Rags to Riches (1953 song)
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| "Rags To Riches" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by Tony Bennett | ||||
| B-side | "Here Comes That Heartache Again" | |||
| Released | August 3, 1953[1] | |||
| Recorded | March 17, 1953[2] | |||
| Studio | Columbia 30th Street, New York City | |||
| Genre | Pop | |||
| Length | 2:50 | |||
| Label | Columbia | |||
| Producer(s) | Percy Faith | |||
| Tony Bennett singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| "Rags to Riches" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Song by Elvis Presley | ||||
| B-side | "Where Did They Go, Lord" | |||
| Released | February 23, 1971 | |||
| Recorded | September 22, 1970 | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Richard Adler | |||
| Elvis Presley singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
"Rags to Riches" is a 1953 popular song by Richard Adler and Jerry Ross.[3]
Background[edit]
It is based on a famous Russian tune called "Volga Melody" by Yuri Shchetkov sometimes known as "Samara My Lovely Town." The bridge passage or middle 8 was inserted by the composer.
Tony Bennett recording[edit]
The best-known version of the song, recorded by Tony Bennett with Percy Faith and his orchestra, was number one for eight weeks on the Billboard chart in 1953 and became a gold record.[4] In 2012, he recorded a Spanglish version with bachata singer Romeo Santos for his album Viva Duets.
Other versions[edit]
- Later in 1953, a version by David Whitfield reached number three in the British charts[5]
- Another version in 1953, by Billy Ward and his Dominoes with Jackie Wilson singing lead made number two on Billboard's Most Played in Juke Boxes chart.[6]
- Later recordings by Sunny & the Sunliners (#45 in 1963)[7] and Elvis Presley (#33 in 1971)[8] also made the Billboard charts.
In popular culture[edit]
- Tony Bennett's version was featured in the opening sequence of the 1990 film Goodfellas.[9]
- The opening line of the song was sung regularly and exuberantly by the character Carmine Ragusa on the television series Laverne & Shirley,[10] typically when he had good news.
- Jackie Wilson's version of the song is featured in the 2010 video game Mafia II.[11]
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ "Rags to Riches". 45worlds.com. Retrieved 15 May 2021.
- ^ "Session". 6 September 2014. Retrieved 15 May 2021.
- ^ Suskin, Steven (2010). Show Tunes: The Songs, Shows, and Careers of Broadway's Major Composers (4th ed.). Oxford University Press. p. 243. ISBN 978-0-19-531407-6.
- ^ Evanier, David (2011). All the Things You Are: The Life of Tony Bennett. John Wiley & Sons. p. 94. ISBN 978-1-118-03354-8.
- ^ Roberts, David (2005). British Hit Singles & Albums. London: Guinness World Records Ltd. p. 546. ISBN 1-904994-00-8.
- ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research. p. 168.
- ^ "Hot 100". Billboard. December 21, 1963. p. 16.
- ^ "Hot 100". Billboard. April 10, 1971. p. 60.
- ^ "Goodfellas (1990) : Quotes". IMDb.com. Retrieved 2016-07-23.
- ^ Brant, Marley (2006). Happier Days: Paramount Television's Classic Sitcoms, 1974–1984. Billboard Books. p. 74. ISBN 0-8230-8933-9.
- ^ "Internet Movie Database". imdb.com. Retrieved February 18, 2018.
