If I Ruled the World is a popular song written by Leslie Bricusse and Cyril Ornadel for the 1963 West End musical Pickwick, based on Charles Dickens The Pickwick Papers. In the musical it is sung by Samuel Pickwick when he is mistaken for an election candidate and asked to present his manifesto. Bricusse and Ornadel received the 1963 Ivor Novello Award for Best Song Musically and Lyrically. The tune is usually associated with Harry Secombe, who took it to No 18 in the UK charts in 1963. Tony Bennett recorded the song in 1965 and released it as a single from the album If I Ruled the World: Songs for the Jet Set; the single was recorded in 1964 and released January 25, 1965. The genre is easy listening and the track runs about three minutes. Bennett's version reached No 34 on the US pop charts and No 8 on the Middle-Road Singles chart. Since then it has been covered by many artists including Regina Belle, James Brown, Sammy Davis Jr., Tom Jones, The Supremes, Nancy Wilson and Stevie Wonder; Jamie Cullum also recorded a version, and Bennett performed it as a duet with Celine Dion on the 2006 Grammy winning album Duets: An American Classic.
