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Wonderful World (WORD)
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Released on April 14, 1960 it had been recorded during an impromptu session the previous year, Cooke's last recording session at Keen Records. He signed with RCA Victor in 1960 and "Wonderful World," then unreleased, was issued as a single in competition. The song was mainly composed by songwriting team Lou Adler and Herb Alpert, but Cooke revised the lyrics to mention the subject of education more.
"Wonderful World" ended up becoming his biggest hit single since "You Send Me" (1957). The song peaked at number 12 on the Billboard Hot 100 and hit number two on Billboard's Hot R&B Sides chart.
Herman's Hermits charted better with a cover of the song in 1965, reaching number four in the United States and number seven in the United Kingdom, respectively. Another cover by Art Garfunkel with James Taylor and Paul Simon charted at number 17 in 1978.