"The Wonder of You" is a song written by Baker Knight. It was originally recorded by

Vince Edwards Vince Edwards (born Vincent Edward Zoine; July 9, 1928 – March 11, 1996) was an American actor and director. He was best known for his TV role as doctor Ben Casey and as Major Cliff Bricker in the 1968 war film '' The Devil's Brigade''. Ear ...

in 1958, but this recording has never been released. In an interview with a DJ from Chattanooga, Tennessee, Ray Peterson told the story of how Baker Knight confided that "The Wonder of You" was originally written as a gospel song.

Ray Peterson recording

In 1959, "The Wonder of You" was first released by Ray Peterson as a single. The song became a

Top 40 In the music industry, the Top 40 is the current, 40 most-popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "Top 40" or "cont ...

hit Hit means to strike someone or something. Hit or HIT may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Fictional entities * Hit, a fictional character from '' Dragon Ball Super'' * Homicide International Trust, or HIT, a fictional organization ...

for him on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, peaking at #25, and it briefly re-entered the Hot 100 peaking at #70, in 1964. The 1959 Ray Peterson recording also reached #23 in the UK.

Elvis Presley version

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the " King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. His ener ...

had a no. 1 hit in the UK and a Top 10 hit in the U.S. with his 1970 live version of "The Wonder of You" recorded in

Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vega ...

in February 1970. The song was released as a single on April 20, 1970, backed by the song " Mama Liked the Roses". In the United States, both songs charted at #9 together during 27 June - 11 July 1970. "The Wonder of You" was one of his most successful records in the UK ever, topping the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

for six weeks in the summer of that year. It has sold over 400,000

equivalent units Equivalence or Equivalent may refer to: Arts and entertainment *Album-equivalent unit, a measurement unit in the music industry *Equivalence class (music) *''Equivalent VIII'', or ''The Bricks'', a minimalist sculpture by Carl Andre *'' Equival ...

in the UK, qualifying the single for a gold sales certification in 2022. It also stayed at number one in the

Irish Charts The Irish Recorded Music Association (IRMA) is a non-profit association set up in 1999 to promote certain interests of the music industry in Ireland. It is particularly active in addressing copyright issues, and it compiles the official music ...

for three weeks that same year. This was the 59th

of his career. Presley's version also reached number 37 on the US Country Singles chart, and number one on the

easy listening chart The Adult Contemporary chart is published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine and lists the most popular songs on adult contemporary radio stations in the United States. The chart is compiled based on airplay data submitted to ''Billboard'' by sta ...

. "The Wonder of You" was one of about thirty-five songs Presley would regularly perform at concerts. According to Peterson, "He lvisasked me if I would mind if he recorded 'The Wonder of You.' I said, 'You don't have to ask permission; you're Elvis Presley.' He said, 'Yes, I do. You're Ray Peterson.'" In 2016, a version of the song featuring the

Royal Philharmonic Orchestra The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (RPO) is a British symphony orchestra based in London, that performs and produces primarily classic works. The RPO was established by Thomas Beecham in 1946. In its early days, the orchestra secured profitable ...

was released together with other orchestral versions of Elvis songs in the album '' The Wonder of You''.

Other recordings

*Also 1959, it was recorded by

Ronnie Hilton Ronnie Hilton (born Adrian Hill; 26 January 1926 – 21 February 2001) was an English singer and radio presenter. According to his obituary in ''The Guardian'' newspaper, "For a time Hilton was a star – strictly for home consumption – with ...

. His version was also a hit reaching #22 on the

. The song later appeared on the second season of the TV series ''

The Crown The Crown is the state in all its aspects within the jurisprudence of the Commonwealth realms and their subdivisions (such as the Crown Dependencies, overseas territories, provinces, or states). Legally ill-defined, the term has differ ...

''. *In the early 1960s, the

Platters The Platters was an American vocal group formed in 1952. They are one of the most successful vocal groups of the early rock and roll era. Their distinctive sound bridges the pre-rock Tin Pan Alley tradition and the new burgeoning genre. The ac ...

also recorded this song, which appeared on a 1970s compilation ''The Platters – 30 Golden Hits''. *In 1969,

The Sandpipers The Sandpipers were an American easy listening trio who carved a niche in 1960s folk rock with their vocals and innovative arrangements of international ballads and pop standards. They are best remembered for their cover version of " Guantanamer ...

recorded an album of the same name including the song. *An album of instrumentals of the same name by

Nelson Riddle Nelson Smock Riddle Jr. (June 1, 1921 – October 6, 1985) was an American arranger, composer, bandleader and orchestrator whose career stretched from the late 1940s to the mid-1980s. He worked with many world-famous vocalists at Capitol Recor ...

was also released in 2000. *In 2017, Conor O'Brien recorded the song for '' Big Little Lies'' that was sung by Ed (played by Adam Scott) in the first-season finale. *Uruguayan punk/rockabilly band Rudos Wild recorded the song for their debut album ''Psychos With Wax''

Popularity in association football

The song has been adopted by English

Association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

club

Port Vale Port Vale Football Club are a professional football club based in Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, England, which compete in . Vale are the only English Football League club not to be named after a place; their name being a reference to the valley of ...

, which runs out to the song at the start of its home matches, while the club's fans sing the song throughout their matches, periodically with altered lyrics.

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostl ...

Football Club also adopted the song as their opening anthem upon their move to the

Emirates Stadium The Emirates Stadium (known as Arsenal Stadium for UEFA competitions) is a football stadium in Holloway, London, England. It has been the home stadium of Arsenal Football Club since its completion in 2006. It has a current seated capacity ...

. Scottish club Ross County have also adopted the song as an anthem at the end of home matches.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wonder Of You, The 1959 singles 1970 singles Elvis Presley songs UK Singles Chart number-one singles Irish Singles Chart number-one singles Port Vale F.C. Football songs and chants Songs written by Baker Knight 1959 songs Rock ballads RCA Records singles

Ray Peterson recording

Elvis Presley version

Other recordings

Popularity in association football

See also

References