Written by: Willson
Recorded: 18, 30 July 1963
Producer: George Martin
Engineer: Norman Smith
Released: 22 November 1963 (UK), 20 January 1964 (US)
Paul McCartney: vocals, bass
John Lennon: acoustic rhythm guitar
George Harrison: acoustic lead guitar
Ringo Starr: bongos
Available on:
With The Beatles
Live At The BBC
Anthology 1
Till There Was You, sung by Paul McCartney on the With The Beatles album, was written by Meredith Willson for the 1957 musical The Music Man.
It also appeared in the 1962 film of the same name. McCartney, however, heard the song through Peggy Lee's 1958 version.
I had an elder cousin, Elizabeth Danher, now Robbins. She was quite an influence on me... Betty would play me records like Peggy Lee's Fever. Peggy Lee did Till There Was You as well. I didn't know that was from the musical The Music Man until many years later. This led me to songs like A Taste Of Honey and things which were slightly to the left and the right of rock 'n' roll.
Anthology
The song became part of The Beatles' live set from 1962, with performances taking place in such varied places as Hamburg's Star Club and the Royal Command Performance. They also performed it at their failed audition for Decca Records on 1 January 1962.
I could never see the difference between a beautiful melody and a cool rock 'n' roll song. I learnt to love all the ballady stuff through my dad and relatives - Till There Was You, My Funny Valentine - I thought these were good tunes. The fact that we weren't ashamed of those leanings meants that the band could be a bit more varied. And there was a need for that, because we played cabaret a lot. Songs like Till There Was You and Ain't She Sweet would be the late-night cabaret material. They showed that we weren't just another rock 'n' roll group.The Lennon/McCartney songwriting collaboration was forming during that period. We went on from Love Me Do to writing deeper, much more intense things. So it was just as well someone didn't come up and tell us how uncool Till There Was You was.
Anthology
Till There Was You appealed to McCartney - a fan of musicals and show tunes - and offered a contrast to The Beatles' more rock 'n' roll numbers.
I looked at the recording scene and realised that a few people were taking offbeat songs, putting them into their acts and modernising them a bit. So I looked at a few songs with that in mind. Till There Was You was one; no one was doing that except Peggy Lee so I thought it'd be nice to play.
The Complete Beatles Recording Sessions, Mark Lewisohn
The Beatles performed Till There Was You at their famous appearance at the Royal Command Performance on 4 November 1963. It was later released on 1995's Anthology 1.
The next song we'd like to sing now is one which is a bit slower. This is from the show The Music Man, and it's also been recorded by our favourite American group Sophie Tucker.
Royal Command Performance, 1963
They also recorded it eight times for BBC radio, the first of which took place on 1 June 1963. The Beatles' last version, recorded for the From Us To You programme on 28 February 1964, was included on 1994's Live At The BBC.
Till There Was You was the second song performed during The Beatles' first appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show in America, on 9 February 1964. It was the only song played that night which was not one of their hits.
In the studio
Till There Was You was first recorded on 18 July 1963, during the first session for the With The Beatles LP. On the same day the group also recorded You Really Got A Hold On Me, Money (That's What I Want) and Devil In Her Heart.
The Beatles recorded three takes of the song, two of which were complete. However, it was felt they were unsatisfactory, and a re-make was attempted on 30 July.
During this second session the group recorded takes 4-8, the last of which was selected as the best version. A mono mix was made on 21 August, and a stereo one on 29 October.
Lyrics:
There were bells on a hill
But I never heard them ringing
No, I never heard them at all
Till there was you
There were birds in the sky
But I never saw them winging
No, I never saw them at all
Till there was you
Then there was music and wonderful roses
They tell me in sweet fragrant meadows
Of dawn and dew
There was love all around
But I never heard it singing
No, I never heard it at all
Till there was you
Then there was music and wonderful roses
They tell me in sweet fragrant meadows
Of dawn and dew
There was love all around
But I never heard it singing
No, I never heard it at all
Till there was you
Till there was you
Related articles:
- Live: Adelphi Cinema, Slough
- Paul McCartney is interviewed for the BBC's Scene And Heard
- Live: Odeon Cinema, Leeds
- Ain't She Sweet
- Peggy Sue
This song gets a lot of ridicule, even more than "A Taste of Honey", and not undeservedly so. I myself don't enjoy it nearly as much as "Honey", and the way Paul sings that he never "sawr" the birds winging is supremely irritating. But George's surprising and unique guitar solo nearly makes it worthwhile.
I've always liked this song. Paul does a great vocal and George's playing really stands out in somewhat of a flamenco manner. Yup,George crafts his guitar solo qiute nicely from the first to the last note then delivers it beautifully right into McCartney's next vocal line.
This is highly enjoyable and a vastly superior cover.
The original version that I heard on the radio around 1959 or 1960 was from Anita Bryant.
Wha?????
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Personally, I don't care for "Honey," but I absolutely love this song.
(PS- I love Paul singing "sawr." My mom and I imitate it when we sing along.
Please tell me your kidding!!!! Second Best cover on With the Beatles (money being #1)
You ought to watch George do that solo live - Ed Sullivan for instance - he doesn't even look at the guitar - that's the Hamburg impact.
I've always been intrigued by george's guitar solo on this and wondered if it was original.For years i assumed that he must have copied it from the peggy lee version but on hearing it this isn't the case.It wasn't influenced by George Martin either as he played it on the decca tapes. Can anyone shed any light on this?