Rags to Riches (song)

"Rags to Riches" is a 1953 popular song by Richard Adler and Jerry Ross.[1]

For the song by Rod Wave, see Rags2Riches (song).

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.[2]

Other versions

• Later in 1953, a version by David Whitfield reached number three in the British charts[3]
• 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.[4]
• Later recordings by Sunny & the Sunliners (#45 in 1963)[5] and Elvis Presley (#33 in 1971)[6] also made the Billboard charts.

In popular culture

• Tony Bennett's version was featured in the opening sequence of the 1990 film Goodfellas.[7]
• The opening line of the song was sung regularly and exuberantly by the character Carmine Ragusa on the television series Laverne & Shirley,[8] typically when he had good news.
• The song was also used in an episode of Columbo.[9]
• Jackie Wilson's version of the song is featured in the 2010 video game Mafia II.[10]

See also

• List of number-one singles of 1953 (U.S.)

References

1. 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.
2. Evanier, David (2011). All the Things You Are: The Life of Tony Bennett. John Wiley & Sons. p. 94. ISBN 978-1-118-03354-8.
3. Roberts, David (2005). British Hit Singles & Albums. London: Guinness World Records Ltd. p. 546. ISBN 1-904994-00-8.
4. Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research. p. 168.
5. "Hot 100". Billboard: 16. December 21, 1963.
6. "Hot 100". Billboard: 60. April 10, 1971.
7. "Goodfellas (1990) : Quotes". IMDb.com. Retrieved 2016-07-23.
8. Brant, Marley (2006). Happier Days: Paramount Television's Classic Sitcoms, 1974–1984. Billboard Books. p. 74. ISBN 0-8230-8933-9.
9. "A Bird in the Hand". Columbo. November 22, 1992. Retrieved 2013-09-27.
10. "Internet Movie Database". imdb.com. Retrieved February 18, 2018.