Jerry Valentine and George Treadwell composed "I'll Wait and Pray," first recorded by Billy Eckstine and His Orchestra with vocals by Sarah Vaughan in 1945. Valentine was a trombonist and arranger in Eckstine's bebop big band, while Treadwell was a trumpeter who later became Vaughan's manager. The song has been covered by artists including John Coltrane and remains a jazz standard from the mid-1940s.
