Wonderful World (Sam Cooke song): Difference between revisions

{{Redirect|(What a) Wonderful World|the Louis Armstrong song|What a Wonderful World|the manga series|What a Wonderful World!{{!}}''What a Wonderful World!''}}

| studio = [[Radio Recorders]], [[Hollywood, Los Angeles|Hollywood]]

| label = [[Keen Records|Keen]], [[A&M Records|A&M]], [[Dunhill Records|Dunhill]]

[[Herman's Hermits]] charted with atheir coverrecording of the song in 1965, reaching number one in Canada,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://rpmimages.3345.ca/pdfs/Vol+3%2C+No.+19+-+Week+of+July+5th%2C+1965.pdf| title=RPM Top Magazine - July 5, 1965 - Page 9}}</ref> number four in the United States, and number seven in the United Kingdom, respectively. AnotherA coverremake by [[Art Garfunkel]] with [[James Taylor]] and [[Paul Simon]] charted at number 17 in 1978. The Sam Cooke version was featured in the 1978 film ''[[National Lampoon's Animal House|Animal House]]'' and gained greater recognition in the UK upon a 1986 re-release when it peaked at number two on the [[UK Singles Chart]], going [[British Phonographic Industry|silvergold]] (it had peaked at number 27 on the UK singles chart on first release in 1960). Its 1986 success was attributed to sound-alike versions featured in the film ''[[Witness (1985 film)|Witness]]'' (1985) and a [[Levi Strauss & Co.|Levi's 501]] television commercial.

Lou Adler and Herb Alpert composed the song with the theme that neither knowledge nor education can dictate feelings, but that love "could make the world a wonderful place.".{{sfn|Guralnick|2005|p=279}} Adler did not take the song very seriously but Cooke appeared to be taken with it. "He’d say, ‘What about that song, you know?’ And then he'd start on it again," recalled Adler.{{sfn|Guralnick|2005|p=279}} Cooke wanted to steer the song toward the subject of schooling, revised the song and decided to cut it at a recording session on March 2, 1959, five days after completing his [[Billie Holiday]] tribute album, ''[[Tribute to the Lady]]''.{{sfn|Guralnick|2005|p=279}} The threesome's writing credit for the song was givenput tounder theCooke's pseudonymouswife's maiden name, "Barbara Campbell."<ref>{{cite Theweb|url=https://www.jonkutner.com/wonderful-world-sam-cooke/|work=jonkutner.com|title=Wonderful nonexistentWorld (Sam Cooke)|date=
4 June 2023}}</ref> Campbell was also listed on the record labels for two other Cooke hits: "[[Only Sixteen]]" and "[[Everybody Loves to Cha Cha Cha]].".

Cooke signed to [[RCA Victor]] in 1960 but his first two singles on the major label – "Teenage Sonata" and "You Understand Me" – failed to register on the charts.{{sfn|Guralnick|2005|p=324}} Meanwhile, John Siamas, co-founder of Keen Records, discovered the "demo" recording of "Wonderful World" among unreleased Cooke recordings.{{sfn|Guralnick|2005|p=324}} Keen released "Wonderful World" in competition with RCA's issue of "You Understand Me" in the same week.{{sfn|Guralnick|2005|p=324}} "Wonderful World" quickly became Cooke's best-performing single since his first hit "[[You Send Me]],", reaching number 12 on the [[Billboard Hot 100|''Billboard'' Hot 100]] and number two on the magazine's [[Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs|Hot R&B Sides]] chart.{{sfn|Guralnick|2005|p=324}} ''[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]'' reviewed the single upon its release, giving it four stars and writing, "Moderate rocker gets a smooth belt from Sam Cooke in his usual, salable style."<ref name="bb1">{{cite magazine|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nR8EAAAAMBAJ&q=Sam+Cooke+wonderful+world+billboard&pg=PA57|title=Reviews of THIS WEEK'S SINGLES|date=April 4, 1960|page=57|magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]|access-date=August 1, 2014}}</ref>

| cover = (What_A)_Wonderful_World_-_Art_Garfunkel.jpg

| genre = [[Easy listening]]

| length = 3:30

*[[Herman's Hermits]] had a major hit in the mid-1960s with an uptempo version of the song (omitting one verse) which reached number one in Canada,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://rpmimages.3345.ca/pdfs/Vol+3%2C+No.+19+-+Week+of+July+5th%2C+1965.pdf| title=RPM Top Magazine - July 5, 1965 - Page 9}}</ref> number four in the US, and number seven in the UK. The Hermits' version was, according to singer [[Peter Noone]] and guitarist [[Keith Hopwood]], done as a tribute to Cooke upon his death. In an interview with Hugh Brown prior to a 2020 concert in Edinburgh, Noone recalled that [[Jimmy Page]], later founder of [[Led Zeppelin]], played guitar on the track and was paid £12.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iuojinVBizc |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211221/iuojinVBizc |archive-date=2021-12-21 |url-status=live|title=PETER NOONE &t HERMAN'S HERMITS - A LIFE IN MUSIC|date=1100April 4, 2020 |access-date=April 26, 2021|publisher=[[YouTube]]}}{{cbignore}}</ref> ''[[Cash Box]]'' described it as having "an infectious, rhythmic blues-tinged warm-hearted style".<ref name=cb>{{cite magazine |title=CashBox Record Reviews |date=May 22, 1965 |page=12 |access-date=2022-01-12 |url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Cash-Box/60s/1965/CB-1965-05-22.pdf |magazine=Cash Box}}</ref>

:The song (as credited under the alternate title, "(What A) Wonderful World") was included on later versions of Garfunkel's solo album, "''[[Watermark (Art Garfunkel album)|Watermark]]"''. It was added in place of another song ("Fingerpaint") to capitalize on the single's success.

The song is used in the 1978 film ''[[National Lampoon's Animal House|Animal House]]'' in the well-known lunchroom scene where Bluto ([[John Belushi]]) gathers food in preparation for a food fight.<ref>[{{Cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DZN4r8p6KbU |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211221/DZN4r8p6KbU |archive-date=2021-12-21 |url-status=live|title=Bluto's a Zit –- Animal House (5/10) Movie CLIP (1978) HD|date=June 16, 2011 |access-date=April 26, 2021|publisher=[[YouTube]]}}{{cbignore}}</ref> The song was also included in the 1983 film ''[[Breathless (1983 film)|Breathless]]''. The original Sam Cooke version of the song comprised the title soundtrack of the 2005 film ''[[Hitch (film)|Hitch]]''.

After a Greg Chapman cover of the song was featured prominently in the 1985 film ''[[Witness (1985 film)|Witness]]'' in a scene where [[Harrison Ford]] dances with [[Kelly McGillis]], "Wonderful World" gained further exposure. Particularly in the United Kingdom, where a copy of the song, produced by [[Karl Jenkins]] and [[Mike Ratledge]] and with vocals sung by [[Barbadian people|Barbadian]] Tony Jackson, a backing singer for [[Paul Young]], appeared in "Bath", a well-remembered, Roger Lyons-directed 1985 advertisement for [[Levi Strauss & Co.|Levi's 501]] jeans.<ref>{{cite journal|author=Bryan Appleyard|author-link=Bryan Appleyard|title=Spectrum: I Sold It Through the Grapevine / Pop Music in Advertising|journal=[[The Times]]|date=August 22, 1986}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|author=Sam Ingleby|title=Karl Jenkins: Fanfare for the Common Man|journal=[[The Independent]]|date=May 17, 2004}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ronroker.com/Latestreleases.htm |title=Latest Releases |publisher=Ron Roker |access-date=June 28, 2014 |archive-date=November 27, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131127073157/http://ronroker.com/Latestreleases.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref> As a result, the Sam Cooke version of the song became a hit in the UK, reaching No.2 and selling a certified 250,000 copies. In a 2005 poll by the UK's [[Channel Four]] the song was voted the 19th-greatest song ever to feature in a commercial.<ref>{{cite web|title=Coke theme is top of the pops|work=[[The Manchester Evening News]] |url=http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/s/163/163787_coke_theme_is_top_of_the_pops.html|date=July 1, 2005|access-date=April 30, 2013}}</ref>

==Charts and certifications==

!scope="row"|Canada ''[[RPM (magazine)|RPM]]'' Top Singles<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discover/films-videos-sound-recordings/rpm/Pages/image.aspx?Image=nlc008388.56465637&URLjpg=http%3a%2f%2fwww.collectionscanada.gc.ca%2fobj%2f028020%2ff4%2fnlc008388.56465637.gif&Ecopy=nlc008388.56465637|title=Item Display – RPM – Library and Archives Canada |website=Collectionscanada.gc.ca |date=JuneJuly 285, 1965 |access-date=FebruaryApril 1520, 20192023}}</ref>

| style="text-align:center;"|41

==NotesCertifications==