"Wondrous Place" is a song written by Jeff Lewis and

Bill Giant Bill Giant (March 2, 1930 – November 26, 1987) was a songwriter whose work included over 40 songs for Elvis Presley. Biography Giant grew up in New York City and was known as Bill "Harvey" Zimmerman. He was part of the popular songwriting tea ...

and first released by American singer Jimmy Jones on his debut album Good Timin' in May 1960. English singer

Billy Fury Ronald Wycherley (17 April 1940 – 28 January 1983), better known as Billy Fury, was an English singer, musician, songwriter, and actor. An early star of rock and roll, he equalled the Beatles' record of 24 hits in the 1960s and spent 332 week ...

released a version as a single in September 1960. Fury's version peaked at number 25 on the ''

Record Retailer ''Record Retailer'' was the only music trade newspaper for the UK record industry. It was founded in August 1959 as a monthly newspaper covering both labels and dealers. Its founding editor was Roy Parker (who died on 27 December 1964). The title ...

'' Top 50, now seen as the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

, in October 1960 and the song gained further recognition nearly forty years later in 1999 when Fury's version was used on a UK

television advertisement A television advertisement (also called a television commercial, TV commercial, commercial, spot, television spot, TV spot, advert, television advert, TV advert, television ad, TV ad or simply an ad) is a span of television programming produce ...

for the

Toyota Yaris The is a supermini/ subcompact car sold by Toyota since 1999, replacing the Starlet and Tercel. Up to 2019, Toyota had used the Yaris nameplate on export versions of various Japanese-market models, with some markets receiving the same vehicl ...

. Two versions were then re-released as singles: a 1983 re-recording by K-tel (as the official advert release), which peaked at number 83 on the singles chart, and the original single version by

Deram Records Deram Records was a subsidiary record label of Decca Records established in the United Kingdom in 1966. At the time, U.K. Decca was a different company from the Decca label in the United States, which was owned by MCA Inc. Deram recordings w ...

(who had released ''The 40th Anniversary Anthology'' six months earlier), which peaked at number 98.

Track listing

7": Decca / F 11267 # "Wondrous Place" – 2:26 # "Alright, Goodbye" – 2:04 CD: K-tel / TOY9051-2 (1999) # "Wondrous Place" # "

It's Only Make Believe "It's Only Make Believe" is a song written by drummer Jack Nance and Mississippi-born singer Conway Twitty, while both were touring across Ontario, Canada in 1958. The song was recorded on May 7 for MGM Records; produced by Jim Vienneau, it fe ...

" # "Last Night Was Made for Love" CD: Deram / 882 267-2 (1999) # "Wondrous Place" – 2:23 # "

Halfway to Paradise "Halfway to Paradise" is a popular song written by Carole King and Gerry Goffin. In the United States, the song was originally recorded in 1961 by Tony Orlando where it peaked at No. 39 on the Hot 100. In Canada, the song reached No. 3 in t ...

" – 2:26 # "

Jealousy Jealousy generally refers to the thoughts or feelings of insecurity, fear, and concern over a relative lack of possessions or safety. Jealousy can consist of one or more emotions such as anger, resentment, inadequacy, helplessness or disgust. ...

" – 2:45

Other cover versions

* In 1962, American singer

Rod Lauren Roger Lawrence "Rod" Strunk (March 20, 1941 – July 11, 2007), popularly known as Rod Lauren, was an American actor and singer. As an actor, he worked mostly in television, appearing in single episodes of '' Alfred Hitchcock Presents'', ''Comba ...

released a cover of the song as a single. * In 1963, singer Aart Brouwer issued a Dutch-language cover version, retitled Vies * In 1966, English-born singer

Tony Barber Anthony Ferraro Louis Barber (born 28 March 1940) is a British Australian Gold Logie award-winning television game show host, radio announcer singer and media personality, who has been active in the industry since the early 1960s. Biography E ...

released a cover of the song as a single. * In 1990, English band

Guana Batz The Guana Batz are an English psychobilly band who formed in 1982 in Feltham, West London, England. The band are most well known for their frequent appearances at the Klub Foot, an early psychobilly club. History The original group members we ...

covered the song on their album ''Electra Glide in Blue''. * In 1996, American musician

Marshall Crenshaw Marshall Howard Crenshaw (born November 11, 1953) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and guitarist best known for hit songs such as " Someday, Someway," a US top 40 hit in 1982, " Cynical Girl," and " Whenever You're on My Mind." He ...

covered the song on his album '' Miracle of Science''. *In 2008, English supergroup

The Last Shadow Puppets The Last Shadow Puppets are an English supergroup consisting of Alex Turner (Arctic Monkeys), Miles Kane ( The Rascals, solo artist), James Ford (Simian, Simian Mobile Disco, music producer), and Zach Dawes ( Mini Mansions). The band releas ...

released a cover of the song as a B-side to their debut single "

The Age of the Understatement ''The Age of the Understatement'' is the debut album by English supergroup The Last Shadow Puppets, released on 15 April 2008 by Domino Recording Company. It was written between band co-frontmen Alex Turner and Miles Kane in 2006. It was prod ...

". * In 2008, Australian singer

Jason Donovan Jason Sean Donovan (born 1 June 1968) is an Australian actor and singer. He initially achieved fame in the Australian soap ''Neighbours'', playing Scott Robinson, before beginning a career in music in 1988. In the UK he has sold over 3 mi ...

covered the song on his album '' Let It Be Me''. * In 2011, English singer-songwriter

Alice Gold Alice Gold (born Alice McLaughlin) is an English singer-songwriter based in London, formerly signed to Sunday Best and currently signed to Fiction Records. Gold lives on her 53-foot narrowboat with her husband, film producer Jules Cocke, in no ...

released a cover of the song as a single, which was used in an advert for beer brand Carling.

References

1960 songs Songs written by Bill Giant 1960 singles Billy Fury songs Decca Records singles {{1960s-rock-song-stub