Paul McCartney – “Till There Was You” Live

There Was Love All Around!

“Till There Was You” was written by American composer-songwriter Meredith Willson for the musical play, “The Music Man.” It was sung by Marian Paroo, the librarian, who was portrayed by Barbara Cook on Broadway. It became a hit for Anita Bryant when she released her version in 1957.

After which, this track was covered by The Beatles. In fact, this is the ONLY Broadway song the band has recorded. It even became a part of their concert repertoire.

It became illustrative of the Beatles’ versatility, proving they could appeal to all sections of an audience, moving easily from softer ballads to harder rock and roll, as in their appearance on November 4, 1963 at the Royal Variety Performance when they followed this song with “Twist and Shout”.

The Beatles also performed this live several times — more notably on “The Ed Sullivan Show” and at the “Royal Variety Performance.” During the first recording session, they had three takes but found them all unsatisfactory. On their second session, they had five takes and eventually chose the last as the best version.

“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.” — Paul McCartney

This live performance of Paul McCartney is simply unforgettable. I’ve always loved the way he puts so much heart and soul into each song!