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"Rags To Riches"
Single by Tony Bennett
B-side"Here Comes That Heartache Again"
ReleasedAugust 3, 1953 (1953-08-03) [1]
RecordedMarch 17, 1953 [2]
Studio Columbia 30th Street, New York City
Genre Pop
Length2:50
Label Columbia
Producer(s) Percy Faith
Tony Bennett singles chronology
"Someone Turned The Moon Upside Down"
(1953)
"Rags To Riches"
(1953)
" Stranger in Paradise"
(1953)
"Rags to Riches"
Song by Elvis Presley
B-side" Where Did They Go, Lord"
ReleasedFebruary 23, 1971
RecordedSeptember 22, 1970
Songwriter(s) Richard Adler
Elvis Presley singles chronology
" I Really Don't Want to Know" "Rags to Riches" " Life"

"Rags to Riches" is a 1953 popular song by Richard Adler and Jerry Ross. [3]

Background

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

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

In popular culture

  • 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

References

  1. ^ "Rags to Riches". 45worlds.com. Retrieved 15 May 2021.
  2. ^ "Session". 6 September 2014. Retrieved 15 May 2021.
  3. ^ 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.
  4. ^ Evanier, David (2011). All the Things You Are: The Life of Tony Bennett. John Wiley & Sons. p. 94. ISBN  978-1-118-03354-8.
  5. ^ Roberts, David (2005). British Hit Singles & Albums. London: Guinness World Records Ltd. p. 546. ISBN  1-904994-00-8.
  6. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research. p. 168.
  7. ^ "Hot 100". Billboard. December 21, 1963. p. 16.
  8. ^ "Hot 100". Billboard. April 10, 1971. p. 60.
  9. ^ "Goodfellas (1990) : Quotes". IMDb.com. Retrieved 2016-07-23.
  10. ^ Brant, Marley (2006). Happier Days: Paramount Television's Classic Sitcoms, 1974–1984. Billboard Books. p. 74. ISBN  0-8230-8933-9.
  11. ^ "Internet Movie Database". imdb.com. Retrieved February 18, 2018.