What a Wonderful World
"What a Wonderful World" is a song written by Bob Thiele (as "George Douglas") and George David Weiss. It was first recorded by Louis Armstrong and released in 1967 as a single, which topped the pop charts in the United Kingdom,[1] though it performed poorly in the United States because Larry Newton, the president of ABC Records, had set himself against it.
"What a Wonderful World" | ||||
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Single by Louis Armstrong | ||||
from the album What a Wonderful World | ||||
B-side | "Cabaret" | |||
Released | September 1, 1967 | |||
Recorded | 1967 | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 2:21 | |||
Label | ABC | |||
Songwriter(s) | Bob Thiele (as George Douglas) George David Weiss[1] | |||
Producer(s) | Bob Thiele[1] | |||
Louis Armstrong singles chronology | ||||
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After appearing in the film Good Morning, Vietnam, the song was re-released as a single in 1988, and it rose to number 32 on the Billboard Hot 100.[2] Armstrong's recording was inducted in the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1999. The publishing for this song is controlled by Concord, BMG Rights Management and Carlin America.
History
The song was written by producer Bob Thiele (as "George Douglas") and composer and performer George David Weiss.[3]
One source claims the song was first offered to Tony Bennett, who turned it down,[4] although Louis Armstrong biographer Ricky Riccardi disputes this claim.[5] George Weiss recounts in the book Off the Record: Songwriters on Songwriting by Graham Nash that he wrote the song specifically for Louis Armstrong. Weiss was inspired by Armstrong's ability to bring people of different races together.
Because he was gigging at the Tropicana Hotel, Armstrong recorded the song in Las Vegas at Bill Porter’s United Recording studio. The session was scheduled to follow Armstrong's midnight show, and by 2 am the musicians were settled and tape was rolling. Arranger Artie Butler was there with songwriters Weiss and Theile, and Armstrong was in the studio singing with the orchestra. Armstrong had recently signed to ABC Records, and ABC president Larry Newton showed up to photograph Armstrong. Newton wanted a swingy pop song like "Hello, Dolly!", a big hit for Armstrong when he was with Kapp Records, so when Newton heard the slow pace of "What a Wonderful World", he tried to stop the session. Newton was locked out of the studio for his disruption, but a second problem arose: nearby freight train whistles interrupted the session twice, forcing the recording to start over. Armstrong shook his head and laughed off the distractions, keeping his composure. The session ended around 6 am, going longer than expected. To make sure the orchestra members were paid extra for their overtime, Armstrong accepted only $250 musicians union scale for his work.[3]
The song was not initially a hit in the United States, where it sold fewer than 1,000 copies because Newton did not like or promote it,[6] but was a major success in the United Kingdom, reaching number one on the UK Singles Chart.[1] In the United States, the song hit No. 16 on the Billboard Bubbling Under Chart. It was also the biggest-selling single of 1968 in the UK where it was among the last pop singles issued by HMV Records before becoming an exclusive classical music label.[7] The song made Armstrong the oldest male to top the UK Singles Chart.[1] Armstrong's record was broken in 2009 when a remake of "Islands in the Stream" recorded for Comic Relief—which included the 68-year-old Tom Jones—reached number one in that chart.
ABC Records' European distributor EMI forced ABC to issue a What a Wonderful World album in 1968 (catalogue number ABCS-650). It did not chart in the United States, due to ABC not promoting it,[8] but charted in the UK where it was issued by Stateside Records with catalogue number SSL 10247 and peaked on the British chart at No. 37.
The song gradually became something of a standard and reached a new level of popularity. An episode of The Muppet Show produced in 1977 and broadcast early in 1978 featured Rowlf the Dog singing the song to a puppy. In 1978, it was featured in the closing scenes of BBC radio's, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, and was repeated for BBC's 1981 TV adaptation of the series. In 1988, Armstrong's recording appeared in the film Good Morning, Vietnam (despite the film being set in 1965 – two years before it was recorded) and was re-released as a single, hitting No. 32 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in February 1988. The single charted at number one for the fortnight ending June 27, 1988 on the Australian chart. It is also the closing song for the 1995 movie 12 Monkeys.
In 2001, rappers Ghostface Killah, Raekwon, and The Alchemist released "The Forest," a song that begins with three lines of lyric adapted from "What a Wonderful World", altered to become "an invitation to get high" on marijuana.[9] The rappers and their record company, Sony Music Entertainment, were sued by the owners of "What a Wonderful World," Abilene Music. The suit was thrown out of court after Judge Gerard E. Lynch determined that the altered lyric was a parody, transforming the uplifting original message to a new one with a darker nature.[9][10]
By April 2014, Louis Armstrong's 1967 recording had sold 2,173,000 downloads in the United States after it was released digitally.[11]
Charts and certifications
Weekly charts
Chart (1967–68) | Peak position |
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Australia[12] | 29 |
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[13] | 1 |
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[14] | 6 |
Denmark[15] | 2 |
Germany (Official German Charts)[16] | 6 |
Ireland[17] | 2 |
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[18] | 15 |
Netherlands (MediaMarkt)[19] | 14 |
New Zealand | 15 |
Norway (VG-lista)[20] | 6 |
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[21] | 7 |
UK Singles Chart | 1 |
U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | 116 |
U.S. Adult Contemporary (Billboard) | 12 |
Chart (1976) | Peak position |
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Italy (FIMI)[22] | 11 |
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Year-end charts
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Certifications
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
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Denmark (IFPI Denmark)[29] | Gold | 45,000![]() |
Italy (FIMI)[30] | Gold | 15,000* |
United Kingdom (BPI)[31] | Gold | 400,000![]() |
United States (RIAA)[32] | Gold | 500,000^ |
^shipments figures based on certification alone |
Eva Cassidy and Katie Melua version
"What a Wonderful World" | ||||
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Single by Eva Cassidy and Katie Melua | ||||
from the album The Katie Melua Collection | ||||
B-side | "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" (Katie Melua) | |||
Released | December 3, 2007 | |||
Length | 4:19 | |||
Label | Dramatico | |||
Producer(s) | Mike Batt | |||
Eva Cassidy singles chronology | ||||
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Katie Melua singles chronology | ||||
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In 2007, Georgian-British singer-songwriter Katie Melua recorded a version of the song with American singer and guitarist Eva Cassidy, who had died in 1996. Recorded by Melua singing over the original Cassidy track, the duet was released in late 2007 as a charity single for the British Red Cross.[33] Melua, who considers Cassidy one of her musical idols, had previously sung with Cassidy in this manner on Christmas Eve 2006, when she performed "Over the Rainbow" on the BBC One television program Duets Impossible with a videotape of Cassidy singing the song.[33]
Upon its release, the single debuted at number 45 on the Scottish Singles Chart on the week of December 9, 2007.[34] The next week, the song rose 44 positions to number one while also debuting at number one on the UK Singles Chart, becoming both Cassidy's and Melua's first number-one single in the United Kingdom. However, the song quickly dropped off the UK chart after peaking, spending only five weeks in the UK top 100. In Scotland, the song stayed in the top 100 for 11 weeks. The cover was also successful in Poland, reaching number five on the LP3 chart in February 2008. In November the same year, it peaked at number 19 in Sweden and became a minor hit in Walloon Belgium.
When the song reached number one in the UK, Melua thanked everyone who bought the single, saying, "Thank you to everyone who has shown such festive goodwill."[33] The duet was later included on her 2008 compilation album The Katie Melua Collection.
Charts
Weekly charts
Chart (2007–2008) | Peak position |
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Belgium (Ultratip Wallonia)[35] | 24 |
Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)[36] | 6 |
Poland (LP3)[37] | 5 |
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[38] | 19 |
Scotland (Official Charts Company)[39] | 1 |
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[40] | 1 |
Year-end charts
Chart (2007) | Position |
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UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[41] | 58 |
Other notable versions
- 1989: Roy Clark, on his album What a Wonderful World (peaked at No. 73 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart)[42]
- 1992: Nick Cave and Shane MacGowan, the lead single and title track to their split album What a Wonderful World[43] (reached number 72 on the UK charts)[44]
- 1993: Israel Kamakawiwo'ole, Hawaiian ukulele version (medley with "Somewhere Over the Rainbow") on the album Facing Future (sold over 2.5 million copies in the U.S. and Canada alone)[45]
- 1999: Anne Murray, on What a Wonderful World which also spawned a book and video (the album reached No. 1 on the US CCM chart, No. 4 on the US Country chart, and No. 38 on the top 200)
- 2002: Joey Ramone's posthumous version was used for the ending credits of Michael Moore's film Bowling for Columbine and in the 2003 film Freaky Friday.
- 2004: LeAnn Rimes covered the song on her debut Christmas album What a Wonderful World. [46]
- 2004: Rod Stewart recorded a version of the song with Stevie Wonder for Stewart's album Stardust: The Great American Songbook, Volume III (released in the United States as the lead single from the album and by early 2005 reached No. 13 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart).[47]
- 2009: The Clarks' version was recorded for their album Restless Days. This version was featured on The Simpsons's season 27 premiere, "Every Man's Dream". It is also used after every home victory for the Pittsburgh Penguins at PPG Paints Arena.
- 2012: Pat Byrne's version reached No. 3 in the Irish Singles Chart after appearing on The Voice of Ireland.
Appearances in film, television and others
Film
Title | Performer | Year | Source |
---|---|---|---|
Good Morning, Vietnam | Louis Armstrong | 1987 | 1 |
Little Marines | Louis Armstrong | 1991 | 1 |
Ciao, Professore! | Louis Armstrong | 1992 | 1 |
The Kennedy Years (JFK Remembered) | Louis Armstrong | 1993 | 1 |
12 Monkeys | Louis Armstrong | 1995 | 1 |
Wrestling with Alligators | Louis Armstrong | 1998 | 1 |
Madeline | Louis Armstrong | 1998 | 1 |
Meet Joe Black | Louis Armstrong | 1998 | 1 |
Bowling for Columbine | Louis Armstrong Joey Ramone (end credits) |
2002 | [48] |
Freaky Friday | Joey Ramone | 2003 | 1 |
Swing Girls | Louis Armstrong | 2004 | 1 |
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (teaser trailer only) | Louis Armstrong | 2005 | [49] |
Chicken Little (teaser trailer only) | Louis Armstrong | 2005 | [50] |
Madagascar | Louis Armstrong | 2005 | 1 |
Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay | Louis Armstrong | 2008 | 1 |
Head Over Heels | Louis Armstrong | 2010 | 1 |
Guzaarish | Hritik Roshan | 2010 | |
New Year's Eve | Louis Armstrong | 2011 | 1 |
Journey 2: The Mysterious Island (slightly different version of the song) |
Dwayne Johnson | 2012 | |
Back to the Sea | Louis Armstrong | 2012 | 1 |
Mein Salzburg | Louis Armstrong | 2015 | 1 |
Un gallo con muchos huevos | Louis Armstrong | 2015 | 1 |
Finding Dory | Louis Armstrong | 2016 | 1 |
Range 15 | Louis Armstrong | 2016 | 1 |
Geostorm (teaser trailer only) | Sharon Van Etten & Juggernaut Kid | 2017 | |
Arjun Reddy | Louis Armstrong | 2017 | [51] |
Pokémon Detective Pikachu (teaser trailer only) | Louis Armstrong | 2019 | [52] |
Dolittle (teaser trailer) | Reuben and the Dark | 2020 | [53] |
Television
Series | Episode | Performer | Year | Source |
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The Muppet Show | Don Knotts (#2.1) | Rowlf (Jim Henson) | 1977 | 2 |
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy | #1.6 | Louis Armstrong | 1981 | 1 |
Moonlighting | A Womb with a View | Louis Armstrong | 1988 | 1 |
The Green Man | Louis Armstrong | 1990 | 1 | |
Family Matters | The Mama Who Came to Dinner (Pilot) | Louis Armstrong | 1989 | 1 |
Twin Peaks | #2.7 | Louis Armstrong | 1990 | 1 |
Get A Life | Clip Show | Louis Armstrong | 1992 | |
Florida Lady | Lauf dem Leben nicht davon | Louis Armstrong | 1994 | 1 |
Vamp | Louis Armstrong | 1991 | 1 | |
Cybill | Cybill Discovers the Meaning of Life | Louis Armstrong | 1995 | 1 |
Home Improvement-The Longest Day | Season 5 Episode 22 | 1996 | ||
The King of Queens | Head First | Louis Armstrong | 1998 | 1 |
Hahn im Korb | Louis Armstrong | 1999 | 1 | |
Gilmore Girls | Rory's Birthday Parties | Louis Armstrong | 2000 | 1 |
Dawson's Creek | Hopeless | Louis Armstrong | 2001 | 1 |
#1.3 | Louis Armstrong | 2003 | 1 | |
Die Lugners | #1.9 | Louis Armstrong | 2003 | 1 |
Lust & Sühne | Louis Armstrong | 2001 | 1 | |
Racheengel | Louis Armstrong | 2001 | 1 | |
Hinter Gittern – Der Frauenknast | Fährte aufgenommen | Louis Armstrong | 2004 | 1 |
House, MD | DNR | Louis Armstrong | 2005 | 1 |
Life on Mars | #1.6 | Louis Armstrong | 2006 | 1 |
20 to 1 | Greatest Songs of All Time | Louis Armstrong | 2006 | 1 |
Supernatural | What Is And What Should Never Be | Joey Ramone | 2007 | |
The Simpsons | The Good, the Sad and the Drugly | Louis Armstrong | 2009 | 1 |
So You Think You Can Dance (Canada) | Top 8 Perform | Louis Armstrong | 2009 | 1 |
An Idiot Abroad | Karl Comes Home | Louis Armstrong | 2010 | 1 |
The Mentalist | Blinking Red Light | Louis Armstrong | 2011 | 1 |
Inspector George Gently | The Lost Child | Louis Armstrong | 2012 | 1 |
Strictly Come Dancing | Week 9 Results | Louis Armstrong | 2014 | 1 |
Broad City | What a Wonderful World | Louis Armstrong | 2014 | 1 |
The Simpsons | Every Man's Dream | The Clarks | 2015 | 1 |
Childhood's End | #1.1 | Joseph William Morgan | 2015 | |
MythBusters | The Reunion Special | Louis Armstrong | 2016 | 1 |
The OA | Champion | Sharon Van Etten & Juggernaut Kid | 2016 | 1 |
The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel | Mid-way to Mid-Town | Louis Armstrong | 2018 | |
Salvation | From Russia, With Love | Louis Armstrong | 2018 | |
Young Sheldon | #1.18 | Joey Ramone | 2017 | |
Bosch | Some Measure of Justice | Chris Botti & Mark Knopfler | 2020 | |
Dark | Das Paradies | Soap&Skin | 2020 |
References
- Rice, Jo (1982). The Guinness Book of 500 Number One Hits (1st ed.). Enfield, Middlesex: Guinness Superlatives Ltd. p. 117. ISBN 0-85112-250-7.
- "Chart History: Louis Armstrong – Hot 100". Billboard. Retrieved August 7, 2020.
- "What A Wonderful World". The Pop History Dig. Retrieved April 21, 2013.
- "Sundance Channel : Video: : SPECTACLE: Season 1 – Episode 5 (clip)". SundanceChannel.com. Archived from the original on January 7, 2010. Retrieved July 25, 2012.
- "Ricky Riccardi: Video Pops What a Wonderful World": The First Fifty Years". Retrieved August 4, 2018.
- Black, Johnny (2006). Singles: Six Decades of Hot Hits & Classic Cuts. Thunder Bay Press. p. 97. ISBN 978-1592236510.
- "45 Discography for HMV Records – UK – POP series 1001–1617". Globaldogproductions.info. Retrieved July 25, 2012.
- "ABC-Paramount Album Discography, Part 6". Bsnpubs.com. Retrieved July 25, 2012.
- Chang, Samantha (November 1, 2003). "Court: Ghostface Rap Was 'Fair Use'". Billboard. 115 (44): 22. ISSN 0006-2510.
- Kohn, Al; Kohn, Bob (2010). Kohn on music licensing (4 ed.). Aspen Publishers. pp. 1647–1648. ISBN 0735590907. Retrieved July 25, 2012.
- Grein, Paul (April 16, 2014). "Chart Watch: "Happy" tops 4M". Yahoo! Music.
- "Go-Set Australian Charts". Go-Set. Retrieved August 9, 2014.
- "Austriancharts.at – Louis Armstrong – What a Wonderful World" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved March 17, 2014.
- "Ultratop.be – Louis Armstrong – What a Wonderful World" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved March 17, 2014.
- "Danske Hitlister.dk". Danske Hitlister.dk. Retrieved August 9, 2014.
- "Musicline.de – Louis Armstrong Single-Chartverfolgung" (in German). Media Control Charts. PhonoNet GmbH. Retrieved March 17, 2014.
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- "Australian-charts.com – Louis Armstrong – What a Wonderful World". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved March 17, 2014.
- "What A Wonderful World – LOUIS ARMSTRONG" (in Dutch). Top 30. Archived from the original on April 9, 2012. Retrieved August 4, 2014.
Hoogste notering in de top 30 : 1
- "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. May 7, 1988. Retrieved June 20, 2020.
- Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. Australian Chart Book, St Ives, N.S.W. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
- Carolyn Hope. "Barry's Hits of All Decades Pop rock n roll Music Chart Hits". hitsofalldecades.com.
- Whitburn, Joel (1999). Pop Annual. Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin: Record Research Inc. ISBN 0-89820-142-X.
- "Danish single certifications – Louis Armstrong – What a Wonderful World". IFPI Denmark. Retrieved June 6, 2019. Scroll through the page-list below until year 2019 to obtain certification.
- "Italian single certifications – Louis Armstrong – What a Wonderful World" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Retrieved March 17, 2014. Select "2014" in the "Anno" drop-down menu. Select "What a Wonderful World" in the "Filtra" field. Select "Singoli online" under "Sezione".
- "British single certifications – Louis Armstrong – What a Wonderful World". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved March 11, 2019. Select singles in the Format field. Select Gold in the Certification field. Type What a Wonderful World in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
- "American single certifications – Louis Armstrong – What a Wonderful World". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved April 19, 2020. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Single, then click SEARCH.
- "Katie Melua page". Eva Cassidy Web Site. Retrieved July 9, 2018.
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- "Ultratop.be – Eva Cassidy & Katie Melua – What a Wonderful World" (in French). Ultratip. Retrieved July 9, 2018.
- "Hits of the World – Eurocharts" (PDF). Billboard. Vol. 120 no. 1. January 5, 2008. p. 63. Retrieved August 1, 2020.
- "Notowanie nr1358". LP3 (in Polish). February 4, 2019. Retrieved February 15, 2019.
- "Swedishcharts.com – Eva Cassidy & Katie Melua – What a Wonderful World". Singles Top 100. Retrieved July 9, 2018.
- "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved July 9, 2018.
- "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved July 9, 2018.
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- Whitburn, Joel (2013). Hot Country Songs 1944–2012. Record Research, Inc. p. 78. ISBN 978-0-89820-203-8.
- https://www.allmusic.com/album/what-a-wonderful-world-mw0000095500
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- What a Wonderful World (Bowling for Columbine) YouTube. Retrieved March 1, 2019
- The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy – Teaser, YouTube. Retrieved March 1, 2019
- Chicken Little Teaser Trailer (2005) YouTube. Retrieved March 2, 2019
- Bhatia, Uday (December 22, 2017). "Movies in 2017: 13 reasons why". Livemint. Retrieved April 9, 2019.
- Official Dolittle trailer
- "REUBEN AND THE DARK SHARE "DANCER" FROM UPCOMING LP". Killbeat Music. Retrieved December 27, 2019.
- "Louis Armstrong". IMDb. Retrieved September 11, 2015.
- "5/25/1977 – 'Don Knotts (MS)'". Retrieved April 30, 2016.
External links
- How political is What A Wonderful World? – BBC News article about history and meaning of song
- Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics
- Barrueco & Balles Music play What a Wonderful World