"If I Ruled the World" is a

popular song Popular music is music with wide appeal that is typically distributed to large audiences through the music industry. These forms and styles can be enjoyed and performed by people with little or no musical training.Popular Music. (2015). ''Funk ...

, composed by Leslie Bricusse and

Cyril Ornadel Cyril Ornadel (2 December 192422 June 2011) was a British conductor, songwriter and composer, chiefly in musical theatre. He worked regularly with David Croft, the television writer, director and producer, as well as Norman Newell and Hal Sh ...

, which was originally from the 1963

West End West End most commonly refers to: * West End of London, an area of central London, England * West End theatre, a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London, England West End may also refer to: Pl ...

musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film and television, a genre of film and television that incorporates into the narr ...

'' Pickwick'' (based on Charles Dickens's '' The Pickwick Papers'').

Background

In the context of the stage musical, the song is sung by Samuel Pickwick, when he is mistaken for an election candidate and called on by the crowd to give his manifesto. Ornadel and Bricusse received the 1963 Ivor Novello award for Best Song Musically and Lyrically.

First recordings

*The song is usually associated with Sir Harry Secombe, who got the song to No 18 in the UK charts in 1963. * Tony Bennett originally recorded the song in 1965, and had a number 34 hit with it on the U.S. pop singles charts and number 8 on the Middle-Road Singles chart. In a duet with Celine Dion, he returned to the song on his

Grammy The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pre ...

-winning 2006 album '' Duets: An American Classic''.

Other recordings

It has been performed by other singers, notably: *Nancy Wilson *

Robert Goulet Robert Gérard Goulet (November 26, 1933 October 30, 2007) was an American and Canadian singer and actor of French-Canadian ancestry. Goulet was born and raised in Lawrence, Massachusetts until age 13, and then spent his formative years in Cana ...

James Brown James Joseph Brown (May 3, 1933 – December 25, 2006) was an American singer, dancer, musician, record producer and bandleader. The central progenitor of funk music and a major figure of 20th century music, he is often referred to by the honor ...

Stevie Wonder Stevland Hardaway Morris ( Judkins; May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, who is credited as a pioneer and influence by musicians across a range of genres that include rhythm and blues, Pop musi ...

* The Supremes *

Tom Jones Tom Jones may refer to: Arts and entertainment *Tom Jones (singer) (born 1940), Welsh singer * Tom Jones (writer) (1928–2023), American librettist and lyricist *''The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling'', a novel by Henry Fielding published in ...

* Regina Belle * Jamie Cullum also recorded a version for his album ''The Pursuit'', and performed it at his special performance at the ''Late Night Prom'', number Prom 55, of The Proms in London, with

The Heritage Ensemble ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in ...

, on Thursday 26 August 2010 between 22:15 and 13.45. As shown on BBC televisions'

BBC Four BBC Four is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was launched on 2 March 2002

on the following night.BBC – Proms – 26 August 2010
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Popular culture

*The song was featured in ''

Bruce Almighty ''Bruce Almighty'' is a 2003 American fantasy comedy film directed by Tom Shadyac and written by Steve Koren, Mark O'Keefe and Steve Oedekerk. The film stars Jim Carrey as Bruce Nolan, a down-on-his-luck television reporter who complains to God ...

'' by Tom Shadyac (2003). *The song was featured in the movie, '' War of the Worlds'' by

Steven Spielberg Steven Allan Spielberg (; born December 18, 1946) is an American director, writer, and producer. A major figure of the New Hollywood era and pioneer of the modern blockbuster, he is the most commercially successful director of all time. Spie ...

(2005). *This song was featured in Spring/

Summer Summer is the hottest of the four temperate seasons, occurring after spring and before autumn. At or centred on the summer solstice, the earliest sunrise and latest sunset occurs, daylight hours are longest and dark hours are shortest, wit ...

2009 on the Vodafone adverts in the UK. *This song was featured in the 2014 Korean film, ''Night Flight'', directed by Lee Song Hee-il. *The politician-spoofing BBC panel show '' If I Ruled the World'' was named after the song. *

Andy Hallett Andrew Alcott Hallett (August 4, 1975 – March 29, 2009) was an American singer and actor who became known from playing the part of Lorne in the television series '' Angel'' (2000–2004). He used his singing talents often on the show, and ...

, the actor best known for playing the part of Lorne ('The Host') in the television series '' Angel'', sang the song in that series' final episode.

References

External links

Cyril Ornadel
{{DEFAULTSORT:If I Ruled The World 1963 songs 1965 singles Songs from musicals Tony Bennett songs James Brown songs Nancy Wilson (jazz singer) songs Songs written by Leslie Bricusse Works based on The Pickwick Papers Songs written by Cyril Ornadel