Collection Guide
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Tune-Dex cards
PASC-M.0274
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Table of contents
Language of Material:
English
Contributing Institution:
UCLA Library Special Collections
Title: Tune-Dex cards
creator:
Goodwin, George, 1900-1966
Identifier/Call Number: PASC-M.0274
Physical Description:
3.4 Linear Feet
(17 shoe boxes)
Date (inclusive): circa 1942-1963
Abstract: Collection consists of two sets of Tune-Dex cards and unfiled cards.
Physical Location: Stored off-site at SRLF. Advance notice is required for access to the collection. Please contact the UCLA Library Special
Collections Reference Desk for paging information.
COLLECTION STORED OFF-SITE AT SRLF: Open for research. Advance notice required for access. Contact the UCLA Library Special
Collections Reference Desk for paging information.
Restrictions on Use and Reproduction
Property rights to the physical object belong to the UCLA Library Special Collections. Literary rights, including copyright,
are retained by the creators and their heirs. It is the responsibility of the researcher to determine who holds the copyright
and pursue the copyright owner or his or her heir for permission to publish where The UC Regents do not hold the copyright.
[Identification of item], Tune-Dex Cards (PASC-M 274). UCLA Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library,
University of California, Los Angeles.
UCLA Catalog Record ID:
5331550
The Tune-Dex card system was introduced in 1942 by George Goodwin, a radio station program director, as a subscription service
for radio stations, music professionals, and musicians to keep track of popular songs. Each index card included song title,
songwriter, date of original publication, licensing and rights information, and arrangements and orchestrations available,
with keys and prices noted. The cards also provided the basic melody or chorus and lyrics for each song. The cocktail lounge
music trend in the 1940s and 1950s, which often required musicians to take requests and know numerous songs, contributed to
the popularity of the Tune-Dex card system. Goodwin created approximately 25,000 cards over the course of the service's existence.
Tune-Dex ceased operations in 1963 and Goodwin died in 1965. The concept of the Tune-Dex system eventually morphed into the
more-portable fake books.
(See Barry Kernfeld, The Story of Fake Books: Bootlegging Songs to Musicians; Scarecrow Press, 2006.)
This collection consists of two sets of Tune-Dex cards, each arranged alphabetically by title, as well as a small amount of
unfiled cards. Songs are mostly pop tunes from the 1940s and 1950s, and include titles such as "From a School Ring to a Wedding
Ring" (1956), "Marshmallow Moon" (1952), and "E-Bob-O-Lee-Bop" (1946).
The collection is organized into the following series:
- Series 1. Set 1
- Series 2. Set 2
- Series 3. Unfiled cards
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Popular music -- Fake books