The World Is Waiting for the Sunrise (song)

"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 1951 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. 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). A version by doo-wop group the Larks is featured in the 1955 film Rhythm and Blues Revue.

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

Recorded Versions
Carl Perkins [Live on the "Carl Perkins and Friends" release]
 * Merle Travis
 * Reno & Smiley (with Don Reno playing 5-string banjo)
 * Walter Hensley
 * Morton Downey
 * Fritz Kreisler
 * Ted Lewis
 * John Steel
 * Richard Tauber
 * Benny Goodman
 * Duke Ellington
 * Jimmy Wakely
 * 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
 * Doc Cheatham
 * Evan Palazzo
 * The Firehouse Five
 * Neko Case
 * Chris Barber
 * Vic Damone
 * Firehouse Five Plus Two
 * Les Shelleys