"Chapel of Love" is a song written by

Jeff Barry Jeff Barry (born Joel Adelberg; April 3, 1938) is an American pop music songwriter, singer, and record producer. Among the most successful songs that he has co-written in his career are " Do Wah Diddy Diddy", " Da Doo Ron Ron", " Then He Kiss ...

, Ellie Greenwich and

Phil Spector Harvey Phillip Spector (born Harvey Philip Spector; December 26, 1939January 16, 2021) was an American record producer and songwriter, best known for his innovative recording practices and entrepreneurship in the 1960s, followed decades later by ...

, and made famous by The Dixie Cups in 1964, spending three weeks at number one on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100.Whitburn, Joel (2009). ''Top Pop Singles 1955-2008'' (12th ed.). Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin: Record Research Inc. p. 282. The song tells of the happiness and excitement the narrator feels on her wedding day, for she and her love are going to the "chapel of love", and "we'll never be lonely anymore." Many other artists have recorded the song. It was originally recorded by Darlene Love in April 1963, but her version was not released until 1991. The Dixie Cups' version was the debut release of the new Red Bird Records run by

Jerry Leiber Lyricist Jerome Leiber (April 25, 1933 – August 22, 2011) and composer Michael Stoller (born March 13, 1933) were American songwriting and record producing partners. They found success as the writers of such Crossover music, crossover hit songs ...

and

Mike Stoller Lyricist Jerome Leiber (April 25, 1933 – August 22, 2011) and composer Michael Stoller (born March 13, 1933) were American songwriting and record producing partners. They found success as the writers of such crossover hit songs as " Hound Dog" ( ...

along with George Goldner.Betrock, Alan (1982). ''Girl Groups The Story of a Sound'' (1st ed.). New York: Delilah Books. pgs. 90-94.

The Ronettes The Ronettes were an American girl group from Washington Heights, Manhattan, New York City. The group consisted of lead singer Veronica Bennett (later known as Ronnie Spector), her older sister Estelle Bennett, and their cousin Nedra Talley. ...

included the song on their debut album released in November 1964 with production by Phil Spector. In 1973, singer and actress

Bette Midler Bette Midler (;'' Inside the Actors Studio'', 2004 born December 1, 1945) is an American singer, actress, comedian and author. Throughout her career, which spans over five decades, Midler has received numerous accolades, including four Golden ...

had a moderate hit with a cover of "Chapel of Love".

The Dixie Cups version

Background

The song was written in 1963 by Jeff Barry and Ellie Greenwich, who had themselves recently married; Barry later said that "the concept of marriage was very much in my head" at the time. It was written for Darlene Love to record, but producer

was dissatisfied with her version and it was not released for some years. The Mel-Tones – a group of three young women from

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

, Barbara Ann Hawkins, Rosa Lee Hawkins, and Joan Marie Johnson – had traveled to New York City with their manager Joe Jones to attempt to get a record deal. They were given the song "Chapel of Love" to sing, and passed an audition with Leiber and Stoller in the Brill Building. The group rehearsed the song with Barry and Greenwich before recording it. The

arrangement In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orche ...

was by Wardell Quezergue, and Leiber and Stoller added lyrics and some touches to the arrangements. Leiber and Stoller then decided to issue the record as the first release on their own new

record label A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the pr ...

, Red Bird, and changed the group's name to The Dixie Cups. The definitive version of "Chapel of Love" by The Dixie Cups was released as a single in April 1964. Sung by Barbara Ann Hawkins, Rosa Lee Hawkins, and Joan Marie Johnson, this version was the group's first single taken from their debut studio album '' Chapel of Love''. The song was arranged by Joe Jones and produced by

, Ellie Greenwich, and

.Bronson, Fred (2003). ''The Billboard Book of Number One Hits: The Inside Story Behind Every Number One Single on Billboard's Hot 100 from 1955 to the Present'' (5th ed.). Billboard Books. p. 149. . It charted at number one on June 6, 1964 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 knocking

The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...

out of the number one spot and remained at the top for three weeks. The song also peaked at number 22 on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

Roberts, David (2006). ''British Hit Singles & Albums'' (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 158. and hit number one in Canada on the '' RPM'' Chart. The "Chapel of Love" version by The Dixie Cups sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc. The song was later included on the soundtrack to films ranging from ''

Full Metal Jacket ''Full Metal Jacket'' is a 1987 war drama film directed and produced by Stanley Kubrick, who also co-wrote the screenplay with Michael Herr and Gustav Hasford. The film is based on Hasford's 1979 novel '' The Short-Timers'' and stars Matt ...

'' to '' Father of the Bride''. The hit single recorded by The Dixie Cups was ranked No. 279 on ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...

''s list of

The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time" is a recurring survey compiled by the American magazine ''Rolling Stone''. It is based on weighted votes from selected musicians, critics, and industry figures. The first list was published in December 2004 in ...

, being the group's only song on the list. ''Billboard'' named the song No. 33 on their list of 100 Greatest Girl Group Songs of All Time.

Chart performance

Bette Midler version

Background

American singer and actress

recorded a cover version of "Chapel of Love" for her 1972 debut studio album, ''

The Divine Miss M ''The Divine Miss M'' is the debut studio album by American singer and actress Bette Midler, released in 1972 on the Atlantic Records label. The title of the album refers to Midler's famous stage persona. The album was co-produced by Barry Manilo ...

''. The track was produced and arranged by

Barry Manilow Barry Manilow (born Barry Alan Pincus; June 17, 1943) is an American singer and songwriter with a career that spans seven decades. His hit recordings include " Could It Be Magic", " Somewhere Down the Road", " Mandy", " I Write the Songs", " C ...

. The following year, Midler included her version as the B-side of her number 40

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop!, a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Albums * ''Pop'' ( ...

single, "Friends" (the single charted on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 as a double A-side). The version included on the single release is a radically remixed version, with added horns and strings, and this version remained unreleased on any format other than the 45rpm until it was included as a bonus track on the 2016 remastered edition of ''

''. Midler's single of "Chapel of Love" was issued on

Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over its first 20 years of operation, Atlantic earned a reputation as one of the most im ...

Chart performance

The Beach Boys version

Background

A cover by the American rock group,

The Beach Boys The Beach Boys are an American rock band that formed in Hawthorne, California, in 1961. The group's original lineup consisted of brothers Brian, Dennis, and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and friend Al Jardine. Distinguished by the ...

was released on their 1976

album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century as individual 78 rpm records c ...

, '' 15 Big Ones''.

Personnel

The Beach Boys * Al Jardine - backing vocals * Mike Love - backing vocals *

Brian Wilson Brian Douglas Wilson (born June 20, 1942) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer who co-founded the Beach Boys. Often Brian Wilson is a genius, called a genius for his novel approaches to pop music, pop composition, ex ...

– lead vocals, backing vocals,

ARP String Ensemble The Solina String Ensemble, also marketed as the ARP String Ensemble, is a fully polyphonic multi-orchestral synthesizer with a 49-key keyboard, produced by Eminent BV (known for their ''Solina'' brand). It was distributed in the United States by ...

, piano, Moog bass *

Carl Wilson Carl Dean Wilson (December 21, 1946 – February 6, 1998) was an American musician, singer, and songwriter who co-founded the Beach Boys. He was their lead guitar Lead guitar (also known as solo guitar) is a musical part for a guitar in ...

– guitar *

Dennis Wilson Dennis Carl Wilson (December 4, 1944 – December 28, 1983) was an American musician, singer, and songwriter who co-founded the Beach Boys. He is best remembered as their drummer and as the middle brother of bandmates Brian and Carl Wilson. ...

– drums Additional musicians *Mike Altschol – saxophone * Steve Douglas – saxophone *

Dennis Dreith Dennis Dreith (born June 15, 1948 in Glendale, California) is a musician, record producer and a television & motion picture composer, arranger, and conductor. He is also known as an influential advocate for performer's rights. Life Dreith showed ...

– saxophone *Gene Estes – percussion *John J. Kelson Jr. – saxophone *Carol Lee Miller –

autoharp An autoharp or chord zither is a string instrument belonging to the zither family. It uses a series of bars individually configured to mute all strings other than those needed for the intended chord. The term ''autoharp'' was once a trademark of ...

*Jack Nimitz – saxophone

Other versions

* The Blossoms were the first to record a version of the song in 1963 but it was never released as a single. *

covered the song as the last track for their Philles debut studio album, '' Presenting the Fabulous Ronettes Featuring Veronica'', released in November 1964 and produced by

. * In 1965 Venezuelan singer Mirla Castellanos released a version in Spanish of this song called "Vete con ella" ("Go with her"), which appeared on her album ''Imprevú''. Notice that here the song uses the music of the original version but lyrics were changed, talking about missed love. This version was also released, in 1965, by the Spanish singer Mayté Gaos in Mexico (where she was living at that time) and, in 1988, the Mexican pop singer Lucero recorded this same version for her fifth studio album '' Lucerito''. * In 1972, Jamaican reggae-artist Lorna Bennet released her own version which also appeared on the compilation LP "Trojan Sisters", issued that same year by

Trojan Records Trojan Records is a British record label founded in 1968. It specialises in ska, rocksteady, reggae and dub music. The label currently operates under the Sanctuary Records Group. The name ''Trojan'' comes from the Croydon-built Trojan truck ...

. * A punk version was released in December 1979 by

Holly and the Italians Holly Beth Vincent (born Holly Beth Cernuto in 1956) is an American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and record producer. In her youth Vincent sang and played drums and guitar in several bands and took part in the Los Angeles punk sce ...

as the B-side of their debut "Tell That Girl to Shut Up" single on Oval Records."Tell That Girl to Shut Up"/"Chapel of Love,"
rateyourmusic.com * The song was

covered Cover or covers may refer to: Packaging * Another name for a lid * Cover (philately), generic term for envelope or package * Album cover, the front of the packaging * Book cover or magazine cover ** Book design ** Back cover copy, part of copy ...

Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, pianist and composer. Commonly nicknamed the "Rocket Man" after his 1972 hit single of the same name, John has led a commercially successful career a ...

for the soundtrack of '' Four Weddings and a Funeral'' in 1994.

References

{{authority control 1964 debut singles Songs written by Ellie Greenwich Songs written by Jeff Barry Songs written by Phil Spector Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles Cashbox number-one singles Song recordings produced by Phil Spector The Dixie Cups songs The Beach Boys songs Bette Midler songs RPM Top Singles number-one singles 1964 songs Songs about marriage Red Bird Records singles The Ronettes songs