"Wait 'Till the Sun Shines, Nellie" is a

1905 As the second year of the massive Russo-Japanese War begins, more than 100,000 die in the largest world battles of that era, and the war chaos leads to the 1905 Russian Revolution against Nicholas II of Russia (Shostakovich's 11th Symphony i ...

popular Popularity or social status is the quality of being well liked, admired or well known to a particular group. Popular may also refer to: In sociology * Popular culture * Popular fiction * Popular music * Popular science * Populace, the total ...

song A song is a musical composition intended to be performed by the human voice. This is often done at distinct and fixed pitches (melodies) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs contain various forms, such as those including the repetitio ...

with music written by

Harry Von Tilzer Harry Von Tilzer (born Aaron Gumbinsky, also known as Harry Gumm; 8 July 1872 – 10 January 1946) was an American composer, songwriter, publisher and vaudeville performer. Early life Von Tilzer was born in Detroit, Michigan. His parents, Sarah ...

and lyrics by Andrew B. Sterling.

History

"Wait 'Till the Sun Shines, Nellie" has been recorded many times and is now considered a

pop standard Traditional pop (also known as classic pop and pre-rock and roll pop) is Western pop music that generally pre-dates the advent of rock and roll in the mid-1950s. The most popular and enduring songs from this era of music are known as pop standards ...

. The first recorded versions were by

Byron G. Harlan Byron George Harlan (August 29, 1861 – September 11, 1936) was an American singer from Kansas, a comic minstrel singer and balladeer who often recorded with Arthur Collins. The two together were often billed as "Collins & Harlan". Solo rec ...

and

Harry Tally Harry Lee Tally (June 30, 1866 – August 16, 1939) was an American tenor singer of popular songs, who recorded between 1902 and 1917. Biography He was born in Memphis, Tennessee, and began performing in a popular vaudeville act, the Empire ...

Bing Crosby Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby Jr. (May 3, 1903 – October 14, 1977) was an American singer, musician and actor. The first multimedia star, he was one of the most popular and influential musical artists of the 20th century worldwide. He was a ...

and

Mary Martin Mary Virginia Martin (December 1, 1913 – November 3, 1990) was an American actress and singer. A muse of Rodgers and Hammerstein, she originated many leading roles on stage over her career, including Nellie Forbush in '' South Pacific'' (194 ...

sang it in the 1941 film ''

Birth of the Blues ''Birth of the Blues'' is a 1941 American musical film directed by Victor Schertzinger and starring Bing Crosby, Mary Martin and Brian Donlevy. The plot loosely follows the origins and breakthrough success of the Original Dixieland Jass Band i ...

'' and also recorded it for

Decca Records Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis (Decca), Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934 by Lewis, Jack Kapp, American Decca's first president, and Milton Rackmil, who later became American ...

on March 13, 1942.

Harry James Harry Haag James (March 15, 1916 – July 5, 1983) was an American musician who is best known as a trumpet-playing band leader who led a big band from 1939 to 1946. He broke up his band for a short period in 1947 but shortly after he reorganized ...

recorded a version in 1941 on Columbia 36466. In a long-standing tradition,

floor trader A floor trader is a member of a stock or commodities exchange who trades on the floor of that exchange for his or her own account. The floor trader must abide by trading rules similar to those of the exchange specialists who trade on behalf of ot ...

s at the

New York Stock Exchange The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE, nicknamed "The Big Board") is an American stock exchange in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It is by far the world's largest stock exchange by market capitalization of its listed c ...

sing this song on the last trading day of every year and on Christmas Eve. The song has been the stock exchange anthem at least back as far as 1934. It is also a popular song in

barbershop music Barbershop vocal harmony, as codified during the barbershop revival era (1930s–present), is a style of a cappella close harmony, or unaccompanied vocal music, characterized by consonant four-part chords for every melody note in a primarily ...

. It appeared as a country music hit as performed by the Golden Memory Boys in the summer of 1940. In the months before his death in 1959,

Buddy Holly Charles Hardin Holley (September 7, 1936 – February 3, 1959), known as Buddy Holly, was an American singer and songwriter who was a central and pioneering figure of mid-1950s rock and roll. He was born to a musical family in Lubbock, Texas ...

made a recording of "Wait 'Till the Sun Shines, Nellie" and other songs now called the "Apartment Tapes", which he was making as notes for himself while chilling in his living room at his home in New York City. Nowadays this cover of "Wait 'Till the Sun Shines, Nellie" by Buddy Holly is at the top of searches on YouTube for this song title. His original recording by himself on guitar can be found. Also the released version which has been remixed with added 'backup singers' and instruments is easy to find and is a longer version. A sample of the song, sung ''a capella'' by Tom Bromley, an elderly First World War veteran, appears on the

Roger Waters George Roger Waters (born 6 September 1943) is an English musician, singer-songwriter and composer. In 1965, he co-founded the progressive rock band Pink Floyd. Waters initially served as the bassist, but following the departure of singer-so ...

1992 album ''

Amused to Death ''Amused to Death'' is the third studio album by English musician Roger Waters, released 7 September 1992 on Columbia. Produced by Waters and Patrick Leonard, it is mixed in QSound to enhance its spatial feel. The album features Jeff Beck o ...

'' at the end of the track "What God Wants (Part III)". The clip is from

BBC television BBC Television is a service of the BBC. The corporation has operated a public broadcast television service in the United Kingdom, under the terms of a royal charter, since 1927. It produced television programmes from its own studios from 193 ...

's 1991 ''

Everyman The everyman is a stock character of fiction. An ordinary and humble character, the everyman is generally a protagonist whose benign conduct fosters the audience's identification with them. Origin The term ''everyman'' was used as early as ...

'' documentary, "A Game of Ghosts".

Film appearances

The song has been featured in many films and found ideal for the purpose of evoking a period flavor. * 1941 ''

'' * 1941 ''

The Strawberry Blonde ''The Strawberry Blonde'' is a 1941 American romantic comedy film directed by Raoul Walsh, starring James Cagney and Olivia de Havilland, and featuring Rita Hayworth, Alan Hale, Jack Carson, and George Tobias. Set in New York City aroun ...

'' * 1947 ''

I Wonder Who's Kissing Her Now "I Wonder Who's Kissing Her Now" is a popular song. The music was written by Harold Orlob, the lyrics by Will M. Hough and Frank R. Adams. Orlob worked for Joseph E. Howard generating songs for Howard's productions and Howard presented the song a ...

'' - sung on stage by a quartet * 1949 ''

In the Good Old Summertime ''In the Good Old Summertime'' is a 1949 American Technicolor musical film directed by Robert Z. Leonard. It stars Judy Garland, Van Johnson, S.Z. Sakall, Spring Byington, Clinton Sundberg, and Buster Keaton in his first featured film role at M ...

'' - sung by George Boyce, Eddie Jackson, Joe Niemeyer, and Charles Smith * 1950 ''

Father Is a Bachelor ''Father Is a Bachelor'' is a 1950 American musical romantic comedy film directed by Abby Berlin and Norman Foster. It stars William Holden and Coleen Gray. Plot Carefree vagabond Johnny Rutledge is stuck in a small town when his medicine show ...

'' * 1952 '' Wait Till the Sun Shines, Nellie'' * 2013 ''The Pink Marble Egg'' - sung by

Jonathan King Jonathan King (born Kenneth George King; 6 December 1944) is an English singer, songwriter and record producer. He first came to prominence in 1965 when "Everyone's Gone to the Moon", a song that he wrote and sang while still an undergraduate, ...

References

External links

* {{Authority control 1905 songs Songs with music by Harry Von Tilzer Songs with lyrics by Andrew B. Sterling