100 years ago: "Till We Meet Again" charted for the first time

Till We Meet Again Henry Burr & Albert Campbell

Writer(s): Richard A. Whiting (music)/ Raymond B. Egan (lyrics) (see lyrics here) First Charted: February 15, 1919 Peak: 19 US, 112 GA, 112 SM (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): 5.0 (sheet music) Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, -- streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: Henry Burr was one of the most successful recording artists of the first quarter of the 20th century, landing 15 songs at #1 as a solo artist. However, he also regularly worked with Albert Campbell (who sent three songs to the top on his own) and they landed another seven songs atop the charts. “Till We Meet Again” was their most successful pairing. PM This “heartfelt farewell of a beau who promises to return and wed his love” RCG was “the most successful of all the ballads of the First World War,” RCG selling 5 million in sheet music. The United States had already entered the war when Richard Whiting and Raymond Egan penned this waltz. However, they threw it away because they disliked it. Luckily, their secretary heard the song, liked it, salvaged it from the trash, and sent it to the publisher. RCG In 1919, five versions of the song charted – Nicholas Orlando’s Orchestra and the duo of Charles Hart & Lewis James also went to #1 with it, but Burr & Campbell had the most successful version (9 weeks at #1). Vernon Dalhart & Gladys Rice took their duet to the top 10, as did Prince’s Orchestra. PM World War II saw the song revived and recorded by Kay Starr, Rosemary Clooney, Patti Page, Mitch Miller, and Jaye P. Morgan. RCG Doris Day and Gordon MacRae performed it for the 1951 film On Moonlight Bay. DJ The song was also played for years at the adjournment of the United States Congress. RCG Resources: Download the Burr/Campbell version at archive.org DJ David Jasen (2002). A Century of American Popular Music: 2000 Best-Loved and Remembered Songs (1899-1999). Routledge: Taylor & Francis, Inc. Page 197. RCG RimChiGuy.com The Old Songs (1900-1929) PM Joel Whitburn (1986). Pop Memories 1890-1954. Record Research, Inc: Menomonee Falls, WI. Pages 65-70, 74, 597. Related Links: First posted 2/15/2012; last updated 2/27/2023.

Phantom of the Opera opened in London

Phantom of the Opera Andrew Lloyd Webber (music), Charles Hart & Richard Stilgoe (lyrics)

The Musical

Opened at London’s West End: September 27, 1986 Number of Performances: 15,236 Opened on Broadway: January 26, 1988 Number of Performances: 13,981 Movie Release: December 10, 2004

Cast Album

Released: April 20, 1987 Peak: 33 US, 13 UK, -- CN, -- AU Sales (in millions): 4.0 US, 0.9 UK, 4.9 world (includes US and UK) Genre: show tunes

Soundtrack

Released: November 23, 2004 Peak: 16 US, 40 UK Sales (in millions): 1.0 US Genre: show tunes

Songs: Prologue Overture h, s Think of Me h, s Angel of Music h, s The Mirror (Angel of Music) h, s The Phantom of the Opera (Sarah Brightman, 1/11/86, #7 UK) h, s The Music of the Night h, s I Remember/ Stranger Than You Dream Magical Lasso Prima Donna h, s Poor Fool, He Makes Me Laugh Why Have You Brought Me Here/ All I Ask of You (Sarah Brightman & Steve Harley, 10/4/86, 7 UK) s All I Ask of You (Reprise) h, s Entr’acte h Masquerade h, s Notes/ Twisted Every Way Wishing You Were Here Somehow Here Again (Sarah Brightman, 1/10/87, 7 UK) h, s Wandering Child/ Bravo Monsieur The Point of No Return h, s Down Once More/ Track Down This Murderer h, s h songs on one-disc highlight version s songs on one-disc soundtrack version The soundtrack also adds the brand new “Learn to Be Lonely,” performed by Minnie Driver. A special edition, double-disc version of the soundtrack includes film dialogue.

Rating (cast album): 4.669 out of 5.00 (average of 11 ratings for cast album and soundtrack combined) Rating (soundtrack): 3.866 out of 5.00 (average of 9 ratings for cast album and soundtrack combined) Awards (Cast Album and Soundtrack): (Click on award to learn more).

About the Work: The Phantom of the Opera was originally a 1911 gothic mystery novel by French novelist Gaston Leroux. Ken Hill did a musical version of the book in 1976; ten years later it was adapted again by Andrew Lloyd Webber. “The musical focuses on a beautiful soprano, Christine Daaé, who becomes the obsession of a mysterious, disfigured musical genius known as ‘The Phantom of the Opera’, who terrorizes the Paris Opera House.” WK Initially Webber approached Jim Steinman, best known for collaborating with Meat Loaf on Bat Out of Hell, to write the lyrics because of his “dark obsessive side.” WK When Steinman declined because of commitments to working on Bonnie Tyler’s album, he recruited Alan Jay Lerner (My Fair Lady, Camelot ), who unfortunately died soon after starting on the project. WK Next up was Richard Stilgoe, who also wrote lyrics for Webber’s Starlight Express. However, Webber deemed his lyrics “too witty and clever, rather than romantic” WK so Charles Hart was brought in to rewrite the lyrics. Stilgoe and Hart both got credit on the final version. WK Phantom opened on October 9, 1986 at Her Majesty’s Theatre in London. It became “the second-longest-running West End musical of all time, behind Les Miserables.” WK It had similar success after opening in New York in January 1988, becoming “the longest-running Broadway musical of all time, breaking the record held by Lloyd Webber’s Cats.” WK Its final performance was on April 16, 2023. It “won both the Olivier Award and Tony Award as the best musical in its debut years on the West End and Broadway.” WK The musical has also been named “the highest-grossing entertainment event of all time.” WK The New York production is the “most financially successful Broadway show in history” WK with $600 million grossed. WK The show has played to over 100 million people in 124 cities in 25 countries. WK Michael Crawford and Sarah Brightman, who starred in the West End production as the titular character and Christine respectively, also launched the Broadway debut. As such, the London cast album became the official recording and no Broadway version was made. WR Both a two-disc set and a single-disc “highlights” set were made available, each selling 4 million copies in the U.S. In 2004, Phantom was made into a movie starring Gerard Butler as the Phantom and Emily Rossum as Christine Daaé. It was also released in two editions – the double-disc version was the “the complete, unedited film soundtrack, including dialogue, incidental background music, and sound effects,” WR while the single-disc version was billed as the standard release. Webber wrote “some extra background music here and there, as well as one new song, and that’s an oddity, too. Minnie Driver, who plays the prima donna Carlotta, had her singing dubbed by Margaret Preece, but she turns up at the end and, over the closing credits, sings Learn to Be Lonely, an irrelevant and musically out-of-place song clearly composed just to have a new tune that would be Academy Award-eligible. The film’s other singers are adequate but no competition to Crawford, Brightman, and their colleagues, and the initial recording remains the one to buy.” WR

Reviews: TH AllMusic.com review of the cast album by Tavia Hobart AM AllMusic.com review of the soundtrack by William Ruhlmann WK Wikipedia.org page for the musical Related DMDB Links: First posted 1/26/2012; last updated 7/19/2025.