If I Were a Bell is a song by Frank Loesser (1910-1969), who wrote both the music and the lyrics for the 1950 Broadway musical Guys and Dolls. In the show, the character Sister Sarah sings it. Isabel Bigley originated the role on Broadway, and her performance was preserved on the original cast album issued by Decca in 1950. Lizbeth Webb created the part in the original London production in 1953 and also recorded the song. The song became a jazz standard after Miles Davis featured it on the 1958 Prestige album Relaxin' with The Miles Davis Quintet, with John Coltrane, and it became a Miles Davis specialty. That version was used in the final scene of the final episode of The Cosby Show. Other notable recordings include those by Bing Crosby with Patty Andrews (1950), Doris Day, whose version was a top-20 hit in 1950, Ella Fitzgerald (1958), Dinah Washington (1956), Blossom Dearie (1959), Dinah Shore (1963), Petula Clark (1966), Holly Cole (1991) and Seth MacFarlane (2022).
