Abstract
The Cal McKinley Collection of Tune-Dex Cards spans from 1943 to 1950 and contains a collection of index cards called Tune-Dex Cards that provide the lyrics and melodies of popular tunes from the late 1940s.
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Date
Extent
Related People/Corporations
Scope and Contents Note
The Cal McKinley Collection of Tune-Dex Cards spans from 1943 to 1950 and contains a collection of index cards called Tune-Dex Cards that provide the lyrics and melodies of popular tunes from the late 1940s.
Access Note
Collection is open for research.
Publication Rights
Materials in this collection may be protected by copyrights and other rights. See Reproductions and Use on the UNLV Special Collections website for more information about reproductions and permissions to publish.
Arrangement
The cards are divided alphabetically, but not within each letter.
Biographical / Historical Note
Musician Cal McKinley was born on December 13, 1918. McKinley was a guitarist during the Big Band Era. McKinley toured with the Andrew Sisters and the Tommy and Jimmy Dorsey Bands. He also did guitar work in Bing Crosby and Bob Hope movies, and did studio work for Decca Records. A native of Chicago, Illinois he moved to Las Vegas, Nevada in 1967. He was active in Las Vegas as a talk show host and later he portrayed the bumbling character "Vinnie Van Gogh" in television commercials. He passed away on September 9, 1989.
In May 1942, George Goodwin, a radio station director released the first Tune-Dex cards. They were printed on 3" x 5"cards. Goodwin provided lyrics, melodies, and chord symbols as well as copyright information. Professional musicians could subscribe and get the cards by mail. The subscriber had no choice in the cards they received, however they were always the popular music of the day. Goodwin promoted the cards until 1963 when poor health forced his retirement.
According to Barry Kernfeld's book, The Story of Fake Books, by the 1950s gangsters were duplicating the Tune-Dex information into bound fake books with prices between $10 to $25.
Preferred Citation
Cal McKinley Collection of Tune-Dex Cards, 1943-1950. MS-00616. Special Collections, University Libraries, University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Las Vegas, Nevada.
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Acquisition Note
Materials were donated in 2010 as a gift of Cal McKinley's estate; accession number 2010-013. Materials were collected by the director of the Arnold Shaw Popular Music Research Center and transferred to Special Collections.
Processing Note
Material was processed by Joyce Moore in 2010.
In 2014, as part of a legacy finding aid conversion project, Hana Gutierrez revised and enhanced the collection description to bring it into compliance with current professional standards. Subsequently Hana Gutierrez entered the data into ArchivesSpace.