"Till There Was You" is a

show tune A show tune is a song originally written as part of the score of a work of musical theatre or musical film, especially if the piece in question has become a standard, more or less detached in most people's minds from the original context. T ...

written in 1950 by

Meredith Willson Robert Reiniger Meredith Willson (May 18, 1902 – June 15, 1984) was an American flutist, composer, conductor, musical arranger, bandleader, playwright, and writer. He is perhaps best known for writing the book, music, and lyrics for the 19 ...

, originally entitled "Till I Met You." It was originally recorded October 25, 1950, by Meredith Willson & his Orchestra and Eileen Wilson. The song was retitled and used in his musical play ''

The Music Man ''The Music Man'' is a musical with book, music, and lyrics by Meredith Willson, based on a story by Willson and Franklin Lacey. The plot concerns con man Harold Hill, who poses as a boys' band organizer and leader and sells band instruments ...

'' (1957), and also appeared in the 1962 movie version. It is sung by librarian Marian Paroo (performed by

Barbara Cook Barbara Cook (October 25, 1927 – August 8, 2017) was an American actress and singer who first came to prominence in the 1950s as the lead in the original Broadway musicals '' Plain and Fancy'' (1955), ''Candide'' (1956) and ''The Music Man'' ( ...

on Broadway, and by

Shirley Jones Shirley Mae Jones (born March 31, 1934) is an American actress and singer. In her six decades in show business, she has starred as wholesome characters in a number of musical films, such as '' Oklahoma!'' (1955), ''Carousel'' (1956), and ''The M ...

in the film) to "Professor" Harold Hill (portrayed on Broadway and in the film by Robert Preston) toward the end of Act Two. In 1959, the song became the first of four US Top 40 hits for Anita Bryant. "Till There Was You" was recorded by the Beatles in 1963.

History

The first recording of the song to be released was produced by Nelson Riddle, featuring his orchestra and 17-year-old vocalist

Sue Raney Raelene Claire Claussen, known professionally as Sue Raney (born June 18, 1940, in McPherson, Kansas) is an American jazz singer. Raney was signed by Capitol Records in 1957 at age 17. That same year, she recorded her debut album, ''When Your Love ...

. Promotional copies of the 45 rpm single, Capitol P3847, were released on November 26, 1957, even before the Broadway production had premiered on December 19, 1957, and a month ahead of the original cast album. An earlier version of this song, "Till I Met You", was first recorded by Eileen Wilson in 1950 and later appeared on the January 14, 1951, edition of '' The Big Show'', performed by Fran Warren.

Anita Bryant version

In 1959, American singer Anita Bryant recorded the song "Till There Was You" and released it as a single. Her version reached number 30 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart and number 14 on the '' Cashbox'' Top 100.

Chart performance

The Beatles version

"Till There Was You" was recorded by

the Beatles The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developmen ...

in 1963 and released on their second album ''

With the Beatles ''With the Beatles'' is the second studio album by the English rock band the Beatles. It was released in the United Kingdom on 22 November 1963 on Parlophone, eight months after the band's debut '' Please Please Me''. Produced by George Mar ...

'' (1963) (United Kingdom) and ''

Meet the Beatles! ''Meet the Beatles!'' is a studio album by the English rock band the Beatles, released as their second album in the United States. It was the group's first American album to be issued by Capitol Records, on 20 January 1964 in both mono and ste ...

'' (1964) (United States). It was the only song from a Broadway show released by the band. The Beatles' version is sung by

Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained worldwide fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John Lennon. One ...

, who is accompanied by George Harrison and

John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer, songwriter, musician and peace activist who achieved worldwide fame as founder, co-songwriter, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of ...

on dueling acoustic, classical guitars played in a Spanish style over a

bolero Bolero is a genre of song which originated in eastern Cuba in the late 19th century as part of the trova tradition. Unrelated to the older Spanish dance of the same name, bolero is characterized by sophisticated lyrics dealing with love. It has ...

bongo beat played by Ringo Starr. The song was produced by

George Martin Sir George Henry Martin (3 January 1926 – 8 March 2016) was an English record producer, arranger, composer, conductor, and musician. He was commonly referred to as the " Fifth Beatle" because of his extensive involvement in each of the ...

. Its guitar solo is by George Harrison. The widow of

, the composer of ''The Music Man'', has stated that her husband's estate eventually received more income from the royalties of the Beatles recordings of "Till There Was You" than it originally received from the actual play.

was introduced to Peggy Lee's 1961 cover of the song through his older cousin Bett Robbins, who would occasionally babysit the two McCartney brothers. McCartney said that he "had no idea until much later" that it was from ''The Music Man''. The song was part of their pre-recording repertoire in 1962, and they performed it at the

Star Club The Star-Club was a music club in Hamburg, Germany, that opened on Friday 13 April 1962, and was initially operated by Manfred Weissleder and Horst Fascher. In the 1960s, many of the giants of rock music played at the club. The club closed on 3 ...

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

. It became illustrative of the Beatles' versatility, proving that they could appeal to all sections of an audience, moving easily from softer ballads to harder rock and roll, as in their appearance on November 4, 1963, at the Royal Variety Performance when they followed this song with "

Twist and Shout "Twist and Shout" is a 1961 song written by Phil Medley and Bert Berns (later credited as "Bert Russell"). It was originally recorded by the Top Notes, but it did not become a hit in the record charts until it was reworked by the Isley Brothers ...

". The band had included "'Till There Was You" as part of their unsuccessful

audition An audition is a sample performance by an actor, singer, musician, dancer or other performer. It typically involves the performer displaying their talent through a previously memorized and rehearsed solo piece or by performing a work or piece giv ...

for Decca Records in London on January 1, 1962. It was the second of five songs that they performed during their first appearance on ''

The Ed Sullivan Show ''The Ed Sullivan Show'' is an American television variety show that ran on CBS from June 20, 1948, to March 28, 1971, and was hosted by New York entertainment columnist Ed Sullivan. It was replaced in September 1971 by the '' CBS Sunday Night M ...

'' on February 9, 1964. During said performance, each of the Beatles were introduced by their first name via a subtitle, memorably ending with Lennon, who had the cheeky caption "Sorry girls, he's married:" under his name. Live versions of the song were released on ''

Live at the BBC {{Unreferenced, date=May 2019, bot=noref (GreenC bot) Live at the BBC or BBC Recordings are recordings originally made for or by BBC Radio 1. Many recordings were released under several name variants. Live at the BBC *Live at the BBC (The Beatles ...

'' (1994) and ''

Anthology 1 ''Anthology 1'' is a compilation album by the Beatles, released on 20 November 1995 by Apple Records as part of ''The Beatles Anthology'' series. It features rarities, outtakes and live performances from the period 1958–64, including song ...

'' (1995). A live performance by McCartney appears on his DVD ''

The Space Within US ''The Space Within US'' is a live DVD by Paul McCartney, released in November 2006. It is composed of footage taken during his fall 2005 'US' Tour in the United States in conjunction with his '' Chaos and Creation in the Backyard'' album releas ...

'' (2006). In 2016, the BBC announced that a "holy grail" Beatles record would be auctioned in March of that year, a private pressing which features "Hello Little Girl" and "Till There Was You" and was valued at over £10,000. It was said to be one of the "rarest and most collectable of all Beatles records" by

Mark Lewisohn Mark Lewisohn (born 16 June 1958) is an English historian and biographer. Since the 1980s, he has written many reference books about the Beatles and has worked for EMI, MPL Communications and Apple Corps.

, one of the foremost authorities on the Beatles. The disc eventually sold for £77,500.

Personnel

– lead vocal, bass guitar *

– nylon-string guitar * George Harrison – nylon-string guitar * Ringo Starr –

bongos Bongos ( es, bongó) are an Afro-Cuban percussion instrument consisting of a pair of small open bottomed hand drums of different sizes. They are struck with both hands, most commonly in an eight-stroke pattern called ''martillo'' (hammer). The ...

Other versions

*Jazz vocalist

recorded the tune with the Nelson Riddle Orchestra on October 29, 1957, for her first album, "When Your Lover Has Gone." This recording pre-dated the opening of ''

'' by about 6 weeks. *

Jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

saxophonist The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed on a mouthpiece vibrates to pro ...

Sonny Rollins recorded the song on his groundbreaking album '' Freedom Suite'' (1958). An alternate take is provided on the 1999 CD rerelease. *Guitar instrumentalist

Chet Atkins Chester Burton Atkins (June 20, 1924 – June 30, 2001), known as "Mr. Guitar" and "The Country Gentleman", was an American musician who, along with Owen Bradley and Bob Ferguson, helped create the Nashville sound, the country music ...

recorded the single for his album '' Teensville'' (1960). *In March 1961, "'Til There Was You" was a minor hit in the UK for Peggy Lee. *

Etta Jones Etta Jones (November 25, 1928 – October 16, 2001) was an American jazz singer. Her best-known recordings are "Don't Go to Strangers" and "Save Your Love for Me". She worked with Buddy Johnson, Oliver Nelson, Earl Hines, Barney Bigard, Gene A ...

recorded a version for her album '' Something Nice'' (1961). * Al Hirt released a version on his album, '' Horn A-Plenty'' (1962). *

Nana Mouskouri Ioanna "Nana" Mouskouri ( el, Ιωάννα "Νάνα" Μούσχουρη ) (born 13 October 1934) is a Greek singer. Over the span of her career, she has released over 200 albums in at least twelve languages, including Greek, French, English, Germ ...

recorded a slow, romantic, velvety version as originally the closing track on her acclaimed

Great American Songbook The Great American Songbook is the loosely defined canon of significant early-20th-century American jazz standards, popular songs, and show tunes. Definition According to the Great American Songbook Foundation: The "Great American Songbook" i ...

album '' Nana Mouskouri in New York (The Girl from Greece Sings)'' (1962), produced by

Quincy Jones Quincy Delight Jones Jr. (born March 14, 1933) is an American record producer, musician, songwriter, composer, arranger, and film and television producer. His career spans 70 years in the entertainment industry with a record of 80 Grammy Award n ...

. *In 1962, an instrumental version of Meredith Willson's song by Valjean was also popular. *In 1963,

Sergio Franchi Sergio Franchi (born Sergio Franci Galli; April 6, 1926 – May 1, 1990) was an Italian-American tenor and actor who enjoyed success in the United States and internationally after gaining notice in Britain in the early 1960s. In 1962, RCA Vict ...

recorded this song on his RCA Victor Red Seal album ''Broadway... I Love You''. *In 1966, Marvin Gaye and Kim Weston recorded this song on album ''Take Two''. *In 1974,

Ray Charles Ray Charles Robinson Sr. (September 23, 1930 – June 10, 2004) was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. He is regarded as one of the most iconic and influential singers in history, and was often referred to by contemporaries as "The Ge ...

recorded this song on his Crossover Records album ''Come Live With Me'' * In 1984, Brazilian singer

Beto Guedes Alberto de Castro Guedes (born August 13, 1951) is a Brazilian singer, songwriter, and guitarist. Biography Beto Guedes has been playing in bands since he was a teenager. When he was 18 years old he took part in the V Singers International Fest ...

released a version in Portuguese called "Quando te vi" (When I saw you), written by Ronaldo Bastos. *In 1998,

Ellen Albertini Dow Ellen Rose Albertini Dow (November 16, 1913 – May 4, 2015) was an American film and television character actress and drama coach. She portrayed feisty old ladies and is best known as the rapping grandmother Rosie in ''The Wedding Singer'' ...

sang this in the movie ''

The Wedding Singer ''The Wedding Singer'' is a 1998 American romantic comedy film directed by Frank Coraci, written by Tim Herlihy, and produced by Robert Simonds and Jack Giarraputo. The film stars Adam Sandler, Drew Barrymore, and Christine Taylor, and tells t ...

'', though this rendition does not appear on the official soundtrack. * In 2000, Peter MacNicol,

Lisa Nicole Carson Lisa Nicole Carson is an American actress. She is best known for her roles as Carla in '' ER'' (1996–2001), and Renee Raddick in '' Ally McBeal'' (1997–2002). Carson has also starred in films, most notably as Marti in '' Jason's Lyric'' (1994) ...

, and

Jane Krakowski Jane Krakowski (; ; born October 11, 1968) is an American actress, comedienne, and singer. She is best known for her starring role as Jenna Maroney in the NBC satirical comedy series ''30 Rock'' (2006–2013, 2020), for which she received four ...

performed a version of the song on TV show '' Ally McBeals season 3 episode "Turning Thirty". * In 2003, Rod Stewart recorded his version on his album '' As Time Goes By: The Great American Songbook, Volume II''. *

Piolo Pascual Piolo Jose Nonato Pascual (, born January 12, 1977) is a Filipino film and television actor, singer, model, and producer. Early life Piolo Jose Nonato Pascual was born on January 12, 1977, in Ospital ng Maynila Medical Center located in Malat ...

recorded his version for the like-named 2003 film. *

The Smithereens The Smithereens are an American rock band from Carteret, New Jersey, United States. The group formed in 1980 with members Pat DiNizio (vocals & guitar), Jim Babjak (guitar & vocals), Mike Mesaros (bass guitar & vocals), and Dennis Diken (drum ...

recorded the song on their 2007 album ''

Meet the Smithereens! ''Meet The Smithereens!'' is the seventh studio album by Carteret, New Jersey-based rock band The Smithereens, released in stores on January 16, 2007. The album features the band covering The Beatles' 1964 American album, ''Meet the Beatles!''. ...

'', which consists entirely of cover versions of songs from the ''Meet the Beatles!'' album. * In 2009, Katherine Jenkins recorded the song on her album '' Believe''.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Till There Was You 1957 songs 1959 debut singles 1963 singles Anita Bryant songs Al Hirt songs Shirley Jones songs The Beatles songs Music published by MPL Music Publishing Song recordings produced by George Martin Songs from The Music Man Songs written for films 1950s ballads Songs written by Meredith Willson