Broadway's Most Romantic Love Song - A Survey

[jo]

BWW has surveyed some 1200 performers, composers, and other industry players --

www.broadwayworld.com/vday/

There are 40 pages to navigate

But it seems there is a preponderance of votes for --

*IF I LOVED YOU - from Carousel. Not surprising as this has been voted as such in other forums and media outlets.





*There are quite a few votes for 'TIL THERE WAS YOU from The Music Man ( Looking forward to Hugh and Sutton singing this love duet - live and in the OCR) --



And the song became even more famous when Paul McCartney discovered it and the Beatles did a cover.





*But a huge turnout of votes for Rodgers & Hammerstein (Some Enchanted Evening, People Will Say We're In Love. including of course If I Loved You).



*Second most cited composer is Stephen Sondheim ( although I am not too sure that they chose him for Favorite Song and not Romantic Love Song...although songs he wrote lyrics for, together with composer Bernstein were popular))


*A sprinkling of votes for Andrew Lloyd Webber ( mostly All I Ask of You, although 2 of my favorites sneaked in)

*Some Lerner & Lowe ( from Camelot and My Fair Lady)

*Surprising old-time favorite ( apart from 'Til There Was You) was All The Things You Are


I would say that old-time musicals rather than the present crop hit is big as solo favorite love songs.

Jo

[njr]

That performance by the Beatles was the Royal Command Performance. Paul was only 21 and very nervous, as you can tell by his sweating and messing up the lyric (“they send me” instead of “they tell me”)

[mamaleh]

I don’t recall the Beatles covering more than a couple of songs, notably “Twist and Shout” and “Til There Was You.” So they must’ve thought very highly of that song.

By the way—While I like it, I posted my personal favorites on that BWW thread as “Almost Like Being in Love” and “Heather on the Hill.”

Ellen

[jo]

The story goes that he heard his relative ( who was supposed to be minding the young McCartney boys) play that song ...and it intrigued Paul enough... to have considered it in his future repertoire. It seems that initially he did not even know it was from a musical, which turned out to be The Music Man. His company is supposed to be the owner to the rights of the songs from The Music Man.

From Wikipedia --

ln 1963, The Beatles covered "Till There Was You" on their second LP With the Beatles (issued on Meet the Beatles! in the United States). Willson's widow later told The New York Times that his estate made more money from the royalties of the Beatles' recordings of "Till There Was You" than it did from the musical.[33]

Elsewhere - pls read the first article and there is mention that his company's acquisitions of music rights include MEREDITH WILLSON MUSIC.

books.google.com.ph/books?id=fA0EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA30&lpg=PA30&dq=does+paul+mccartney's+company+own+the+music+rights+to+the+music+man?&source=bl&ots=8vuhhPO1Cg&sig=ACfU3U1p0t_Y4cO_-aYxMxUHc1XeYnM5zg&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiVp77A9NnnAhW_y4sBHRJaAe8Q6AEwDXoECA8QAQ#v=onepage&q=does%20paul%20mccartney's%20company%20own%20the%20music%20rights%20to%20the%20music%20man%3F&f=false


It would be such an event to have him present at Opening Night of the revival on October 15, 2020!

Jo

[njr]

As I posted in the other thread (before I saw this) Paul’s company, MPL, does own the rights to ‘Til There Was You, among many other songs including the entire Buddy Holly catalog.

en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/MPL_Communications

And Ellen, in the early years, The Beatles recorded and/or sang quite a few covers such as Roll Over Beethoven, Long Tall Sally and MANY others!

en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_songs_covered_by_the_Beatles

P.S. I never heard that story about how Paul heard the song. Where did you get that? The reason I ask is because the musical first came out on Broadway in 1957 when Paul was 15. He hardly would have needed a babysitter then! (his brother is 18 months younger) The musical didn’t play in London’s West End until 1961.

Nancy

[jo]

Yes, that was why I wrote " the story goes..." some disputed that version because of the ages of the teeners then.

I searched again today -- and this seems to be the more credible version :

www.beatlesbible.com/songs/till-there-was-you/

The Beatles’ songs – complete A-Z list!

Till There Was You

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
On Air – Live At The BBC Volume 2



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.

(Jo's note : Oh Wow!! That was the version I recently found which was such a great surprise! I will repost what I wrote about it)

"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."

Paul McCartney
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 meant 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."

Paul McCartney
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."

Paul McCartney
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."

Paul McCartney
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

It's very interesting to know that " 'Til There Was You" had been an influence in McCartney's musical taste.

So, the Peggy Lee version drew him to the song - I don't think that was too well-known.


Jo

[jo]

Feb 15, 2020 0:08:52 GMT -5 jo said:

This is a surprise - a once-famous sultry and smoky-voiced singer named Peggy Lee gives TIL THERE WAS YOU her own interpretation.

A bit jazzy or is it a it of Latin rhythm, but it works very well, too!




I also watched a clip of Kristin Chenoweth singing the song -- she did it with her excellent soprano tones... but I am not so sure... will modern theatre audiences ( especially the preferred demos of 18-49 years old) react to a different style or range for this song?

Personally, maybe I wouldn't mind if Sutton gave the song her very own interpretation.


Jo

[njr]

Feb 18, 2020 17:56:29 GMT -5 jo said:

Yes, that was why I wrote " the story goes..." some disputed that version because of the ages of the teeners then.

I searched again today -- and this seems to be the more credible version :

www.beatlesbible.com/songs/till-there-was-you/

The Beatles’ songs – complete A-Z list!

Till There Was You

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
On Air – Live At The BBC Volume 2



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.

(Jo's note : Oh Wow!! That was the version I recently found which was such a great surprise! I will repost what I wrote about it)

"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."

Paul McCartney
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 meant 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."

Paul McCartney
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."

Paul McCartney
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."

Paul McCartney
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

It's very interesting to know that " 'Til There Was You" had been an influence in McCartney's musical taste.

So, the Peggy Lee version drew him to the song - I don't think that was too well-known.


Jo

Yes, that is definitely a more credible recounting, especially since Paul told it himself! I knew about most of the other info. Here’s a fun fact: Elizabeth’s (Bett’s) mother was Paul’s father’s sister Annie. Annie married Bert Danher who was Paul’s mother’s first cousin!

Nancy