"If" is a song written by American singer-songwriter

David Gates David Ashworth Gates (born December 11, 1940) is a retired American singer-songwriter, guitarist, musician and producer, frontman and co-lead singer (with Jimmy Griffin) of the group Bread (band), Bread, which reached the top of the musical ch ...

in 1971. Originally popularized by his group

Bread Bread is a baked food product made from water, flour, and often yeast. It is a staple food across the world, particularly in Europe and the Middle East. Throughout recorded history and around the world, it has been an important part of many cu ...

, "If" charted at No. 4 on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot 100 when released as a single in 1971 and No. 6 in Canada. It also spent three weeks at No. 1 on the U.S.

Easy Listening chart The Adult Contemporary chart is published weekly by ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' magazine and lists the most popular songs on adult contemporary music, adult contemporary radio stations in the United States. The chart is compiled based on ...

, and one week at the top of the Canadian AC chart. ''

Record World ''Record World'' magazine was one of three major weekly music industry trade magazines in the United States, with ''Billboard'' and '' Cashbox''. It was founded in 1946 as ''Music Vendor''. In 1964, it was changed to ''Record World'' under the ...

'' said that the "gentle song by group's own David Gates (he produced and arranged also) will score in short order." In the U.S., Bread's tune was the shortest song title to become a top ten hit until 1993, when

Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The ...

hit No. 7 with " 7", later matched by

Britney Spears Britney Jean Spears (born December 2, 1981) is an American singer. Often referred to as the "Princess of Pop", she has sold over 150 million records worldwide, making her one of the world's best-selling music artists. Cultural impact of Brit ...

' No. 1 hit " 3" in 2009. The song is distinguished by its opening line "If a picture paints a thousand words..."

Chart performance

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Telly Savalas version

Telly Savalas Aristotelis "Telly" Savalas (; January 21, 1922 – January 22, 1994) was a Greek-American actor. Noted for his bald head and deep, resonant voice, he is perhaps best known for portraying Lt. Theo Kojak on the crime drama series '' Kojak'' (1973� ...

recorded a mostly-spoken interpretation which reached No. 1 on the UK Singles Chart for two weeks and No. 1 in

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

in March 1975. It has the shortest title of any song to reach No. 1 in the UK. This version also charted at No. 12 on the US ''Billboard'' Easy Listening chart in late 1974. In Canada, "If" reached No. 88 on the Pop chart, and No. 40 on the AC chart. It also peaked at number 12 in Australia and was the 81st biggest selling single in Australia in 1975.

Other versions

Olivia Newton-John Dame Olivia Newton-John (26 September 1948 – 8 August 2022) was a British and Australian singer and actress. With over 100 million records sold, Newton-John was one of the List of best-selling music artists#100 million to 119 million record ...

was one of the first to cover the song, recording a version for her 1971 debut solo album, '' If Not for You'', performing the song during her first American TV performance that year on ''

The Dean Martin Show ''The Dean Martin Show'' is a TV Variety show, variety-Television comedy, comedy series that ran from 1965 to 1974 for 264 episodes. It was broadcast by NBC and hosted by Dean Martin. The theme song to the series was his 1964 hit "Everybody Loves ...

''. A parody take on Savalas' rendition, by voice over artists Chris Sandford and Bill Mitchell performing as Yin and Yan, reached No. 25 in the UK in 1975.

Sissel Kyrkjebø Sissel Kyrkjebø (; born 24 June 1969), also known abroad as Sissel, is a Norwegian soprano. She is considered one of the world's top crossover sopranos. Her musical style ranges from pop recordings and folk songs to classical vocals and operati ...

covered the song in her 1993 album Gift of Love. And Sephira covered the song on their 2015 album, '' Believe''.

References

{{authority control 1971 songs 1971 singles 1974 singles Bread (band) songs Telly Savalas songs Elektra Records singles MCA Records singles Songs written by David Gates UK singles chart number-one singles Irish Singles Chart number-one singles