First recorded by Tommy Edwards (US #18/R&B #1 1951).
Also recorded by Louis Armstrong (1953), Nat “King” Cole (1956).
Other hit versions by Tommy Edwards (re-recording US #1/UK #1 1958), Cliff Richard (US #25/UK #2 1963), The Four Tops (US #24/R&B #6/UK #5 1970).
From the wiki: “‘It’s All in the Game’ is the only #1 hit ever written by a future US Vice-President. The melody was first composed in 1911 by then-banker Charles Gates Dawes, who would become VP in 1925 under Calvin Coolidge. The song garnered some popularity in the 1920s when Jascha Heifetz used it for a time as a ‘light concert’ encore. Lyrics were added in 1951 by the Brill Building songwriter Carl Sigman, who also changed the song’s name to ‘It’s All in the Game’ from its original ‘Dawes Melody in A Major’. Sadly, Dawes would not live to hear lyrics put to his song. He passed away the same day Sigman completed his assignment.
“Tommy Edwards was the first to record, and chart, with the song after its re-naming and he topped the R&B chart with it in 1951. In 1958, Edwards would re-record am even more popular arrangement of ‘It’s All in the Game’, topping both the US and UK pop music charts. Other charting versions would also be recorded by Cliff Richard and The Four Tops.”
Fritz Kreisler & Charles Lamson, “Dawes Melody in A Major” (1924):
Louis Armstrong, “It’s All in the Game” (1953):
Nat “King” Cole, “It’s All in the Game” (1956):
Tommy Edwards, “It’s All in the Game” re-recording (1958):
Cliff Richard, “It’s All in the Game” (1963):
The Four Tops, “It’s All in the Game” (1970):