“If” is a song written by American singer-songwriter David Gates in 1971. Originally popularized by his group Bread, “If” charted at No. 4 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 when released as a single in 1971 and No. 6 in Canada. It also spent three weeks at No. 1 on the U.S. Easy Listening chart,[1] and one week at the top of the Canadian AC chart.[2]
In the U.S., Bread’s tune was the shortest song title to become a top ten hit until 1993, when Prince hit No. 7 with “7”, and Britney Spears reached No. 1 with “3” in 2009.
