One of the late Tony Bennett’s best loved songs was “If I Ruled the World.” With music by Leslie Bricusse and lyrics by Cyril Ornadel the song was originally from their musical Pickwick Papers (based on the Charles Dickens novel). The show flopped on Broadway, but Bennett rescues and transforms the ballad into a soaring, romantic ode to wishful thinking. I always adored Bennett’s voice. His first hit, “Because of You,” and its eponymous album was one of my parents’ favorite records (cut on a 78rpm breakable shellac disk that we played on a Victrola). I met Bennett just once…
