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If I Ruled the World: Songs for the Jet Set (1965)

Where the lyrics of If I Ruled the World: Songs for the Jet Set take you, and where it was really made.

Bennett dedicated his recording of 'Sweet Lorraine' on this album to Nat 'King' Cole, who had died a month before the album came out.

Key places

Recorded at Columbia 30th Street Studio, New York (1965)

Recording site Record Plant Studios — The album's recording is listed at Columbia 30th Street Studio in New York City. The point uses city-center coordinates, so the exact building position is not confirmed. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• If I Ruled the World: Songs for the Jet Set is a 1965 studio album by Tony Bennett
• Arranged by Don Costa, who also served as conductor
• Two singles were released from the album: 'If I Ruled the World' and 'Fly Me to the Moon'

Background

• Bennett dedicated his recording of 'Sweet Lorraine' on the album to Nat 'King' Cole
• Cole died a month before the album's release
• On November 8, 2011, Sony Music Distribution issued the CD in the box set The Complete Collection

Recording

• Personnel: Tony Bennett on vocals, Ralph Sharon on piano, Hal Gaylor on bass
• Al Cohn plays tenor sax on tracks 1 to 3 and 9
• Carlos Lyra plays guitar on tracks 1 and 3
• Bobby Hackett plays ukulele and Joe Marsala clarinet on track 8
• Drums by William 'Billy' Exiner, with Elcio Milito on track 1 only
• Don Costa is credited as arranger and conductor

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Early life

• Born Anthony Dominick Benedetto on August 3, 1926, in Long Island City, Queens, New York City.
• Grew up in poverty after his father, a grocer, became unable to work and died when Tony was ten.
• Sang for money from age 13 as a singing waiter in Italian restaurants in Queens.
• Attended New York's School of Industrial Art but dropped out at 16 to help support his family.

Military service

• Drafted into the U.S. Army in November 1944 and fought as an infantryman in the final stages of World War II.
• Stayed in Germany with the occupying force and sang with an Army Special Services band under the name Joe Bari.

Career

• Studied bel canto at the American Theatre Wing on the GI Bill; Pearl Bailey and Bob Hope helped launch him, and Hope shortened his name to Tony Bennett.
• Signed with Columbia Records in 1950; first number-one hit "Because of You" in 1951.
• Shifted toward jazz singing in the late 1950s; "I Left My Heart in San Francisco" (1962) became his signature song.
• Declined commercially during the rock era and struggled with addiction and debt until a comeback in the late 1980s, managed by his son Danny.
• The 1994 MTV Unplugged album won the Grammy for Album of the Year.

Later career

• Collaborated with Lady Gaga from Cheek to Cheek (2014) through Love for Sale (2021).
• Won 20 Grammy Awards, including a Lifetime Achievement Award, and sold more than 50 million records worldwide.
• Received a Kennedy Center Honor in 2005 and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
• Co-founded the Frank Sinatra School of the Arts in Queens with Susan Crow.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• Billboard praised 'Fly Me to the Moon' as fresh and sparkling, especially with Don Costa's backing
• Cashbox said the material was mostly recently written songs seeking standard status
• Variety noted excellent backing from topflight instrumentalists and an incidental chorus
• Record Mirror described the album as marvelous

Reappraisal

• William Ruhlmann of AllMusic noted two songs from the Rodgers and Sondheim musical Do I Hear a Waltz?, set in Venice
• He said the other sections did not fully justify the flight theme, but the material was high quality

Records

• 'If I Ruled the World' reached number 34 on the Billboard Hot 100 over nine weeks
• It peaked at number 8 on the Billboard Easy Listening chart, number 48 on Cashbox, and number 40 in the UK
• 'Fly Me to the Moon' reached number 84 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number 17 on Easy Listening
• The album reached number 47 on the Billboard Top LPs chart over 22 weeks
• On the Cashbox albums chart it peaked at number 32 over 17 weeks

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• The album's 'Sweet Lorraine' is a tribute to Nat 'King' Cole, who died a month before release
• AllMusic pointed out that the back cover gives Harlem as the 'destination' of Duke Ellington's 'Love Scene', a place not on any flight plan
• Billboard singled out Don Costa's backing on 'Fly Me to the Moon'
• Cashbox described the material as recently penned candidates for the standard status
• The CD was part of the 2011 box set The Complete Collection

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

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