He is best known for writing the book, music, and lyrics for the hit musical The Music Man, which won the Tony Award for Best Musical in 1958. The cast recording of The Music Man won the first Grammy Award given for best cast album. Willson also is remembered for his work on films, the Burns and Allen radio program, among other radio shows, and was nominated for two Academy Awards
Early life
Born Robert Meredith Reiniger in Mason City, Iowa, Willson attended Frank Damrosch's Institute of Musical Art (later The Juilliard School) in New York City. A flute and piccolo player, Willson was a member of John Philip Sousa's band (1921–1923) and the New York Philharmonic Orchestra under Arturo Toscanini (1924–1929). Willson then moved to San Francisco, California as the concert director for KFRC, and then as a musical director for the NBC radio network in Hollywood.[1]
His work for films included writing the music for Charlie Chaplin's The Great Dictator (1940) and William Wyler's The Little Foxes (1941), both of which garnered him Academy Award nominations. During World War II, he worked for the United States' Armed Forces Radio Service. His work with the AFRS teamed him with George Burns, Gracie Allen and Bill Goodwin. He would work with all three as the bandleader, and a regular character, on the Burns and Allen radio program. He played a shy man, always trying to get advice on women. His character was dizzy as well, basically a male version of Gracie Allen.
Returning to network radio after WWII, he created the Talking People, a choral group that spoke in unison while delivering radio commercials. He also became the musical director for The Big Show, a respected comedy-variety program hosted by stage legend Tallulah Bankhead and featuring some of the world's most respected entertainers. Willson himself became part of one of the show's very few running gags, beginning replies to Bankhead's comments or questions with, "Well, sir, Miss Bankhead...." Willson wrote the song, "May The Good Lord Bless And Keep You" for the show. Tallulah spoke the lyrics over the music at the end of each show. For a few years in the early 1950s, Willson was a regular panelist on the Goodson-Todman game show "The Name's the Same."
Broadway shows
Willson's most famous work, The Music Man, premiered on Broadway in 1957 and was adapted twice for film (in 1962 and 2003). He referred to the show as "an Iowan's attempt to pay tribute to his home state." It took Willson some eight years and thirty revisions to complete the musical, for which he wrote more than forty songs. The cast recording of The Music Man won the first Grammy Award for Best Original Cast Album (Broadway or TV) ever issued.
His second musical, The Unsinkable Molly Brown, ran on Broadway for 532 performances from 1960 to 1962 and was made into a 1964 motion picture starring Debbie Reynolds. His third musical to reach Broadway was an adaptation of the film Miracle On 34th Street, called Here's Love (1963). His fourth, last, and least successful musical was 1491, which told the story of Columbus's attempts to finance his famous voyage. It was produced by the Los Angeles Civic Light Opera Association but never made it to Broadway.
Other work
His Symphony No. 1 In F Minor, A Symphony Of San Francisco, and Symphony No. 2 In E Minor, Missions Of California, were recorded in 1999 by William T. Stromberg conducting the Moscow State Symphony Orchestra.
Willson penned a number of very well-known songs, such as "Seventy-Six Trombones," "Gary Indiana," "It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas," "May the Good Lord Bless and Keep You" and "Till There Was You," which was a hit for the Beatles in 1963. He also wrote the University of Iowa's fight song and Iowa State University's "For I for S Forever". He honored The Salvation Army with a musical tribute entitled "Banners and Bonnets." He also wrote the fight song for his hometown high school "Mason City Go!"
Another oddity in Willson's body of work is "Chicken Fat." In the 1960s, this was the theme song in school gymnasiums across the nation as part of President John F. Kennedy's youth fitness program. It was time to get the country's youth into shape, and Willson's song had youngsters moving through basic exercises at a frenetic pace: push-ups, sit-ups, jumping jacks, torso twists, running in place, pogo springs, and plenty of marching. With an energetic lead vocal by Robert Preston, orchestral marching band, and full chorus, it was likely recorded during sessions for the Music Man motion picture.
In general, it was recognized that Willson wrote surprisingly well-crafted, complex, and subtle music that classical music fans could appreciate, with intricate and sometimes startling counterpoint, well-crafted melody, and subtle orchestration, all while still appealing to mass audiences.
Legacy
Willson wrote two autobiographies: "And There I Stood With My Piccolo" (1948) and "But He Doesn't Know the Territory" (1959).
Willson and his wife lived for years in the Mandeville Canyon section of Brentwood, California. In the 1960s, Willson was fondly remembered by friends and neighbors as a warm and gregarious host who loved nothing more than to play the piano and sing at parties. Willson often gave out autographed copies of his record album, Meredith Willson Sings Songs from The Music Man.
His alma mater, Juilliard, dedicated its first and only residence hall to Willson. He was a member of the National Honorary Band Fraternity, Kappa Kappa Psi.
Till There Was You
Meredith Willson Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
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
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
The song "Till There Was You" is a love song that talks about how everything in life was incomplete and unnoticed until the singer finds love. The opening lines of the song convey that there were bells ringing on the hill, but the singer had never heard them until he/she met their love interest. The metaphorical use of the bells here represents happiness and joy, which the singer had never experienced until he/she found love.
Similarly, the singer mentions the birds in the sky that he/she had never seen "winging" until he/she found love. The birds represent freedom and happiness that the singer had never experienced. However, the love that the singer has found has made everything in life beautiful, and he/she now wants to experience everything fully.
The song also mentions music and roses, which are symbolic of beauty and the wonders of nature. The singer never saw all these beautiful things until he/she found love. The use of the phrase "sweet fragrant meadows of dawn and dew" adds to the romantic tone of the song.
In the final lines, the singer mentions that love was all around them, but they never heard it until they found their significant other. Love was always present in the world, but they failed to see it until they found their love. The song highlights the importance of having love in life and how it can make the world a beautiful place.
Line by Line Meaning
There were bells on the hill
Although there were bells on the hill, I never took notice of their presence.
But I never heard them ringing
In spite of the bells being there, I never perceived their sound or melody.
No, I never heard them at all
I reiterate that I was oblivious to the ringing of the bells.
Till there was you
It wasn't until you appeared in my life that I began to notice and appreciate the sounds around me.
There were birds in the sky
Even though birds flew in the sky above, I never beheld or recognized them.
But I never saw them winging
Unfortunately, I was unaware of the birds' graceful, soaring movements.
No, I never saw them at all
I must emphasize that the birds' wondrous display went unnoticed by me.
And there was music
In addition, there was a harmonious arrangement of sounds and rhythm that filled the air.
And there were wonderful roses
The locale was also adorned with remarkable blooms of various colors and forms.
They tell me
I have been informed by others that there existed these flowers in existence.
In sweet fragrant meadows of dawn, and dew
The flowers were situated in areas of serene beauty, lush with sweet-smelling flora and dewdrops in the early hours.
There was love all around
Despite my ignorance of the world's beauty, there were signs of love in abundance.
But I never heard it singing
It is with remorse that I admit I hadn't heard this love being expressed through melody, singing or otherwise.
No, I never heard it at all
In fact, the love completely eluded my senses.
Till there was you
It was until you entered my life that my sensory perception was finally awakened to the realization of all the love around me.
Contributed by Max M. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@smtimesitbeliketht8596
There were bells on a hill
But I never heard them ringing
No, I never heard them at all
'Til there was you
There were birds in the sky
But I never saw them winging
No, I never saw them at all
'Til 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
'Til 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
'Til there was you
'Til there was you
@voiceofreason7856
Growing up, my Dad not only had BOTH 'The Music Man' albums
( Original Broadway Cast recording and the movie soundtrack ) but also an album they released called "... and then I wrote 'The Music Man' " with Meredith Wilson and his wife singing the songs around a piano - like it was a pleasant, private party with live entertainment.
I still have it, as part of my late Dad's enormous record collection. :)
@Trombonology
"Till There Was You" is a much stronger title -- changing those two words made all the difference. The elimination of I , which was technically the subject word, places You in the spotlight all by itself. A pleasant enough rendition here. ... I've always considered The Beatles' version to be one of their strongest covers; George Harrison's guitar work is excellent.
@Trombonology
@@beiderbecke1927 Let's face it -- there are loads of idiots out there. What's amazing to me is the questions one encounters in this environment. Google it! -- don't take some fellow poster's word as, dare I say, gospel.
How neat to learn of your work on Music Man ! That had to have been a very fun, if challenging, project.
Yes, nothing wrong with recycling. The Gershwins did a fair bit of that, too.
@swingman5635
The Beatles' is my favorite, as well. My brother and I would sing along to our record,and thought our harmony was brilliant!😆
@TheLAKERSareGodsTeam
Context matters. Sung to a girl, "Til there was you" is precient. In reverse, "Til I Met You" sounds capricious.
@charlesmiller2472
I agree, especially since, IMO, Beatles covers were usually, if not always inferior to the originals, except for Til There Was You, my favorite version of that song. Good thing John & Paul & occasionally George, were such great writers & Beatles such a great band with their own material & producer like George Martin.
@ferdburfle4337
There were birds in the sky but I could not see them shining. No, I could not see them at all, Till I Met Me. There were stars in the sky but I could not hear them singing. No, I could not hear them at all, Till I Met Me. Alternate version
@smtimesitbeliketht8596
There were bells on a hill
But I never heard them ringing
No, I never heard them at all
'Til there was you
There were birds in the sky
But I never saw them winging
No, I never saw them at all
'Til 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
'Til 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
'Til there was you
'Til there was you
@rafaelmoreno4392
Til I MET you
@scaramanzia
till i met you*