"The Good Life" is the English version of the French song "La Belle Vie", whose music was written by Sacha Distel. It began as an instrumental titled "Marina", composed in 1962 for Roger Vadim's segment "L'Orgueil" (Pride) in the film sketch collection The Seven Deadly Sins. The instrumental was recorded in December 1961 and released in early 1962 by Distel's ensemble on Philips. Jack Reardon wrote the English lyrics, and Jean Broussolle wrote the French lyrics in 1963. The song was published in 1962. Betty Carter was the first to record the English version, in 1962. Tony Bennett's recording from December 1962 became the most popular, reaching No. 18 on the US Hot 100 in 1963 and earning a RIAA Gold certification. Later versions include recordings by Julie London, Sarah Vaughan, Frank Sinatra and Count Basie, Bobby Darin, Brenda Lee, Matt Monro, Michael Buble, and Sacha Distel with Dionne Warwick. The song served as the theme of the 1971 sitcom The Good Life and was used in the 2000 film Gangster No. 1. It is a jazz standard.
