"Rags to Riches" is a 1953 popular song by Richard Adler and Jerry Ross.
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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 No.1 for eight weeks on the Billboard chart in 1953 and became a gold record. 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 No.3 in the British charts
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.
Later recordings by Sunny & the Sunliners (No. 45 in 1963) and Elvis Presley (No 33 in 1971) also made the Billboard charts.



