954 to 1982. He was a contemporary of Kenneth Kendall and Robert Dougall and was the first person to read the BBC Television News in 1954. At one time he lived in Barnet, North London...
presented the show until its conclusion. Holiday guest presenters included Lady Evelyn Barbirolli
Evelyn Barbirolli
Evelyn, Lady Barbirolli OBE was an English oboist, and wife of the conductor Sir John Barbirolli.She was born Evelyn Rothwell, and was known professionally by that name until after she was widowed, when she became known as Evelyn Barbirolli...
, Rosalind Runcie
Rosalind Runcie
Angela Rosalind "Lindy" Runcie, Baroness Runcie is a formerly well-known classical pianist and the widow of Robert Runcie, Archbishop of Canterbury.- Family and early life :...
, Earl Spencer (father of Princess Diana
Diana, Princess of Wales
Diana, Princess of Wales was the first wife of Charles, Prince of Wales, whom she married on 29 July 1981, and an international charity and fundraising figure, as well as a preeminent celebrity of the late 20th century...
) and Ursula Vaughan Williams
Ursula Vaughan Williams
Ursula Vaughan Williams, née Joan Ursula Penton Lock was an English poet and author, and biographer of her second husband, the composer Ralph Vaughan Williams.-Biography:...
.
The show was terminated by controversial BBC controller, Lesley Douglas
Lesley Douglas
Lesley Douglas is a former British radio executive. She was the Controller of BBC Radio 2 and 6 Music from early 2004 until her resignation in October 2008 over the Russell Brand Show prank telephone calls row.-Early life:...
, who replaced it with a longer Melodies for You
Melodies for You
Melodies for You is a long-running BBC radio music programme, broadcast on Sunday evenings, which presents works of light popular and classical music....
, presented by Alan Titchmarsh
Alan Titchmarsh
Alan Fred Titchmarsh, MBE DL is an English gardener, broadcaster and novelist. After working as a professional gardener and a garden journalist, he established himself as a media personality through appearances on gardening programmes...
, which continues to play music from the same repertoire.
The hundred best tunes
Polls were taken to confirm the choice of the hundred best tunes. The results of the last poll in 2003 are below. The previous poll was in 1997 and the position of each work in that earlier poll is shown in parentheses.Other media
Alan Keith published a book about the music played in the show. The Decca Record CompanyDecca Records
Decca Records began as a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934; however, owing to World War II, the link with the British company was broken for several decades....
published a successful ten-volume series of records with the title The World of Your 100 Best Tunes. The BBC published a six-CD collection of the music selected by the final poll listed above.