The Lettermen are an American pop music vocal group. The Lettermen's tradem… Read Full Bio ↴The Lettermen are an American pop music vocal group. The Lettermen's trademark is close-harmony pop songs with light arrangements. They were popular mainly with adult audiences during the 1960s.

The group was formed in late 1950s by Mike Barnett, Dick Stewart and Tony Butala. They auditioned for Jackie Barnett, chief comedy writer for the Jimmy Durante TV show. They landed the part to impersonate The Rhythm Boys, the vocal group that traveled with Paul Whiteman and his orchestra in the late 1920s, and gave Bing Crosby his initial fame. The "Newcomers of 1928" review opened on 28 February 1958 at the Desert Inn in Las Vegas, Nevada. This review also starred Paul Whiteman, Buster Keaton, Rudy Vallée, Harry Richmond and Fifi D'Orsay. They played to sell-out audiences and were held over for many weeks. This review also played a six week review at the Deauville Hotel in Miami Beach, Florida, with Butala being the only consistent Letterman. Barnett and Russell were replaced by Gary Clarke and Jerry Paul. When the review ended, Butala landed a job as singer/bass player in a lounge group, "Bill Norvas and the Upstarts", with Gary Clarke. After a few months, Clarke left the group and was replaced by Jim Pike. Pike and Butala decided to leave the Upstarts and resume the Lettermen although they had not yet decided to use the Lettermen name. Pike envisioned a group where each member was an excellent soloist as well as a competent group singer. Pike recommended the third Letterman should be Bob Engemann, a singer that Pike had met when he attended Brigham Young University a few years earlier. Both had come to Los Angeles, California, and sang together in different combinations until Engemann had go into the National Guard for 6 months. At that point, Pike joined Bill Norvis and met Butala. This combination first recorded in late 1959.

They secured a recording contract with Warner Bros. Records through Bob Engemann's older brother, Karl Engemann, who was a record producer there, and for whom Pike had released a record earlier called "Lucy D", which was not successful. Pike, Butala and Engemann as "The Lettermen" released two singles in 1960. The A-sides were "Two Hearts" and "There Hearts Were Full Of Spring". They were not successful. Karl Engemann moved on to Capitol Records as President of A&R. He got them out of their contract at Warner Bros., and made an appointment with Nick Venet, a producer at Capitol and they were signed.

There was another "Lettermen" group in the late 1950s and early 1960s that recorded for Liberty Records, (which was a major label at the time). They were an R&B group with five members, and their single was called "Hey Big Brain". But the "Lettermen" of Pike, Engemann and Butala had the first hit record, so they were entitled to exclusively use the "Lettermen" name. There was also a group in the mid 1950s called The Lettermen Trio, but had no record success.

The Lettermen were unknown until they signed with Capitol Records in 1961. Their first single for Capitol, "The Way You Look Tonight," succeeded on the Billboard Hot 100 pop chart, and their next, "When I Fall in Love," reached the Top 10 in late 1962. They had several other Top 10 hits, such as the 1965's, "Theme From A Summer Place". In late 1967 Bob Engemann resigned, and was replaced by Jim Pike's younger brother, Gary Pike. The hits continued with the 1968 medley "Goin' Out of My Head"/"Can't Take My Eyes Off You", and in 1968 with "Put Your Head on My Shoulder", plus 1969's "Hurt So Bad", which reached number 12. The last successful single was in 1972, "Love" a solo by Pike.

The Lettermen have had 32 consecutive Billboard Magazine chart albums, 11 gold records, five Grammy nominations, an Andy Award, and a Cleo Award. In 1976, Jim Pike left the group and sold the Lettermen name to Butala.

In 1981 Gary Pike left the Lettermen, and today Jim and Gary Pike, along with Ric de Azevedo, sing The Lettermen hits, billed as Reunion.

In 1961, The Lettermen started performing live concerts doing over 100 shows a year, an unbroken string that continues to the present now amounting to 46 years.

Over the decades, the group has had various line-ups, replacing members who left for various reasons with new people to maintain a trio. Tony Butala, who (as of 2007) is still a member, has stated that the group ethos is that of three strong soloists that harmonize, and that the group encourages individual singing and songwriting.

They pride themselves in welcoming audience member photographs during the show, unlike many recording acts.

Our Day Will Come
The Lettermen Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Our day will come
And we'll have everything
We'll share the joy
Falling in love can bring

No one can tell me
That I'm too young to know (young to know)
I love you so (love you so)

And you love me

Our day will come
If we just wait a while
No tears for us
Think love and wear a smile

Our dreams have magic
Because we'll always stay
In love this way
Our day will come
(Our day will come, our day will come)

Our dreams have magic
Because we'll always stay
In love this way

Our day will come
Our day will come

Overall Meaning

"Our Day Will Come" by The Lettermen is a love song about two people who are deeply in love and waiting for their time to come. The song is about being patient for their future together, even if others doubt their love. The first line of the chorus, "Our day will come, and we'll have everything," sets the tone for the song, as the couple waits for their time to have everything they've dreamed of together. The lyrics are hopeful and optimistic, as they believe their day will come soon enough.

The song is also about the magic of falling in love, as the couple shares the joy that comes with it. The lyrics suggest that their love is stronger than anyone who may doubt it, and they are willing to wait for their special day to come. The line "Our dreams have magic because we'll always stay in love this way" highlights their unwavering love for each other, as they continue to dream and hope for their future.

The Lettermen's performance of the song is emotional and passionate, conveying the deep love and hope of the lyrics. The lush orchestration of the song adds to the dreamlike quality of the lyrics, making it an enjoyable and inspiring listening experience.

Line by Line Meaning

Our day will come
We will eventually live the life we want and our wishes will come true.

And we'll have everything
Our day will come with all the good things that we want.

We'll share the joy
We will be happy together and enjoy the good things that come with our day.

Falling in love can bring
Falling in love can bring great joy and happiness to our lives.

No one can tell me
Nobody can convince me otherwise.

That I'm too young to know (young to know)
My age does not determine my feelings and emotions towards you.

I love you so (love you so)
I have great affection and deep feelings for you.

And you love me
You have great affection and deep feelings for me too.

If we just wait a while
Our day will come if we exercise patience.

No tears for us
We will not cry because our day will surely come.

Think love and wear a smile
We should be positive and optimistic about our day and love each other.