I 'd Love to Change the World - wikipedia I 'd Love to Change the World `` I 'd Love to Change the World '' Single by Ten Years After from the album A Space in Time B - side `` Let the Sky Fall '' Released 1971 Format 7 '' single Genre Blues rock folk rock psychedelic rock Length 3 : 44 Label Columbia Songwriter ( s ) Alvin Lee Producer ( s ) Chris Wright Ten Years After singles chronology `` Love Like a Man '' ( 1970 ) `` I 'd Love to Change the World '' ( 1971 ) `` Baby Wo n't You Let Me Rock ' n ' Roll You '' ( 1972 ) `` Love Like a Man '' ( 1970 ) `` I 'd Love to Change the World '' ( 1971 ) `` Baby Wo n't You Let Me Rock ' n ' Roll You '' ( 1972 ) `` I 'd Love to Change the World '' is a song by the British blues rock band Ten Years After. Written by Alvin Lee, it is the lead single from the band 's 1971 album A Space in Time. It is the band 's only Top 40 hit, peaking at number 40 on the Billboard Hot 100 and their most popular single. Contents 1 Background and composition 2 Release and reception 3 Personnel 4 Chart performance 5 Notes 6 References 7 External links Background and composition The song was written and sung by Alvin Lee. It discusses the confused state of the world, covering a wide variety of societal complaints, until it finally addresses the Vietnam War. The song features a folk - inspired chord pattern to support the melody. Release and reception `` I 'd Love to Change the World '' was the band 's highest charting single. It peaked at number 40 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1971. When it was released, `` I 'd Love to Change the World '' was a staple of both FM and AM radio, a rarity for the time. Billy Walker of Sounds wrote that the `` acoustic guitar, echoing vocals, and electric guitar build up the tempo with very good cool electric passages by Alvin ( Lee ), and while there 's nothing new developing it 's a very nice track ''. Matthew Greenwald of Allmusic highlighted Lee 's guitar work as the `` most expressive -- and most tasteful -- electric guitar performance of his career '', and added `` if there is a single song that can describe the overall vibe of the counterculture in 1969 / 1970, this may very well be it. The band and Lee never quite matched the song 's supple power in their later efforts, but this song is representation enough of their awesome artistry. '' Robert Christgau was less enthusiastic about Lee 's philosophical stance, finding it `` cautious '' and `` dumb '' : `` Fellow seems to believe that if you ' tax the rich to feed the poor ' you soon run out of rich, with dire consequences. '' Christgau later said the lyrics took a cowardly position that `` epitomized the political reaction of English blues rock '' during the 1970s. Personnel Alvin Lee -- guitar and vocals Leo Lyons -- bass Ric Lee -- drums Chick Churchill -- keyboards Chart performance Chart ( 1971 ) Peak position U.S. Billboard Hot 100 40 U.S. Cash Box Top 100 Singles 28 Notes ^ Jump up to : Greenwald, Matthew. `` I 'd Love to Change the World review ''. Allmusic. Macrovision Corporation. Retrieved June 25, 2012. ^ Jump up to : `` Ten Years After Awards ''. Allmusic. Macrovision Corporation. Retrieved June 25, 2012. Jump up ^ Walker, Billy ( 28 August 1971 ). `` Ten Years After Today ''. Sounds. Spotlight Publications. p. 6. Jump up ^ Christgau, Robert ( 1981 ). `` Ten Years After ''. Christgau 's Record Guide : Rock Albums of the ' 70s. Ticknor and Fields. ISBN 0 - 89919 - 026 - X. Retrieved 6 November 2017. ^ Christgau, Robert ( October 14, 1971 ). `` Consumer Guide ( 19 ) ''. The Village Voice. New York. Retrieved April 14, 2013. ^ Christgau, Robert ( 27 December 1976 ). `` Christgau 's Consumer Guide ''. The Village Voice. Retrieved 7 March 2018. Jump up ^ `` Cash Box Top 100 11 / 27 / 71 ''. Cashbox Magazine, Inc. Retrieved June 25, 2012. References Fisher, Joseph P. ; Flota, Brian ( 2011 ). The Politics of Post-9 / 11 Music : Sound, Trauma, and the Music Industry in the Time of Terror. Ashgate Publishing, Ltd. ISBN 1409427846. External links Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics Ten Years After Chick Churchill Ric Lee Marcus Bonfanti Colin Hodgkinson Alvin Lee Leo Lyons Joe Gooch Studio albums Ten Years After Stonedhenge Ssssh Cricklewood Green Watt A Space in Time Rock & Roll Music to the World Positive Vibrations About Time Now Evolution Live albums Undead Recorded Live Live at the Fillmore East 1970 Roadworks Live at Fiesta City Compilation albums Double Deluxe Ten Years After Classic Performances Goin ' Home Alvin Lee and Company Greatest Hits Profile Ten Years After Timewarps The Collection At Their Peak Universal Music Co. Portfolio - A History The Collection Essential Pure Blues I 'm Going Home Premium Gold Collection The Best of Very Best Ten Years After Album Ever Ten Years After Anthology Singles `` Love Like a Man '' `` I 'd Love to Change the World '' Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=I%27d_Love_to_Change_the_World&oldid=833623749 '' Categories : 1971 singles Ten Years After songs Protest songs Songs of the Vietnam War Columbia Records singles Hidden categories : Articles with hAudio microformats Talk Contents About Wikipedia Português Edit links This page was last edited on 1 April 2018, at 17 : 11 ( UTC ). About Wikipedia

Question: who sang i want to change the world
Answer: Alvin Lee