Welcome to My World (Jim Reeves song)
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2023}}
{{Infobox song
| name = Welcome to My World
| cover =
| alt =
| type = single
| artist = Jim Reeves
| album = A Touch of Velvet
| B-side = "Good Morning Self" (U.S.), "My Juanita" (UK)
| released = May 1963 (UK), January 1964 (U.S.)
| format =
| recorded =
| studio =
| genre = Country
| length =
| label = RCA
| writer = Ray Winkler
John Hathcock
| producer =
| prev_title = Guilty
| prev_year = 1963
| next_title = Love Is No Excuse
| next_year = 1964
}}
__NOTOC__
"Welcome to My World" is a popular music standard written by Ray Winkler and John Hathcock and recorded by many artists, most notably Jim Reeves. Eddie McDuff likely contributed to the melody.{{cite book|first=Larry |last=Jordan |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=G-OGHWrU4HMC&pg=PA527 |title=Jim Reeves: His Untold Story |publisher=Page Turner Books International |year=2011 |pages=527–528 |isbn=978-0-615-52430-6}} A traditional love song, the bridge includes lyrics taken from Matthew 7:7–8 ("Knock and the door will open; seek and you will find; ask and you'll be given ... ," from the Sermon on the Mount).
Jim Reeves version
The most famous version was performed by country music singer Jim Reeves, who styled the song in his favoured style of Nashville Sound. Reeves' version was included on his 1962 album A Touch of Velvet and was released as a single in the United States in early 1964, reaching No. 2 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart in the spring of that year. It was also occasionally aired on pop radio stations, reaching the No. 2 spot on Billboard's Bubbling Under Hot 100 chart. The song became one of Reeves' last major hits in the U.S. during his lifetime, as he was killed in a plane crash on July 31, 1964.
Reeves' version had been a hit single in the United Kingdom prior to its release as a single in the U.S., peaking at No. 6 in July 1963,{{cite web |title= Official [UK] Singles Chart Top 50: 11 July – 17 July 1963|website= OfficialCharts.com|url= http://www.officialcharts.com/charts/singles-chart/19630711/7501/|access-date=12 February 2017}} and reaching No. 60 on the list of the top 100 best-selling singles of 1963 in the UK.{{cite web |title=The 100 Best-Selling Singles of 1963 [in the UK]|url=http://www.sixtiescity.net/charts/63chart.htm#top100|access-date=12 February 2017}}
A Dean Martin version of the song also appears on Martin's album of the same title.{{AllMusic|class=album|id=welcome-to-my-world-mw0000816187|label=Welcome to My World}}
=Chart performance=
| class="wikitable sortable"
!align="left"|Chart (1963–1964) !align="center"|Peak |
| align="left"|UK Singles Chart
|align="center"|6 |
| align="left"|U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles{{cite web |title=Jim Reeves Charts & Awards |url={{AllMusic|class=album|id=p1784/charts-awards/billboard-singles|pure_url=yes}} |work=Allmusic |access-date=June 30, 2011}}
|align="center"|2 |
| align="left"|U.S. Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100
|align="center"|2 |
Usage in media
The song was used in a 2008 UK advertisement for Thomson's Holidays.{{cite web | url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rg1DFuJiS4U | title=Thomson holiday advert 2008 | website=YouTube | date=10 January 2009 }}
In 2010, the song was used in [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1615658/?ref_=ttep_ep11 Mad Men], Season 4 Episode 11, "Chinese Wall".
In 2020, a cover based on the Dean Martin rendition was used in an advertisement for Apple Arcade.{{cite web | url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vo8TEOOjrOk | title=TV Commercial Archive Apple Arcade Welcome to My World recorded 03 08 2020 | website=YouTube | date=10 March 2021 }}
In 2020, Better Call Saul played the song during the opening flash-forward scene of "Magic Man", Season 5 Episode 1.{{Cite web |date=February 23, 2020 |title=Better Call Saul • S5E1 Soundtrack |url=https://www.what-song.com/Tvshow/120/Better-Call-Saul/e/117002 |access-date=October 18, 2023 |website=WhatSong}} An abridged version was also used in the [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=quC2GkURViU&pp=ygUZQmV0dGVyIENhbGwgU2F1bCBTZWFzb24gNQ%3D%3D Season 5 trailer] of the series.
In 2022, the song was used in the Prime Video series Night Sky.
Wickes began using a cover of "Welcome to My World" by British singer-songwriter Remi Nicole in advertisements in 2022, continuing in 2023.{{Cite web |url-status=live |archive-date=2023-08-06 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230806073831/https://www.tvadsongs.uk/wickes-advert-voice-music-welcome-to-my-world/ |website=www.tvadsongs.uk |language=en |access-date=6 August 2023 |title=Wickes Advert, Song & Voice-over – Welcome To My World – TV Advert Songs |url=https://www.tvadsongs.uk/wickes-advert-voice-music-welcome-to-my-world/}}
The first trailer for 2024's Godzilla × Kong: The New Empire uses an arrangement of the song.{{cite web |title=Godzilla x Kong : The New Empire – Official Trailer |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lV1OOlGwExM |website=YouTube | date=3 December 2023 |access-date=5 December 2023}} It is used in the film's opening scene.
References
{{Reflist}}
{{Jim Reeves}}
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