Rags to Riches (1953 song) explained

Rags To Riches
Type:	Single
Artist:	Tony Bennett
B-Side:	Here Comes That Heartache Again
Released:	^[1]
Recorded:	March 17, 1953^[2]
Studio:	Columbia 30th Street, New York City
Genre:	Pop
Label:	Columbia
Producer:	Percy Faith
Prev Title:	Someone Turned The Moon Upside Down
Prev Year:	1953
Next Title:	Stranger in Paradise
Next Year:	1953

Artist:	Elvis Presley
B-Side:	Where Did They Go, Lord
Released:	February 23, 1971
Recorded:	September 22, 1970
Prev Title:	I Really Don't Want to Know
Next Title:	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

• Later in 1953, a version by David Whitfield reached number three in the British charts^[5]
• 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.^[6]
• Later recordings by Sunny & the Sunliners (#45 in 1963)^[7] and Elvis Presley (#33 in 1971)^[8] also made the Billboard charts.

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

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

Notes and References

1. Web site: Rags to Riches . 45worlds.com . 15 May 2021.
2. Web site: Session . 6 September 2014 . 15 May 2021.
3. Book: Suskin, Steven . Show Tunes: The Songs, Shows, and Careers of Broadway's Major Composers . 2010 . Oxford University Press . 978-0-19-531407-6 . 243 . 4th .
4. Book: Evanier, David . All the Things You Are: The Life of Tony Bennett . 2011 . John Wiley & Sons . 978-1-118-03354-8 . 94 .
5. Book: Roberts. David. British Hit Singles & Albums. 2005. Guinness World Records Ltd. London. 1-904994-00-8. 546.
6. Book: Whitburn, Joel . Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Joel Whitburn . 2004 . Record Research . 168.
7. Hot 100 . Billboard . December 21, 1963 . 16 .
8. Hot 100 . Billboard . April 10, 1971 . 60.
9. Web site: Goodfellas (1990) : Quotes. IMDb.com. 2016-07-23.
10. Book: Brant, Marley . Happier Days: Paramount Television's Classic Sitcoms, 1974–1984 . 2006 . Billboard Books . 0-8230-8933-9 . 74.
11. Web site: Internet Movie Database. imdb.com. February 18, 2018.