Showtape Stock Music
Creative Engineering Inc tended to use pre-recorded music (usually instrumentals) for their showtapes in order to save time and money of producing it themselves.
The earliest documented is in the 1984 Santa Show - often called 'Uncle Santa'.
The Uncle Santa showtape contained the song instrumentals of 'Holly Jolly Christmas' and 'Jingle Jingle Jingle'. These were taken from the Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer album which was recorded by the Decca Concert Orchestra. Then, they just had the characters sing over it and programmed them to play to the song. The second santa segment had Holly Jolly Christmas in the background of the skit and was increased in volume when the song itself started.
They also used an extract from John Klein's 'Christmas Sound Spectacular Medley' which contained the cover of Santa Claus Is Coming To Town. This was played in the first santa segment along with Jingle Jingle Jingle as the featured song.
In Segment 1 of the 1987 Homely For Christmas Showtape (rereleased in 1989 too) they used a selection of songs from Act 1 of the Nutcracker ballet. Act 1 Scene 2 (March) and Act 1 Scene 5 (Scene and Grandfather's Dance). The album they were from was recorded by Sir Charles Mackerras & London Symphony Orchestra.
In later years, CEI used karaoke tracks made by Midifine Systems and BFM Hits (along with various others depending on the source) for their karaoke shows which had the lyrics on the screens for participants to sing to, and also the main showtapes. Be aware that the artists stated may not be 100% accurate as many companies shared the same tracks.
Below is a bullet point list of what was used:
- ABC - DKKaraoke
- Achy Breaky Heart - Musical Creations Karaoke
- All I Wanna Do (Originally Performed by Sheryl Crow) - BFM Hits
- All Shook Up ((Originally Performed by Elvis Presley) [Karaoke Version]) - MIDIFINE Systems
- Back Home Again (Karaoke Version) (Originally Performed By John Denver) - Country Karaoke Cowboys
- Bamboleo ((Originally Performed by Gypsy Kings) [Karaoke Version]) - Hit Tunes Karaoke
- Besame Mucho ((Originally Performed By Spanish Lawrence S E Gorme) [Karaoke Version]) - Hit Tunes Karaoke
- The Brady Bunch - BFM Hits
- But It's Alright (Originally Performed by Huey Lewis and the News) (Karaoke Version) - BFM Hits
- Do Your Ears Hang Low (Originally Performed by Traditional) (Karaoke Version) - The Karaoke Channel
- Don't Turn Around (Originally Performed by Ace of Base) [Karaoke Version] - BFM Hits
- The Chicken Dance (Cover Version) - Dancing Stars
- Gilligan's Island (Originally Performed by Classic Tv Themes) [Karaoke Version] - BFM Hits
- Happy Birthday To You (Made Popular By Standard) [Karaoke Version] - Party Tyme Karaoke
- Itsy Bitsy Teeny Weenie (Instrumental Version) - Hit Crew Masters
- The Way She Loves Me (Originally Performed By Richard Marx) (Karaoke Version) - Hit Tunes Karaoke
- I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie Honey Bunch) - The Hit Crew
- If You're Happy and You Know It (Originally Performed by Traditional) [Karaoke Version] - The Karaoke Channel
- I've Been Working on the Railroad (Originally Performed by Traditional) [Karaoke Version] - The Karaoke Channel
- John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt (Originally Performed by Traditional) [Karaoke Version] - The Karaoke Channel
- John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt [In the Style of "Traditional"] {Karaoke Demonstration Version With Lead Vocal} - The Karaoke Channel
- Hey! Baby ((Originally Performed by Bruce Channel) [Karaoke Version]) - MIDIFINE Systems
- Lil' Red Riding Hood (Karaoke Version) (Originally Performed By Sam The Sham And The Pharaohs) - Charttraxx Karaoke/Nice Vibe
- Love Shack (Originally Performed By B52's) - SPKT
- Lucky One - BFM Hits
- My Boyfriend's Back ((Originally Performed by The Angels) [Karaoke Version]) - BFM Hits
- Old Macdonald - DKKaraoke
- Old Time Rock & Roll (Originally Performed by Bob Seger) (Karaoke Version) - Cooltone Karaoke
- Amor, Amor, Amor - MIDIFINE Systems
- Take Me Out to The Ballgame ((Originally Performed by Children) [Karaoke Version]) - MIDIFINE Systems
- Thank God I'm A Country Boy (As Made Famous By: John Denver) - The Hit Crew
- Waterfalls (Album Instrumental) - TLC
- Two Princes ((Originally Performed by Spin Doctors) [Karaoke Version]) - MIDIFINE Systems
- Viva Las Vegas ((Originally Performed by Elvis Presley) [Karaoke Version]) - MIDIFINE Systems
- Yankee Doodle - DKKaraoke
While producing the Hannah Banana Showtapes, CEI also used pre-made instrumentals to use as background music along with versions of RAE Showtapes without the vocals as removed in the multitracks:
- ...Baby One More Time (Instrumental) - Britney Spears
- I Will Survive (Karaoke Version) - Studio Sound Group
- If I Fall You're Going Down with Me (Karaoke Version) - Musical Creations Studio Musicians (Karaoke)/SBI Audio Karaoke
- If You Can Do Anything Else (Instrumental) - The Hit Crew
- Like The Way I Do (As Made Famous By Melissa Etheridge) - Super Diva All-stars
- Run Run Rudolph - Creative Engineering/Clutch
- Walkin' After Midnight (Originally Performed by Patsy Cline) [Karaoke Version] - BFM Hits