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