"Wedding Bell Blues" is a song written and recorded by

Laura Nyro Laura Nyro ( ; born Laura Nigro; October 18, 1947 – April 8, 1997) was an American songwriter, singer, and pianist. She achieved critical acclaim with her own recordings, particularly the albums ''Eli and the Thirteenth Confession'' (1968 ...

in 1966. The best known version was a number one hit for

the 5th Dimension The 5th Dimension is an American popular music vocal group, whose repertoire includes pop, R&B, soul, jazz, light opera, and Broadway. Formed as the Versatiles in late 1965, the group changed its name to "the 5th Dimension" by 1966. Betwe ...

in 1969. The lyrics are written from the perspective of a woman whose boyfriend has not yet proposed to her, and who wonders, "am I ever gonna see my wedding day?" The song carries dual themes of adoring love and frustrated lament. The title subsequently became a popular phrase in American pop culture.

Laura Nyro recording

Nyro wrote "Wedding Bell Blues" at the age of 18 as a "mini-suite". The song originally featured several dramatic rhythmic changes—a trait Nyro explored on future albums. It was recorded in 1966 for Verve Folkways on her debut album '' More Than a New Discovery''. Arranger Herb Bernstein did not allow Nyro to record her original arrangement, which led to the artist more or less disowning the entire album. As released by Nyro, the song is similar in content and arrangement to the later 5th Dimension version, albeit with a somewhat more soulful vocal line. Nyro's recording was released as a single in September 1966 and remained on ''Billboards "Bubbling Under" chart for several weeks, peaking at No. 103.

The 5th Dimension version

The 5th Dimension The 5th Dimension is an American popular music vocal group, whose repertoire includes pop, R&B, soul, jazz, light opera, and Broadway. Formed as the Versatiles in late 1965, the group changed its name to "the 5th Dimension" by 1966. Betwe ...

had already found hits with Nyro's " Stoned Soul Picnic" and "

Sweet Blindness "Sweet Blindness" is a song written by Laura Nyro, released in 1968, and included on her ''Eli and the Thirteenth Confession''. Background The song was a drinking song that sounded old fashioned, noted for its rhythm changes as well as its brass ...

" during 1968. When recording tracks for their upcoming album '' The Age of Aquarius'', producer

Bones Howe Dayton Burr "Bones" Howe (born March 18, 1933) is an American record producer and recording engineer who scored a string of hits in the 1960s and 1970s, often of the sunshine pop genre, starting in 1965 with The Turtles cover of Bob Dylan's "It ...

suggested recording another Nyro song. 5th Dimension member

Marilyn McCoo Marilyn McCoo (born September 30, 1943) is an American singer, actress, and television presenter, who is best known for being the lead female vocalist in the group the 5th Dimension, as well as hosting the 1980s music countdown series '' Solid Go ...

was then engaged to another member of the group, Billy Davis Jr., though they had not decided on an actual wedding date. In May 1969 the album was released. The first single released ahead of the album, " Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In", was a tremendous hit, while the success of the second single, " Workin' On a Groovy Thing", was much more modest. When a

disc jockey A disc jockey, more commonly abbreviated as DJ, is a person who plays recorded music for an audience. Types of DJs include radio DJs (who host programs on music radio stations), club DJs (who work at a nightclub or music festival), mobile ...

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United State ...

began playing "Wedding Bell Blues" from the album, Soul City Records saw the song's potential, and in September 1969 it was released as a single. "Wedding Bell Blues" quickly soared to No. 1 on the U.S. pop singles chart, spending three weeks there in November, 1969 and made one of the group's somewhat rare appearances on the U.S. R&B singles chart, where it peaked at No. 23. It was the group's second of five #1 songs on the U.S. adult contemporary chart. It was a top five hit in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

, and placed in the top 20 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 ...

—and their only hit there except for the earlier "Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In". It became a platinum record. In 1969 television appearances, McCoo sang lead vocal parts of the song to Davis, who would then respond with quizzical looks. The rest of the 5th Dimension's early hits had featured more ensemble singing, and McCoo's prominent vocal and stage role on "Wedding Bell Blues" might have led to her being more featured in the group's early 1970s productions.

Morrissey version

Morrissey released a version of the song for his album ''

California Son ''California Son'' is the twelfth solo studio album by English singer Morrissey. Released on 24 May 2019 on the singer's label ''étienne'' and licensed on BMG, the album is a collection of cover versions. The single "Wedding Bell Blues", initi ...

'' on April 10, 2019. It features

Billie Joe Armstrong Billie Joe Armstrong (born February 17, 1972) is an American musician who is the lead vocalist, guitarist, and primary songwriter of the rock band Green Day, which he co-founded with Mike Dirnt in 1987. He is also a guitarist and vocalist for ...

of Green Day and

Lydia Night Lydia Victoria Night (born October 13, 2000) is an American musician primarily known for her work as the lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of California rock band The Regrettes. She was also the lead vocalist and guitarist of pop rock bands Pr ...

The Regrettes The Regrettes is an American punk rock band from Los Angeles. The band is led by frontwoman Lydia Night. They released three studio albums on Warner Bros. Records: '' Feel Your Feelings Fool!'' (2017), '' How Do You Love?'' (2019), and '' Furt ...

Chart history

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

References

External links

* {{Laura Nyro 1966 singles 1969 singles Laura Nyro songs The 5th Dimension songs Torch songs Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles Cashbox number-one singles Number-one singles in New Zealand Songs written by Laura Nyro Song recordings produced by Bones Howe 1966 songs Songs about marriage