Song of the Day: Wait Till You See Her

The song of the day for Friday, May 17, 2013 is Wait Till You See Her.

About This Song

Wait Till You See Her is a lovely waltz by Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart in 1942 for the musical By Jupiter, which was their next-to-last collaboration. Over Hart’s objections, the song was cut from the show before the official opening. However, Mabel Mercer had fallen in love with the song and began to feature it in her cabaret shows. Alec Wilder, in American Popular Song, called it “…one of the loveliest songs Rodgers or any other theater writer has ever written.” Wilder first heard it sung by Mabel Mercer and credits her for the ongoing popularity of the song as standard.

About This Version

Today’s version is from Tony Bennett’s 1973 Improv album Tony Bennett Sings 10 Rodgers & Hart Songs. I have always been a big fan of the songs of Rodgers and Hart, but Bennett’s treatment of these songs is truly wonderful. In addition to his light and sensitive treatment of this waltz, the songs in this series are remarkable as well for the composition of the quartet that he used. The quartet was composed of Ruby Braff on cornet, George Barnes and Wayne Wright on guitar and John Guiffrida on bass. The arrangement for Wait Till You See Me is light and subtle. Listen for the very soft and very beautiful cornet work. And even though this song is very short at not quite a minute and a half, it says everything that needs to be said about this song.

http://open.spotify.com/track/4oEagl4qc4RY25lYvv5P1f
Wait Till You See Her, as well as the full Tony Bennett Sings The Rodgers & Hart Songbook, is available from iTunes.