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"What a Wonderful World" was written by songwriters Bob Thiele and George David Weiss, first performed by Louis Armstrong, and released as a single in early fall 1967. Intended as an antidote for the increasingly racially and politically charged climate in the U.S. (and written specifically for Armstrong, who had broad crossover appeal), the song details the singer's delight in the simple enjoyment of everyday life. The song also has a hopeful, optimistic tone with regard to the future, with reference to babies being born into the world and having much to which to look forward. The song was not initially a hit in the States, where it sold less than 1,000 copies, but was a major success in the UK, reaching number one in the UK singles chart.

I see trees of green, red roses too. I see them bloom for me and for you, and I think to myself, 'What a wonderful world'...

In the sitcom, All in the Family, Mike decides that the world is so screwed-up that he doesn't think he and Gloria should have children. He changes his mind when he hears "What a Wonderful World."

The song gradually became something of a standard and reached a new level of popularity when it was included in the soundtrack for the film Good Morning, Vietnam in 1987. In the film, the song plays over a montage of bombings and other violence (similar the use of the song "We'll Meet Again" in the film Dr. Strangelove, or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb). This is one of the earliest examples of the song being used ironically, which has become something of a cliché in film and television.

The song was featured as the theme for the first season of the popular 1990s sitcom Family Matters. It was also used in the film Meet Joe Black and twice in Twelve Monkeys, once emitting from a radio, and then over the ending credits (again ironically, as the audience knows that a pandemic is about to sweep the world). It was sung by Willie Nelson for the 1996 movie Michael. A Willie Nelson version also was used for the "Don't Mess With Texas" anti-littering public service announcement campaign.

The Louis Armstrong version was also used during a sequence in Michael Moore's film Bowling for Columbine, where it accompanies scenes of violence in a montage about United States intervention in international affairs, as well as having the Joey Ramone cover playing over the ending credits. In the 2005 film, Madagascar it appears as a background song. On the program "Pirate Radio" (airing in Nashville, Tennessee), an acoustic guitar version was used weekly as a music bed; it was also used for the end credits of the last episode in the first radio series of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and later for the closing titles of the corresponding final television episode. It was later used in the first teaser for the Hitchhiker's film, lasting only one stanza before the Earth explodes. It has also been used ironically as the theme music to the BBC series A Life of Grime, and as the closing theme to one series of Grumpy Old Men, in a version performed by the cast of the programme.

Clear Channel included What a Wonderful World on a list of songs that might be inappropriate for airplay in the period just after the September 11, 2001 attacks.

In 2006, XM Satellite Radio added What a Wonderful World to its Holiday/Christmas rotation, though there appears to be no precedent for this connection.

• 1968 Louis Armstrong - million selling original version
• 1970 Louis Armstrong with the Oliver Nelson's Orchestra - with spoken introduction
• 1989 The Flaming Lips on their breakthrough album In a Priest Driven Ambulance
• 1992 Shane MacGowan & Nick Cave - male duet, released as a single.
• 1993 Israel Kamakawiwo'ole - Hawaiian ukulele version (medley with Somewhere Over The Rainbow) on the album Facing Future
• 1994 Victoria Williams on her Loose album.
• 1997 Eva Cassidy - on her album Live at Blues Alley.
• 1999 Anne Murray on her album "What a Wonderful World". The album sold an estimated 2.5 million worldwide. It went #1 Contemporary Christian, #4 Country and #38 Pop on the US Billboard charts. It also spawned a book and DVD.
• 2001 Sticky Fingaz on his album Blacktrash: The Autobiography of Kirk Jones
• 2002 Joey Ramone on his posthumous solo album Don't Worry About Me
• 2002 Tony Bennett and k. d. lang on the album A Wonderful World.
• 2003 B.B. King covered in on his album of covered R&B standards Reflections
• 2004 Ghoul Death Metal version of "What a wonderful world" in his album "Maniaxe".
• 2004 Kenny G released a recording with his saxophone overdubbed on top of the original version.
• 2003 Guy Sebastian on his debut album Just As I Am - dance reggae version
• 2003 Sarah Brightman on her album Harem
• 2004 Rod Stewart on his album Stardust: the Great American Songbook 3
• 2004 Michael Buble on his album Babalu
• 2004 Celine Dion on her album A New Day... Live in Las Vegas
• 2004 LeAnn Rimes on her album What a Wonderful World
• 2005 The Meads of Asphodel - a cynical cover version featured on the album "Damascus Steel".
• 2005 TNT - hard rock version, All the Way to the Sun.
• 2006 Coco d'Or on her album "Coco d'Or 2"
• 2006 Toyota Grande Adverisement Broadcast
• 2006 John Legend recorded his version for his Christmas album.
• 2007 Angels and Airwaves Played live at the Windows Vista Launch
• 2007 Mika Nakashima on her album YES