WEDNESDAY, March 24, 2010—Peter Abide

THEME: "That Tune Is Named"—Three songs with "[possessive name] + [word referring to the song itself]" titles embody NAME THAT TUNE.

Theme entries:

• 17A: [John Denver #1 hit] ("ANNIE'S SONG").
  
• 39A: ["Guys and Dolls" showstopper] (ADELAIDE'S LAMENT). I don't know this song at all. So I headed to YouTube and watched the 10-minute excerpt featuring Frank Sinatra and Vivian Blaine. Whoa. Her lament is that being strung along for 14 years by Nathan Detroit has caused her to develop psychosomatic cold symptoms?
  
• 61A: ["Dr. Zhivago" melody] (LARA'S THEME). This instrumental piece was popular in the '70s.
  
• 67A, 68A, 69A: [WIth 68-Across and 69-Across, classic game show, and this puzzle's title] (NAME / THAT / TUNE).
  

Amy's Top Ten:

• 1A: [Hippo's attire in "Fantasia"] (TUTU). First of all, it's a cute image. Second, TUTU is fun to say. Like the next two rhyming answers:
• 21A: [Campaign funders] (FAT CATS).
  
• 30A: [Rub elbows (with)] (HOBNOB).
• 1D: [Repulsive sort] (TOAD). I rarely think of anyone as a toad, but I'm going to make a point of it from here on out.
• 9D: [Shell collector, maybe] (BEACH BUM). I considered posting a picture of a man in a thong, but that's altogether the wrong kind of BEACH BUM.
• 12D: [Meek] (MOUSY). I was a mousy kid. I outgrew it.
• 25D: [Legendary siren] (LORELEI). From the Rhine River in Germany. LORELEI is the name of a famous rocky outcropping as well as a mythical creature who lured sailors to their demise with her song. Crikey, that Wikipedia article lists all sorts of "other" spellings of the name that, if you ask me, are nothing more than woeful misspellings. Have never seen any of those versions before.
• 40D: [It includes terms of endearment] (LOVE NOTE). Aw, isn't that sweet?
  
• 46D: [Diacritical pair of dots] (UMLAUT). That's the diacritical mark seen in this wörd, not the vertical pair of dots seen here:
• 57D: [Llama land] (PERU). Alliterative clues are an old standby in crosswords, but I don't recall seeing this particular clue before.

Crosswordese 101:—The 19A: Largest of the Near Islands is called ATTU. It's sometimes clued as the Westernmost Aleutian island (of Alaska). Less frequently, an Aleutian island clue is looking for ATKA, so I usually plunk down AT** for any Alaskan island type of clue and let the crossings sort out which one it is. T is a more common letter than K, so ATTU is the one it usually is.

Everything Else — 1A: Hippo's attire in "Fantasia" (TUTU); 5A: Fashionably smart (CHIC); 9A: Sun ray (BEAM); 13A: Actress Lena (OLIN); 14A: "Lion's share" fabulist (AESOP); 16A: Hockey great Phil, familiarly (ESPO); 17A: John Denver #1 hit (ANNIE'S SONG); 19A: Largest of the Near Islands (ATTU); 20A: Place for a massage (DAY SPA); 21A: Campaign funders (FAT CATS); 23A: Locale in a 1987 Cheech Marin title (EAST LA); 26A: "Yay!" ("OH BOY!"); 27A: Charon's river (STYX); 30A: Rub elbows (with) (HOBNOB); 32A: Western __: history class, briefly (CIV); 33A: Industry kingpin (CZAR); 35A: Bullies (ABUSES); 39A: "Guys and Dolls" showstopper (ADELAIDE'S LAMENT); 42A: Mississippi River explorer (DESOTO); 43A: Take charge (LEAD); 44A: Baby talk word (GOO); 45A: Trial sites (VENUES); 47A: Rough file sound (RASP); 48A: Measuring tool (RULER); 51A: Billiards blunder (MISCUE); 54A: Fork or spoon (UTENSIL); 56A: Longtime buddy (OLD PAL); 60A: __-Honey: candy (BIT-O); 61A: "Dr. Zhivago" melody (LARA'S THEME); 64A: "Cool" rapper? (ICE-T); 65A: Polished (SUAVE); 66A: They're removed via shafts (ORES); 67A: With 68-Across and 69-Across, classic game show, and this puzzle's title (NAME); 68A: See 67-Across (THAT); 69A: See 67-Across (TUNE); 1D: Repulsive sort (TOAD); 2D: Bone near the funny bone (ULNA); 3D: Mite-sized (TINY); 4D: Like many salons (UNISEX); 5D: Andalusia abodes (CASAS); 6D: Bulls and boars (HES); 7D: Prefix with metric (ISO-); 8D: Informal discussion (CONFAB); 9D: Shell collector, maybe (BEACH BUM); 10D: Cornerstone abbr. (ESTAB.); 11D: Is __: likely will (APT TO); 12D: Meek (MOUSY); 15D: Org. for drivers? (PGA); 18D: Eco-friendly fed gp. (EPA); 22D: "Tough luck" ("TOO BAD"); 24D: Senator Cochran of Mississippi (THAD); 25D: Legendary siren (LORELEI); 27D: Big batch (SCAD); 28D: Mariner's concern (TIDE); 29D: Part of YSL (YVES); 31D: "The Lion King" lioness (NALA); 33D: Furnishes food for (CATERS); 34D: Temple area of Jerusalem (ZION); 36D: "Sonic the Hedgehog" developer (SEGA); 37D: Grandson of Eve (ENOS); 38D: Train station (STOP); 40D: It includes terms of endearment (LOVE NOTE); 41D: Meeting of Cong. (SESS.); 46D: Diacritical pair of dots (UMLAUT); 47D: On a winning streak (RED HOT); 48D: Apply before cooking, as spice to meat (RUB IN); 49D: New York city (UTICA); 50D: "Who cares if they do?!" ("LET 'EM!"); 52D: Math subgroup (COSET); 53D: Last: Abbr. (ULT.); 55D: They, in Calais (ILS); 57D: Llama land (PERU); 58D: Church approval (AMEN); 59D: Suffix with Congo (-LESE); 62D: Rooting sound (RAH); 63D: Gardner of "On the Beach" (AVA).