“TILL THERE WAS YOU”

(Meredith Willson)

The significance of the song “Till There Was You” within The Beatles' recorded canon appears to be infinitesimally small to most Beatles fans, many not having knowledge of them even recording the track. In fact, some sheet music books claiming to include all the released Beatles material omit the song, not because of it being a cover song, but simply because they forgot to include it.

The actual truth of the matter is that this song was a major determining factor in The Beatles being signed to EMI’s Parlophone Records in Britain, thereby catapulting them to success throughout the world. If it wasn’t for The Beatles adding “Till There Was You” to their repertoire, they no doubt would have had the same fate of most of the "beat groups" of the Liverpool music scene, such as Cass and The Casanovas, Derry and The Seniors and Rory Storm and The Hurricanes.

January 1st, 1962, was a monumental day in The Beatles' career. Brian Epstein had arranged an audition for the group at Decca Records and had hand-picked fifteen songs for them to perform that day. His intent was to display every facet of their talent, so he chose to incorporate a couple of softer ballads in the hopes of appealing to a more adult audience. Their audition was recorded in full on that day to enable the A & R staff to review the recordings in making their decision about signing the group to their record label.

In early February of that year, the news had reached the ears of Brian Epstein that Decca had decided not to sign The Beatles to their label. When the band became aware of this, John Lennon blamed Brian Epstein for them failing the audition, saying that his choice of songs was not a good representation of their live rock and roll performances. Nonetheless, one good outcome of the Decca audition was Brian Epstein acquiring two reel-to-reel tapes of the session, which were professional recordings of the fifteen songs The Beatles played on that day. 

Brian Epstein decided to transfer these tapes to records shortly thereafter, thus enabling him to easily play these songs to other record companies in hopes of securing a firm recording deal. Interestingly, the 78 rpm disc Brian Epstein created of "Till There Was You" (with Lennon's "Hello Little Girl" on the b-side) has surfaced in 2016, being stored in the loft of Gerry & The Pacemaker's keyboardist Les Maguire wrapped in paper for over 50 years. It sold at an auction in Britain for 77,500 pounds, allowing Les Maguire's daughter to purchase a house.

On February 13th, 1962, Brian Epstein met up with George Martin, who was head of the A & R Department at EMI’s Parlophone Records. George Martin, who had been looking for the next pop idol to be secured to his small label, eagerly listened to the discs of their Decca audition. Although not overly-impressed, “Till There Was You” stuck out like a sore thumb. He was impressed by George Harrison's guitar work as well as McCartney’s vocals, which earmarked Paul as a possible lead singer of the group in George Martin’s mind. He concluded that it might be worth his while giving The Beatles a proper audition for EMI, which was later slated for June 6th, 1962.

As it turned out, John Lennon was wrong in this case. It was the inclusion of the soft ballad “Till There Was You” that got The Beatles the audition with EMI, thus leading to the band being signed up to the Parlophone label. This event, in turn, gave them the opportunity to display what they were capable of as performers and songwriters which, shortly thereafter, made the group a household name around the world. The power that this song and The Beatles’ performance of it wielded was remembered by Brian Epstein, as it was wheeled out on different strategic occasions when they were in a position to impress, such as at the Royal Command Performance at the Prince Of Wales Theatre on November 4th, 1963, and their dubut Ed Sullivan Show appearance on February 9th, 1964.

Another occasion that warranted "Till There Was You" being showcased was the recording of their second UK album “With The Beatles.” With their huge backlog of cover songs that they regularly included in their set lists during the previous few years, it was an obvious choice to feature this impressive song, which basically got the group their recording contract in the first place.

Songwriting History

“Till There Was You” was composed by playwright, songwriter and conductor Meredith Willson, but it was originally entitled "Till I Met You" as was first recorded by vocalist Eileen Wilson on October 25th, 1950 and debuted on a January 14th, 1951 episode of NBC's radio program "The Big Show" sung by Fran Warren. Eventually, Meridith Willson changed the title into "Till There Was You" and later adapted the piece for his Tony and Grammy Award winning musical “The Music Man.” Meredith Willson, born Robert Meredith Reiniger, attended Julliard in New York City (back when it was called the Institute of Musical Art) becoming an accomplished flautist and piccolo player. He was privileged to be a member of John Philip Sousa’s band from 1921 to 1923, and The New York Philharmonic Orchestra between 1924 and 1929.

Meredith Willson started working in the movie industry shortly thereafter, garnering Academy Award nominations for his efforts with Charlie Chaplin‘s “The Great Dictator” in 1940 as well as “The Little Foxes” from 1941. During World War II, Meredith Willson worked with Armed Forces Radio Service, featuring Bill Boodwin, George Burns and Gracie Allewn. This led to Meredith Willson earning himself a regular role on the Burns And Allen radio show, as well as serving as bandleader. After the war ended, he became the musical director for the NBC comedy/variety radio program entitled “The Big Show” featuring Tallulah Bankhead as its host, his earlier incarnation of "Till There Was You" being broadcast therein as detailed above. “May The Good Lord Bless And Keep You” was the title of the famous song that Meredith Willson wrote as featured on this program.

Meredith Willson composed a total of four musicals during his lifetime, the first and most successful one being “The Music Man,” having its Broadway debut in 1957. After around eight years and thirty revisions to complete, he wrote over 40 songs for the musical, which included his new revision of “Till There Was You.” This song was so highly respected that it came out as a single on Capitol Records before the musical premiered on Broadway. Promo copies of the single were released on November 26th, 1957, which was produced by Nelson Riddle and sung by seventeen-year-old Sue Raney.

The cast recording album for this musical, released in January of 1958, won the first Grammy Award for the category Best Original Cast Album (Broadway or TV) ever issued. The soundtrack album features “Till There Was You” sung by actress Barbara Cook. This play was adapted for the big screen in 1962 and featured actress Shirley Jones singing the song, this also being included on the "Music Man" Origianal Soundtrack album.

After three further musicals (“Here's Love," "1491" and "The Unsinkable Molly Brown"), Meredith Willson did maintain a career in music, releasing an album entitled “…and Then I Wrote The Music Man” (credited to Rini and Meredith Willson) on Capitol, as well as writing the University of Iowa’s fight song “For I For S Forever.” Meredith Willson also wrote two biographies, the first being “And There I Stood With My Piccolo” in 1948, and then “But He Doesn’t Know The Territory” in 1959. Having died on June 15, 1984, he was most known as a songwriter of very well-crafted, subtle yet complex melodies that appealed to mass audiences of the time. His overall claim to fame was his writing the book, music and lyrics for the Broadway hit musical “The Music Man,” which featured the beautiful “Till There Was You.”

The song, as featured in Act Two of "The Music Man," was a vehicle for the female lead character named Marian Paroo (played by Shirley Jones in the movie) to sing to the male lead character Harold as they meet at the agreed upon place, which was at the footbridge. Marian Paroo here proceeds to tell Harold about the impact he has made in her life through the lyrics of this song.

"Till There Was You" has been recorded by many artists, including the hit version by Anita Bryant (with Monty Kelly and His Orchestra), this single peaking at #30 on the US Billboard chart in mid 1959 (#14 in Cahbox). The recording of the song that caught the attention of Paul McCartney was the rendition by Peggy Lee as recorded on the LP “Latin ala Lee!” released January of 1960. "My cousin Betty Danher," Paul explained in his book "The Lyrics," "was a big influence musically. She loved singing and introduced me to material like 'My Funny Valentine' and 'Till There Was You,' which I later performed with The Beatles."

Paul elaborated more in the book "Beatles Anthology," “I did not 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 and roll...I could never see the difference between a beautiful melody and a cool rock and roll song. I leart to love all the ballady stuff through my father and relatives - 'Till There Was You,' 'My Funny Valentine' - I thought these were good tunes. The fact that we were not ashamed of those leanings meant that the band could be a bit more varied. There was a need for that, because we played cabaret a lot...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 somebody didn't come up and tell us how uncool 'Till There Was You' was."

Peggy Lee’s version, with its jazzy-styled lead guitar and vocal stylings, became the basis for The Beatles' adaptation. McCartney skillfully rearranged the song to showcase the four-piece guitar/bass/drums lineup but also perfecting it respectfully with its Broadway-esque sentimentality in the most confident way that he could. Peggy Lee continued to have an admirer in Paul who composed and produced the title track of her 1974 album “Let’s Love.” 

Recording History

January 1st, 1962, this being the first day The Beatles entered a recording studio to record the song “Till There Was You,” was actually the very first time that the band entered any proper recording studio at all. This was their audition for Decca Records at Decca Studios down in London, its location being less than two miles from EMI Studios where they were to procure their official recording contract later that same year. Brian Epstein hand-picked "Till There Was You" for the audition to display the band's versitility, this selection also being featured on a suggested song list he prepared for their initial EMI session six months later.

Since this hour long session at Decca Studios started at 11 am, and they recorded a total of fifteen songs in one hour, "Till There Was You" was recorded at around 11:10 am. It seems quite likely that only one take of each song was recorded at this audition, so the band's being so well acquainted with their arrangement of this song was very handy. The subdued drumming of current drummer Pete Best was unsteady and rudimentary and thus did not suit their arrangement very well, although Paul’s vocals were respectful and convincing, right down to the raised final note. Harrison’s guitar solo, which was played two times at this stage, was polished and highly impressive.

This impressive guitar solo was also heard on April 4th, 1963 at Stowe School in the Roxburth Hall where the group played 22 songs between 6:30 and 7:30 pm. A very clear private recording of "Till There Was You" was captured by John Bloomfield, a fifteen-year-old student in the audience of Roxburgh Hall with his trusty reel-to-reel tape recorder, this concert occurring nearly three months before The Beatles officially recorded the song as released on their British album "With The Beatles."

The Beatles then recorded "Till There Was You" three times for British radio, the first one being on June 1st, 1963 at BBC Paris Studio in London between 1:30 and 5:30 pm for the second installment of their BBC radio program “Pop Go The Beatles,” this recording produced by Terry Henebery and broadcast on June 11th between 5 and 5:29 pm. This song was later recorded on June 24th, 1963 at The Playhouse Theatre in London between 5:30 and 6:30 pm for the popular radio show “Saturday Club,” which was produced by Jimmy Grant and Bernie Andrews and broadcast on June 29th between 10 am and 12 noon. 

July 10th, 1963 was their third recording of the song for the BBC, this happening in Studio Two of Aeolian Hall in London between 1:30 and 3:30 pm for the seventh edition of “Pop Go The Beatles,” this produced by Terry Henebery and broadcast on July 30th between 5 and 5:29 pm. It is interesting to note here that, among all of the cover songs that the band was recording for BBC radio broadcasts, they felt strong enough about "Till There Was You" at the time to officially record it for their second British album.

Having failed the Decca audition, the next official studio appearance of this song was on July 18th, 1963 at EMI Studio Two during the group's first recording session for their second album that they eventually called “With The Beatles.” "I looked at the recording scene," McCartney related in Mark Lewisohn's 1988 book "The Beatles Recording Sessions," "and realized that a few people were taking offbeat songs, putting them into their acts and modernizing 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." At approximately 10 pm, they ran through three takes of the song, two of them complete, before deciding to return to the song on another day. Their instrumentation was the same as the Decca session a year and a half earlier, this time with Ringo on the drum kit.

July 30th, 1963, was the date that The Beatles' officially recorded their version of "Till There Was You" in EMI Studio Two, this date being a full day of recording for their second British LP. The evening session ran from 5 to 11 pm which, after George Martin overdubbed piano edit pieces for “Money (That’s What I Want),” the band started their remake of “Till There Was You.” It was decided, probably by George Martin, that drums were too obtrusive for this ballad, so Ringo was moved to a pair of bongos courtesy of the EMI collection.

The remake of the song was recorded between 5:30 to 6 pm approximately and required just five takes to perfect, which were numbered "take four" through "take eight" to take into account the three takes they recorded at the previous session. The arrangement was modified from their Decca audition to have only one guitar solo, which also eliminated the need for a further repeat of the bridge and a final verse. "Take eight" was considered best, this being a full band live performance without any overdubs needed.

August 21st, 1963 saw the mono mix of the song being tackled, which was attended only by George Martin and engineers Norman Smith and Geoff Emerick in the EMI Studio Two control room. October 29th, 1963 saw the stereo mix of the song created in the EMI Studio Three control room by the same staff, with the addition of the mysterious B.T. as second engineer. This was the stereo mix heard on the stereo version of "Meet The Beatles!" as well as the mono version because of Capitol Records choosing to create a mono "Type B" mix down of the stereo mix.

The Beatles recorded "Till There Was You" five more times for BBC broadcast, the first being on September 3rd, 1963 in Studio Two of Aeolian Hall in London between 2 and 4:30 pm for the thirteenth edition of “Pop Go The Beatles,” which was produced by Terry Henebery and aired on September 10th, 1963 between 5 and 5:29 pm. Then came the "Royal Command Performance" recording of the song on November 4th, 1963 at London's Prince Of Wales Theatre, this being broadcast on the BBC Radio Light Programme on November 10th between 7:35 and 8:30 pm, as well as on ITV British television that same day.

Then on December 17th, 1963, the group recorded it yet again at The Playhouse Theatre in London between 3 and 6:30 pm for “Saturday Club,” which aired on December 21st between 10 am and 12 noon. They recorded the song again the following day, December 18th, 1963, at BBC Paris Studio in London between 7 and 10:30 pm for the first edition of their new radio program “From Us To You,” which was produced by Bryant Marriott and broadcast on December 26th between 10 am and 12 noon. Their February 28th, 1964 recording of the song in Studio One of BBC Piccadilly Studios in London between 6:30 and 9 pm was produced by Bryant Marriott and aired on the second installment of the radio show “From Us To You” on March 30th of that year.

The Beatles did touch on the song one more time on January 10th, 1969, during the recording/filming sessions for the "Get Back/Let It Be" project. This happened at Twickenham Film Studios but did not appear in the movie or soundtrack album. 

Song Structure and Style

The song structure utilized for “Till There Was You” could very well have been the model used by Lennon and McCartney for their early songwriting years, this being the perfect song structure example for that time period. We see here that classic case of 'verse/ verse/ bridge/ verse' (aaba) with the title of the song at the end of every verse used as a hook-line that identifies, without any doubt, the song's title, along with this as being the obvious intention of the lyrical story. This identical model was incorporated to superb effect in Lennon / McCartney originals up until this time, such as in “I Saw Her Standing There,” “Misery” and “From Me To You,” and would also continue to be utilized and expanded upon throughout their career. In this case, though, a solo section is included, which is played over the verse chords as is standard, followed by another bridge and then a repetition of the final verse.

It all begins with a four measure instrumental introduction with some raising guitar chords and a simple but effective precursor to the solo we will hear from George Harrison a little bit later on. The first verse begins with McCartney’s convincing vocal work but differs from the song's other verses in structure only by its raised ending phrase, which creates an anticipation for the verse that comes afterward. The eight measure bridge generates an interesting contrast with its octave jump in the melody line, thus revealing Paul’s vocal abilities. The next transition back to another verse creates quite a satisfying feeling to the arrangement, as the structure's conclusion allows the listener to feel that everything has been said. Harrison’s beautiful guitar solo is then heard against the chord structure of a verse, which is then followed by a repeat of the bridge and third verse. A six measure conclusion to the song follows the final verse, emphasizing once again the song's title, with the final note dramatically held through two chord changes before the final acoustic guitar strum concludes the song with a delicate touch of finality. This, therefore, is a masterful example of songwriting from a composer with much experience under his belt.

For aspiring songwriters such as The Beatles, quite a lot could be absorbed from this model, as has been the case. In the "Beatles Anthology" book, McCartney explained, “The Lennon/McCartney songwriting collaboration was forming during that period. We went on from ‘Love Me Do’ into writing deeper, much more intense things. So it was just as well that somebody didn’t come up and tell us how uncool ‘Till There Was You’ was.”

These lyrics, although perfectly appropriate for “The Music Man” as well as to the time period, do come across as particularly schmaltzy within The Beatles' catalog. The sentimentality delivered here, with lines such as “wonderful roses” and “fragrant meadows of dawn and dew,” sound extremely dated compared to the youth-oriented “yeah, yeah, yeah”s most Beatles' fans were used to at this time. Keeping in mind the purpose of the inclusion of "Till There Was You" in their repertoire, The Beatles overlooked these old fashioned lyrics in order to show their versatility as well as to impress an older generation.

Not to say that The Beatles couldn’t poke a little fun at the extreme schmaltz of the lyrics, evident in the over-pronunciation of the “c” of the word ‘music’ on their Decca recording of the song, as well as the American-ized pronunciation of the word “saw” as “sar” in the released version. Paul continued this ruse during 1963, as later evidenced on the “Royal Variety Performance” in November, but relented to the seriousness the group needed to portray at their American premier on “The Ed Sullivan Show” in 1964 by singing it straight.

The song's lyrics expressed the simple sentiment of not having been able to enjoy the loveliness of life, such as bells ringing and birds “winging,” until the singer met his/her true love. As the bridge testified, “music” was then realized for the first time, as well as finally noticing “love all around” the singer that was never noticed “till there was you.” Hardly the stereotype of storytelling that appeared in popular songwriting of the mid '60s, but a prime model of what a perfectly suited set of lyrics can convey with the suitable melody to accompany it. It definitely tugs at the heart-strings in its context of “The Music Man.”

As stated earlier, McCartney’s vocals are "spot on" as to pitch, as well as sung in a respectable and convincing manner. His bass playing, which showed up higher in this mix because of the subdued acoustic arrangement, was well done throughout while not straying too much from the key notes, except for when the guitar solo is performed. This allowed him to concentrate on adding a little more intrcacy, since the song was recorded live without any overdubs and he wasn’t singing during the solo.

George is next to be commended because of his tastefully conceived and executed acoustic guitar solo. Second only to his being able to imitate his guitar hero Carl Perkins, Harrison shines the most on this track out of all of the early Beatles catalog. He also contributed little nuances to the song which added a great degree of credibility to his musicianship and to The Beatles as a whole.

After ditching the idea of using the full drum kit arrangement as Pete Best did in their Decca audition, Ringo pulls off a capable and very suitable percussion part on the bongos. It is interesting to note that Ringo played a full drum kit in a subdued fashion when they performed the song live, which was done proficiently without the awkwardness apparent in the Pete Best recording at the Decca audition. John, playing strident rhythm guitar chords, shows himself adept at applying himself to what may otherwise be not his "cup of tea." As stated above by Paul, “The fact that we were not ashamed of those leanings meant that the band could be a bit more varied.”   

American Releases

January 20th, 1964, was the first US Beatles release date of their rendition of "Till There Was You" on Capitol's "Meet The Beatles!" LP, this song being the only selection from a Broadway show that the group ever officially recorded or released. Incidentally, as detailed above, the mono version of this LP contained a "Type B" foldover mix of the song created by Capitol by combining together both of the channels of their stereo mix instead of using the legitimate mono mix created at EMI by George Martin. This album was eventually released on compact disc on January 21st, 2014, both the mono and stereo mixes being contained on a single CD. A mono edition of the album on opaque blue vinyl came out on November 22nd, 2024 for sale exclusively at Target stores. 

Although Capitol Records decided back in 1964 to omit cover material on their first American album, thinking that US audiences would not be interested in hearing a British group redo American hits, they did allow this track to be included. Their decision was most likely based on their being informed that the group was due to perform "Till There Was You" on the upcoming Ed Sullivan Show. Showing the versatility of The Beatles may also have been a determining factor in including the song on the album.

Unfortunately, this great performance wasn't considered by anybody at EMI to be of enough lasting value to be included on any compilation or "greatest hits" album to date. In retrospect, it probably was just as well because of the old-fashioned nature of the song in contrast to the swinging "beat" style that the earlier Beatles' catalog is known for. Nonetheless, Elizabeth "Peggy" Willson, the widow of the song's composer Meredith Willson, stated that her husband's estate received more income from The Beatles' recording of "Till There Was You" than what the song received as part of "The Music Man."

There were, however, other Beatles releases that contained this song. The somewhat controversial album released on Lingasong Records on June 13th, 1977 entitled “Live! at the Star Club in Hamburg, Germany; 1962” included The Beatles playing “Till There Was You.” The group's final reluctant performances in Hamburg during the 1962 Christmas season were crudely taped on a Grundig home recorder and, after changing hands many times, commercially released in 1977 on this album, after a failed attempt from Capitol to prevent the release. 

The crude recordings were then licensed to Pickwick Records in 1978, this label supposedly cleaning up the tapes somewhat and releasing three volumes of albums entitled "Recorded Live In Hamburg 1962" sometime in 1978. This primitive Beatles recording of "Till There Was You" was contained on "Volume 1" of this set of albums. Pickwick later repackaged the recordings into two volumes in 1979, “1st Live Recordings, Volume One” featuring this selection. Pickwick then combined both of these volumes into a double-album (featuring "Till There Was You") entitled "The Historic First Live Recordings," which was released in 1980. Then the label Hall Of Music also released these Hamburg tapes as "Live - 1962 - Hamburg Germany" in 1981.  

1982 also saw another release of the Hamburg recording of "Till There Was You," this time on a 45. Collectables Records paired this track with their Hamburg rendition of "Everybody's Trying To Be My Baby" as the b-side.

In the '80s, many small labels gained access to the band's January 1st, 1962 Decca audition tape and took their chances with releasing it commercially, these containing "Till There Was You" with Pete Best on drums. The first one appears to have been "Dawn Of The Silver Beatles" on Pac Records, this being released sometime in 1981. Then came the album "Like Dreamers Do" that came out on Backstage Records in May of 1982, this release appearing as both a conventional vinyl album and as a picture disc, a 1982 interview with Pete Best and mid '60s interviews with The Beatles included. Also in 1982, the Audio Rarities label released the album "Silver Beatles," which featured the same Decca audition. Next, Audio-Fidelity Records released the album "The Complete Silver Beatles" on September 10th, 1982, a single from this album, complete with picture sleeve, being released in October of that year that featured "Till There Was You” as the b-side to "Money (That's What I Want)."

Evatone Records sponsored a limited edition release of the Decca recording of "Till There Was You" in 1983. This flexi-disc, which also included their Decca version of "Three Cool Cats" on the same side of the record, was distributed only to customers who purchased a recent US Record Price Guide. Printing on the disc states "From the LP 'Like Dreamers Do,'" which refers to the May 1982 released album of the same name on Backstage Records mentioned above.

Then, in January of 1987 when music enthusiasts were anxiously awaiting the official releasing of The Beatles catalog on compact disc, Romance Records released the CD "Raw Energy" which also contained The Beatles' Decca audition of "Till There Was You." Lawsuits were filed afterward and, since the true ownership of these tapes haven't been determined, the complete set of these 15 songs have not been officially available in full as of this date. However, Apple Records received permission to release a handful of The Beatles' Decca audition tracks on the 1995 “Anthology 1” album, but “Till There Was You” was not included.

The first time that the original UK "With The Beatles" album was made available in the US was the "Original Master Recording" vinyl edition that was distributed through Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab in January of 1987. This album, which included "Till There Was You," was prepared by utilizing half-speed mastering technology from the original master tape on loan from EMI. This release had a limited production, reportedly because of a damaged metal part needed for pressing the vinyl. Therefore, this release is said to be the rarest and most valuable Beatles LP within the “Original Master Recording” series.

While music fans continued to anticipate the release of The Beatles' catalog on CD, K-Tel Records thought to cash in on all of this expectation by releasing "Live In Hamburg '62" in early February 1987, which was just prior to the release of the first four Beatles albums by Apple Records. Many Beatles enthusiasts couldn't resist owning a live CD by their favorite group that featured 20 tracks including "Till There Was You," not realizing that the source of this release was the identical low fidelity recording that had been released many times before on vinyl, as detailed above.

February 26th, 1987 saw this song on the original British LP "With The Beatles" released on compact disc for the first time, a vinyl edition of this album being released on July 21st, 1987. While these releases were mono only, the remastered stereo version on compact disc was released on September 9th, 2009, a vinyl stereo edition coming out on November 13th, 2012.  

December 6th, 1994, witnessed yet another release of this song on Apple's “Live At The BBC.” Recorded February 28th, 1964 for the BBC broadcast “From Us To You,” it originally aired on March 30th, 1964 and was included as the final track of the first disc of this double CD set. Later, a remastered and re-packaged version of this set came out on November 11th, 2013.

The next American release of this song was on November 21st, 1995 on Apple Record's “Anthology 1.” This historic November 4th, 1963 live version they recorded at the “Royal Command Performance” included Paul’s introductory speech that included his acknowledgement of its appearance in “The Music Man” and his subtle joke about this track also being recorded by “our favorite American group, Sophie Tucker,” this being was a sly reference to her being overweight.

November 15th, 2004 saw the release of the CD box set “The Capitol Albums, Vol. 1” which contains the song in both stereo and "type B" foldover mono as contained on the original "Meet The Beatles!" album.

On September 9th, 2009, the CD box set “The Beatles In Mono” was released which featured the newly remastered mono mix of "Till There Was You." The vinyl edition of this box set was later released on September 9th, 2014. 

Yet another recording of this song was featured on their album "On Air - Live At The BBC Volume 2," which was released on November 11th, 2013. This version was recorded on July 10th, 1963 (nearly three weeks before their album version was recorded) for the radio program "Pop Go The Beatles." Notice George's amazingly fluent guitar solo as well as the final vocal flourish from Paul that was unlike their official version. Also released at this time was a fourteen-track sampler of this album for promotional purposes, this version of "Till There Was You" being included therein.

On December 17th, 2013, iTunes released a 59 track compilation called "Bootleg Recordings 1963," this album being available only on their downloading platform. Three versions of "Till There Was You" were included, these being the December 21st, 1963 recording for "Saturday Club," the June 11th, 1963 version for the show "Pop Go The Beatles," and the December 26th, 1963 rendition recorded for the program "From Us To You." The purpose of this release was to extend the copyright of these recordings under European Union law from 50 years (which would have expired at the end of 2013) to 70 years (until 2033), this being considered as an official release. This compilation album was only available in America on that date to those in the know for a few hours for $39.99 in its entirety or to be purchased as individual tracks, but was later made available for purchase as well.

On April 20th, 2024, Apple released "Till There Was You" as one of four 3" singles on Record Store Day as an "RSD Exclusive Release." Only 1500 copies of each of these 3" singles were produced, but they could only be listened to on miniature 3" turntables. Conveniently, Crosley Manufacturing also released a limited edition package on this day that included a special Beatles' Mini Turntable, record carrying case and all four of these Beatles' singles. These releases were in celebration of the 60th Anniversary of The Beatles' first appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show on February 9th, 1964.

Live Performances

Evidence suggests that The Beatles added “Till There Was You” into their repertoire sometime in early 1961 during their extensive recidency at the Cavern Club. Paul would humorously introduce it by saying it was a "Peggy Leg" song while John poked fun at him for singing such an unconventional song. At times John would annouce this song as coming from the musical "The Muscle Man," something that McCartney would take in stride knowing it was all part of the act. “We were now playing better places,” Paul stated, saying that they could now “pull out ‘Till There Was You’ or ‘A Taste Of Honey’ – the more cabaret things” now that the band was playing higher paying gigs. Songs like these “showed that we weren’t just another rock’n’roll group,” says McCartney.

They continued to play it at their Cavern Club dates as well as their other daily gigs throughout the years 1962 and 1963. "The Beatles Christmas Show," the British stage production conceived by Brian Epstein, included the song in each of its 16 dates which stretched from December 24th, 1963 through January 11th, 1964.

This song continued through a lot of 1964 as well, including their first US concerts at the Washington Coliseum and Carnegie Hall in February. On June 4th, their world tour started, "Till There Was You" being featured within their set list. It was during this tour that they retired the song for good, June 17th in Melbourne, Australia being documented as the final time the song was played by The Beatles.

They made five television performances of the song as well, the first being the "Royal Command Performance" which took place on November 4th, 1963 and aired in Britain on November 10th of that year. Then came a live concert on December 7th, 1963 at the Empire Theatre in Liverpool, which became the UK television show "It's The Beatles!" which aired later that same evening. Then came the famous live American "Ed Sullivan Show" appearance on February 9th, 1964, followed by the British show "Big Night Out," this being a mimed performance of the song filmed on February 23rd, 1964 and aired on February 29th of that year. Finally, there was an Australian concert on June 17th, 1964 that featured the song, this show being broadcast on television in that country on July 1st of that year with the title "The Beatles Sing For Shell."

Paul McCartney did finally resurrect the song for his 2005 "The 'US' Tour," which stretched from Sept. 16th (at American Airlines Arena, Miami, Florida) to Nov. 30th (Los Angeles, California). A great version of Paul and his band performing “Till There Was You” from this tour can be seen on the concert DVD “The Space Within US.” 

Conclusion

Perhaps the band's recording of “Till There Was You” was best described by writer William Mann in his essay printed in The London Times on December 23rd, 1963. He remarked: “How fresh and euphonious the ordinary guitars sound in The Beatles' rendition of 'Till There Was You,'” describing their performance as being “a cool, easy and tasteful version of this ballad, quite without artificial sentimentality.”

That such a classic piece of songwriting should go mostly unnoticed, even in such an amazing rendition by the biggest recording group of all time, is a real shame. While it may be true that fans of the later Beatles would rather not admit to the existence of this track, those who avidly acknowledge some of the finer things in music should take notice. The songwriting is perfect and The Beatles' performance is flawless. Enough said.

Song Summary

“Till There Was You”

Written by:  Meredith Willson

• Song Written: 1950 (estimated)
• Song Recorded: July 30, 1963
• First US Release Date: January 20, 1964
• First US Album Release: Capitol #ST-2047 “Meet The Beatles!”
• US Single Release: Collectables #1506
• Highest Chart Position: n/a
• British Album Release: Parlophone #PCS 3045 “With The Beatles”
• Length: 2:16
• Key: F major
• Producer: George Martin
• Engineers: Norman Smith, Richard Langham

Instrumentation (most likely):

• Paul McCartney - Lead Vocals, Bass Guitar (1961 Hofner 500/1)
• George Harrison – Lead and Rhythm Guitar (1950 Jose Ramirez de Estudio)
• John Lennon – Rhythm Guitar (1962 Gibson J150E)
• Ringo Starr – Bongos

Written and compiled by Dave Rybaczewski 

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