Etta Jones - Till There Was You (Prestige Records 1961)

"Till There Was You" is a song written by Meredith Willson for his 1957 musical play The Music Man, and which also appeared in the 1962 movie version. The song is sung by librarian Marian Paroo (Barbara Cook on Broadway, Shirley Jones in the film) to Professor Harold Hill (portrayed by Robert Preston) toward the end of Act Two. The first recording of this song to be released came even before the original cast album version of January 1958. 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. Produced by Nelson Riddle, it featured his orchestra and 17-year-old vocalist Sue Raney. 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. In 1958, jazz saxophonist Sonny Rollins recorded the song on his groundbreaking album Freedom Suite. An alternate take is provided on the 1999 CD rerelease. In 1959, Anita Bryant recorded a single which reached #30 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #14 on the Cashbox Top 100. Included on their albums With the Beatles (UK release, 1963) and Meet the Beatles! (US release, 1964), the song was the only Broadway tune that the Beatles ever recorded.

Etta's accompanied by Wally Richardson (guitar), Michel Mulia (bass), Rudy Lawless (drums), and Jimmy Neeley (piano). Recorded in 1961. (Prestige Records)

Etta Jones was an American jazz singer whose critical success and relative commercial obscurity earned her a reputation in her lifetime as a "jazz musician's jazz singer". A highly underrated singer who rarely received the recognition she richly deserved, perhaps the salient mark of her obscurity was the number of times even followers of the female jazz vocal scene would confuse her with a more popular singer, Etta James. Etta Jones is noted for her elegant interpretations of standards, ballads, and blues. Her characteristic inflections have sometimes prompted comparisons to stylistic devices employed by Billie Holiday and Dinah Washington.

There were bells on the 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.

And there was music,
And there were 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!