
The Originals: Songs The Beatles Covered: “Till There Was You”- Peggy Lee. “Till There Was You” is a show tune written by Meredith Wilson in 1950 as “Till I Met You.” It was re-titled in 1957 and used in the musical The Music Man. The song was covered by a number of artist and became a Top 40 hit single by Anita Bryant in 1959. The version that Paul McCartney was familiar with was the Peggy Lee version. “Till There Was You” was a song that The Beatles would perform in their Hamburg days and was covered on their second album- With The Beatles in late 1963. When The Beatles invaded the United States -on their famous first Ed Sullivan Show appearance it was the second of the five songs they played that night. Seems like an odd choice. “Till There Was You” is the only song from a Broadway show that The Beatles ever covered.
I love the version from “The Music Man” (one of my favorite movie musicals), and also liked the Beatles’ version. This one by Peggy Lee’s not bad, though a bit subdued for my taste.