The World Is Waiting for the Sunrise

"The World Is Waiting for the Sunrise" is a popular ballad with lyrics by Gene Lockhart and music (Toronto 1918) by the concert pianist Ernest Seitz, who had conceived the refrain when he was 12. Embarrassed about writing popular music, Seitz used the pseudonym "Raymond Roberts" when the song was first published by Chappell in 1919.

Legacy

More than 100 versions have been recorded. Initially, when the song's hopeful sentiment appealed to post-war North America, it was recorded by both singers and instrumentalists, including Morton Downey, Fritz Kreisler, Ted Lewis, and John Steel. Later, as a popular vehicle for improvisation, it was recorded by many jazz musicians, among them Benny Goodman, Duke Ellington, Django Reinhardt, Mel Powell, Jess Stacy, and Jack Teagarden. A version made for Capitol in 1949 by guitarists Les Paul and Mary Ford was a million-seller. The Beatles recorded a home version on a Grundig tape recorder, sometime in the late 1950s, before they got famous. The Beatles version featured guitars by Harrison and Lennon and vocals from Paul McCartney. Canadian jazz musicians to record the song include Bert Niosi (1946), Peter Appleyard (1957), Ed Bickert (1979), and Oscar Peterson (1980).

Les Paul's version was one of the first electric guitar recordings to feature distortion.

Eugene Lockhart

The song's lyricist, Lockhart (b London, Ont, 1891, d Santa Monica, Cal, 1957), at the time an actor with the travelling Pierrot Players, had a successful career on Broadway and later in Hollywood. He wrote and directed the Broadway musical revue "Bunk of 1926". He is also notable for playing the judge in Miracle On 34th Street.

Recorded Versions

*Morton Downey
*Fritz Kreisler
*Ted Lewis
*John Steel
*Benny Goodman
*Duke Ellington
*Django Reinhardt
*Mel Powell
*Jess Stacy
*Jack Teagarden
*Les Paul, with Mary Ford on vocals
*Stan Freberg (parody of Les Paul/Mary Ford version)
*Bert Niosi
*Peter Appleyard
*Ed Bickert
*Oscar Peterson
*Isham Jones
*The Larks
*Chet Atkins
*The Beatles
*Evan Palazzo
*The Firehouse Five
*Neko Case