"If I Ruled the World" is a popular song, composed by

Leslie Bricusse Leslie Bricusse OBE (; 29 January 1931 – 19 October 2021) was a British composer, lyricist, and playwright who worked on theatre musicals and wrote theme music for films. He was best known for writing the music and lyrics for the films '' Do ...

and Cyril Ornadel, which was originally from the 1963 West End musical '' Pickwick'' (based on

Charles Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian e ...

's ''

The Pickwick Papers ''The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club'' (also known as ''The Pickwick Papers'') was Charles Dickens's first novel. Because of his success with '' Sketches by Boz'' published in 1836, Dickens was asked by the publisher Chapman & Hall to ...

'').

Background

In the context of the stage musical, the song is sung by

Samuel Pickwick Samuel Pickwick is a fictional character and the main protagonist in ''The Pickwick Papers'' (1836), the first novel by author Charles Dickens. One of the author's most famous and loved creations, Pickwick is a retired successful businessman an ...

, 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 The Ivor Novello Awards, named after the entertainer Ivor Novello, are awards for songwriting and composing. They have been presented annually in London by the Ivors Academy (formerly the BASCA) since 1956, and over 1,000 statuettes have been ...

for Best Song Musically and Lyrically.

First recordings

*The song is usually associated with Sir

Harry Secombe Sir Harold Donald Secombe (8 September 1921 – 11 April 2001) was a Welsh comedian, actor, singer and television presenter. Secombe was a member of the British radio comedy programme ''The Goon Show'' (1951–1960), playing many characters, m ...

, who got the song to No 18 in the UK charts in 1963. *

Tony Bennett Anthony Dominick Benedetto (born August 3, 1926), known professionally as Tony Bennett, is an American retired singer of traditional pop standards, big band, show tunes, and jazz. Bennett is also a painter, having created works under his birt ...

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 Céline Marie Claudette Dion ( ; born 30 March 1968) is a Canadian singer. Noted for her powerful and technically skilled vocals, Dion is the best-selling Canadian recording artist, and the best-selling French-language artist of all time. Her ...

, he returned to the song on his Grammy-winning 2006 album '' Duets: An American Classic''.

Other recordings

It has been performed by other singers, notably: *Nancy Wilson * Robert Goulet * James Brown * Stevie Wonder *

The Supremes The Supremes were an American girl group and a premier act of Motown Records during the 1960s. Founded as the Primettes in Detroit, Michigan, in 1959, the Supremes were the most commercially successful of Motown's acts and the most successf ...

* Tom Jones *

Regina Belle Regina Elaine Belle (born July 17, 1963) is an American singer-songwriter who started her career in the mid-1980s. Known for her singles " Baby Come to Me" (1989) and "Make It Like It Was" (1990), Belle's most notable for two hit duets, both with ...

Jamie Cullum Jamie Cullum (born 20 August 1979) is an English jazz-pop singer, songwriter and radio presenter. Although primarily a vocalist and pianist, he also accompanies himself on other instruments, including guitar and drums. He has recorded nine stu ...

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 The BBC Proms or Proms, formally named the Henry Wood Promenade Concerts Presented by the BBC, is an eight-week summer season of daily orchestral classical music concerts and other events held annually, predominantly in the Royal Albert Hal ...

in London, with The Heritage Ensemble, on Thursday 26 August 2010 between 22:15 and 13.45. As shown on BBC televisions' BBC Four on the following night.BBC – Proms – 26 August 2010
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Popular culture

*The song was featured in '' Bruce Almighty'' by

Tom Shadyac Thomas Peter Shadyac (born December 11, 1958) is an American director, screenwriter, producer, and author. The youngest joke-writer ever for comedian Bob Hope, Shadyac is widely known for writing and directing the comedy films '' Ace Ventura: P ...

(2003). *The song was featured in the movie, ''

War of the Worlds ''The War of the Worlds'' is a science fiction novel by English author H. G. Wells, first serialised in 1897 by '' Pearson's Magazine'' in the UK and by ''Cosmopolitan'' magazine in the US. The novel's first appearance in hardcover was i ...

'' by Steven Spielberg (2005). *This song was featured in

Spring Spring(s) may refer to: Common uses * Spring (season) Spring, also known as springtime, is one of the four temperate seasons, succeeding winter and preceding summer. There are various technical definitions of spring, but local usage of ...

/ Summer 2009 on the

Vodafone Vodafone Group plc () is a British multinational telecommunications company. Its registered office and global headquarters are in Newbury, Berkshire, England. It predominantly operates services in Asia, Africa, Europe, and Oceania. , Vod ...

advert Advertising is the practice and techniques employed to bring attention to a product or service. Advertising aims to put a product or service in the spotlight in hopes of drawing it attention from consumers. It is typically used to promote a ...

s 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 p ...

, the actor best known for playing the part of Lorne ('The Host') in the television series ''

Angel In various theistic religious traditions an angel is a supernatural spiritual being who serves God. Abrahamic religions often depict angels as benevolent celestial intermediaries between God (or Heaven) and humanity. Other roles inclu ...

'', 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