1967 song recorded by Louis Armstrong
"
What a Wonderful World
" is a song written by
Bob Thiele
(as "George Douglas") and
George David Weiss
. It was first recorded by
Louis Armstrong
and released in 1967 as a single. In April 1968, it topped the
pop chart in the United Kingdom
,
[2]
but performed poorly in the United States because
Larry Newton
, the president of
ABC Records
, disliked the song and refused to promote it.
After it was heard in the film
Good Morning, Vietnam
, it was reissued as a single in 1988, and rose to number 32 on the
Billboard
Hot 100
.
[3]
Armstrong's recording was inducted to the
Grammy Hall of Fame
in 1999.
Composition and production
[
edit
]
Thiele produced the track under his own name, but as a co-composer was initially credited under the pseudonym George Douglas. His real name has appeared on it from its 1988 issue onward.
One source claims the song was first offered to
Tony Bennett
, who turned it down,
[4]
although Louis Armstrong biographer Ricky Riccardi disputes this.
[5]
[
non-primary source needed
]
In
Graham Nash
's book
Off the Record: Songwriters on Songwriting,
George Weiss says he wrote the song specifically for Louis Armstrong, as he was inspired by Armstrong's ability to bring together people of different races.
Armstrong was gigging at the
Tropicana Hotel
in
Las Vegas
, so he chose to record the song nearby at
Bill Porter
’s United Recording studio. The session was scheduled to follow Armstrong's midnight show, and by 2 am the musicians were settled and tape was rolling. Arranger
Artie Butler
was there with songwriters Weiss and Thiele, and Armstrong was in the studio singing with the orchestra. Armstrong had recently signed to
ABC Records
, and ABC president
Larry Newton
showed up to photograph Armstrong. Newton wanted a swingy pop song like "
Hello, Dolly!
", a big hit for Armstrong when he was with
Kapp Records
, so when Newton heard the slow pace of "What a Wonderful World", he tried to stop the session. Newton was physically removed and locked out of the studio for his disruption, which resulted in Newton later refusing to promote the song.
[6]
A second problem arose with the taping session: nearby freight train whistles interrupted the music twice, forcing the orchestra to start over. Armstrong shook his head and laughed off the distractions, keeping his composure. The session ended around 6 am, going longer than expected. To be sure the orchestra members were paid extra for their overtime, Armstrong accepted only $250
musicians' union scale
for his work.
[6]
Release and reception
[
edit
]
Because Newton refused to promote the song, it initially sold fewer than 1,000 copies in the US.
[7]
It was a major success in the United Kingdom, however, reaching number 1 on the
UK Singles Chart
.
[2]
In the US, it eventually reached number 116 on the
Billboard
Bubbling Under
Chart. It was also the biggest-selling single of 1968 in the UK, where it was among the last pop singles issued by
HMV
before it became an exclusively classical music label.
[8]
The song made Armstrong the oldest male to top the
UK Singles Chart
.
[2]
(His record was broken in 2009 when a remake of "
Islands in the Stream
" recorded for
Comic Relief
?which included the 68-year-old
Tom Jones
?reached number 1.)
ABC Records' European distributor
EMI
forced ABC to issue a
What a Wonderful World
album in 1968 (catalogue number ABCS-650). It did not chart in the United States, due to ABC not promoting it,
[9]
but charted in the UK where it was issued by
Stateside Records
with catalogue number SSL 10247 and peaked on the British chart at number 37.
Enduring success
[
edit
]
The song gradually became something of a pop standard.
[10]
An episode of
The Muppet Show
produced in 1977 and broadcast early in 1978 featured
Rowlf the Dog
singing the song to a puppy. In 1978, it was featured in the closing scenes of BBC radio's
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
, and was repeated for BBC's 1981
TV adaptation of the series
. In 1988, Armstrong's recording was used in the film
Good Morning, Vietnam
(despite its setting in 1965, two years before the song was recorded) and was re-released as a single, reaching number 32 on the
Billboard
Hot 100
chart in February 1988. It charted at number 1 for the fortnight ending June 27, 1988 on the
Australian chart
.
When the
ABC
television sitcom
Family Matters
premiered in 1989, Armstrong's version of "What a Wonderful World" was used as the show's theme song. However, after the fifth episode, it was replaced by the original song "As Days Go By".
[11]
In 2001, rappers
Ghostface Killah
,
Raekwon
, and
the Alchemist
released "The Forest," a song that begins with three lines of lyric adapted from "What a Wonderful World", altered to become "an invitation to get high" on marijuana.
[12]
The rappers and their record company, Sony Music Entertainment, were sued by Abilene Music, the owners of "What a Wonderful World". The suit was thrown out after Judge
Gerard E. Lynch
determined that the altered lyric was a parody, transforming the uplifting original message to a new one with a darker nature.
[12]
[13]
After it was released digitally, Armstrong's 1967 recording had sold over 2,173,000 downloads in the United States as of April, 2014.
[14]
In 2021, it was ranked at No. 171 on Rolling Stone's "Top 500 Best Songs of All Time".
[15]
Charts and certifications
[
edit
]
Weekly charts
[
edit
]
Certifications
[
edit
]
Eva Cassidy and Katie Melua version
[
edit
]
In 2007, Georgian-British singer-songwriter
Katie Melua
recorded a version of "What a Wonderful World" with American singer and guitarist
Eva Cassidy
, who had died in 1996. Recorded by Melua singing over the original Cassidy track, the duet was released in late 2007 as a charity single for the
British Red Cross
.
[44]
Melua, who considers Cassidy one of her musical idols, had previously sung with Cassidy in this manner on Christmas Eve 2006, when she performed "
Over the Rainbow
" on the
BBC One
television program
Duets Impossible
with a videotape of Cassidy singing the song.
[44]
This version of "What a Wonderful World" was available for purchase only at
Tesco
stores and on the
Tesco Direct
website.
[45]
Upon its release, the single debuted at number 45 on the
Scottish Singles Chart
on the week of December 9, 2007.
[46]
The next week, the song rose 44 positions to number one while also debuting at number one on the
UK Singles Chart
, giving both Cassidy and Melua their first number-one single in the United Kingdom. It became the first UK number-one single to be available through only one retailer, with 97 percent of its weekly 56,114 sales coming from the physical CD format sold at Tesco.
[47]
The song quickly descended the UK chart after peaking, spending five weeks in the UK top 100. The cover was also successful in Sweden, reaching number 19 in November 2008, and became a minor hit in the
Wallonia
region of Belgium.
When the song reached number one in the UK, Melua thanked everyone who bought the single, saying, "Thank you to everyone who has shown such festive goodwill."
[44]
The duet was later included on her 2008 compilation album
The Katie Melua Collection
.
[48]
Charts
[
edit
]
Weekly charts
[
edit
]
Year-end charts
[
edit
]
Chart (2007)
|
Position
|
UK Singles (OCC)
[54]
|
58
|
Other notable versions
[
edit
]
- 1988:
Willie Nelson
, on his album
What a Wonderful World
(reached number 6 on the
Billboard
Top Country Albums
)
[55]
- 1989:
Roy Clark
, on his album
What a Wonderful World
(peaked at No. 73 on the
Billboard
Hot Country Singles
chart)
[56]
- 1992:
Nick Cave
and
Shane MacGowan
, the lead single and title track to their
split album
What a Wonderful World
[57]
(reached number 72 on the UK charts)
[58]
- 1993:
Israel Kamakawiwo'ole
,
Hawaiian
ukulele
version (
medley
with "
Somewhere Over the Rainbow
") on the album
Facing Future
(sold over 2.5 million copies in the U.S. and Canada alone)
[59]
- 1999:
Anne Murray
, on
What a Wonderful World
which also spawned a book and video (the album reached No. 1 on the US CCM chart, No. 4 on the US Country chart, No. 38 on the top 200, and No. 15 on the Canadian Country charts)
- 2004:
Rod Stewart
recorded a version of the song with
Stevie Wonder
for Stewart's album
Stardust: The Great American Songbook, Volume III
(released in the United States as the lead single from the album and by early 2005 reached No. 13 on the
Billboard
Adult Contemporary
chart).
[60]
- 2010:
Robert Wyatt
, with Ros Stephen and
Gilad Atzmon
, recorded a version for the album
For The Ghosts Within
. The song was also released as a single.
[61]
[62]
[63]
- 2011:
Bob Thiele Jr.
did a cover of the song which was performed by
Alison Mosshart
and
the Forest Rangers
for the FX series
Sons of Anarchy
(SE4E1
Out
) and was included in
Songs of Anarchy: Music from Sons of Anarchy Seasons 1-4
album.
[64]
- 2012:
Pat Byrne
's version reached No. 3 in the
Irish Singles Chart
after appearing on
The Voice of Ireland
.
- 2018:
Barbra Streisand
blended the song with
Lennon's "Imagine"
for her album
Walls
.
[65]
- 2019:
Reuben and the Dark
contributed a cover of the song for the soundtrack of the 2020 film
Dolittle
.
[66]
- 2022
Celeste
sang the song live at the Queens
Platinum Party at the Palace
outside
Buckingham Palace
References
[
edit
]
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{{
cite AV media notes
}}
: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (
link
)
- ^
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b
c
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.
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What A Wonderful World
on
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- ^
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– via www.allmusic.com.
- ^
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.
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.
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. October 21, 2019.
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]
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