Poterat switched to a more commercial environment and began writing for local revues, where he developed his interest in song-writing.
In 1938, he wrote J'attendrai, to music by the Italian melodist Dino Olivieri, which was a great hit for the singer Rina Ketty.
The following year, on the eve of war, he wrote Sur les quais du vieux Paris, to music by the Austrian-born Jewish composer Ralph Erwin, which was the first hit for singer Lucienne Delyle, in 1939.
In 1943, he wrote Valse des regrets to Johannes Brahms's Waltz in A-flat major (number 15 in his Opus 39, Sixteen Waltzes for piano), which became a great success for Georges Guétary.
Towards the end of the 1940s, he was frequently partnered with Henri Bourtayre, notably on the operetta 'Miss Cow-Boy' .