"Wedding Bells" is a song written by Claude Boone and recorded by Hank Williams on MGM Records. It peaked at No. 2 on the Best Selling Retail Folk chart in 1949.

Background

"Wedding Bells" was first recorded by the

Knoxville Knoxville is a city in and the county seat of Knox County in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 United States census, Knoxville's population was 190,740, making it the largest city in the East Tennessee Grand Division and the state' ...

radio veteran Bill Carlisle on King Records in 1947. According to the country music historian

Colin Escott Colin Escott (born August 31, 1949) is a British music historian and author specializing in early U.S. rock and roll and country music. His works include a biography of Hank Williams, histories of Sun Records and The Grand Ole Opry, liner note ...

, Claude Boone, who played guitar for the Knoxville bluegrass star Carl Story, bought the song for 25 dollars from James Arthur Pritchett, a local musician and drunk who performed under the name "Arthur Q. Smith". The song's narrator describes his despair over the love of his life marrying another man. According to Boone, Williams called it "the prettiest song he'd ever heard". Williams recorded it at Castle Studio in Nashville on March 20, 1949, with Fred Rose producing and was supported by Dale Potter (fiddle), Don Davis (steel guitar), Zeb Turner (electric guitar),

Jack Shook Jack Shook (born Loren Shook; September 11, 1910 – September 23, 1986) was an American guitarist and a Grand Ole Opry star. He was a native of Decatur, Illinois. He was raised in Kansas and Missouri. He started at WSM, Nashville as a staff ...

(rhythm guitar) and Velma Williams (bass). "Wedding Bells" was significant because it was the first single following Williams' biggest hit, "

Lovesick Blues "Lovesick Blues" is a Tin Pan Alley song, composed by Cliff Friend, with lyrics by Irving Mills. It first appeared in the 1922 musical "Oh, Ernest", and was recorded that year by Elsie Clark and Jack Shea. Emmett Miller recorded it in 1925 and ...

". The recording session for "Wedding Bells" took place after Williams' first ever flight. He telegrammed the producer Fred Rose before takeoff, "Flight 58 will arrive at 5:45. I hope."

Cover versions

Hank Snow Clarence Eugene "Hank" Snow (May 9, 1914 – December 20, 1999) was a Canadian-American country music artist. Most popular in the 1950s, he had a career that spanned more than 50 years, he recorded 140 albums and charted more than 85 singles on ...

covered the song in 1957. *It was recorded by

Marty Robbins Martin David Robinson (September 26, 1925 – December 8, 1982), known professionally as Marty Robbins, was an American singer, songwriter, actor, multi-instrumentalist, and NASCAR racing driver. Robbins was one of the most popular and succ ...

in 1958. *

George Jones George Glenn Jones (September 12, 1931 – April 26, 2013) was an American country musician, singer, and songwriter. He achieved international fame for his long list of hit records, including his best-known song " He Stopped Loving Her Today", ...

recorded it for his 1962 LP ''

My Favorites of Hank Williams ''My Favorites of Hank Williams'' is an album by American country music artist George Jones. It was released in 1962 on the United Artists record label. It was Jones' second tribute to the music of Hank Williams. Background Jones's first rele ...

''. *

Jerry Lee Lewis Jerry Lee Lewis (September 29, 1935October 28, 2022) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Nicknamed "The Killer", he was described as " rock & roll's first great wild man". A pioneer of rock and roll and rockabilly music, Lewis ma ...

included the song on his 1967 LP '' Soul My Way'', although it had been recorded several years earlier. * Dean Martin recorded the song for his 1965 album ''

Dean Martin Hits Again __NOTOC__ ''Dean Martin Hits Again'' is a 1965 studio album by Dean Martin, produced by Jimmy Bowen and arranged by Ernie Freeman. The album was a Top 20 hit, and Martin's fourth gold album. This was Martin's first album to be produced by Bowen ...

''. * Charlie Rich covered the song on his 1967 album ''Charlie Rich Sings Country and Western''. *It was featured as part of a Hank Williams medley on Conway Twitty's 1971 album ''How Much More Can She Stand''. *

Glen Campbell Glen Travis Campbell (April 22, 1936 – August 8, 2017) was an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, actor and television host. He was best known for a series of hit songs in the 1960s and 1970s, and for hosting '' The Glen Campbell Good ...

recorded it for his Williams tribute album in 1973. *

Lissie Elisabeth Corrin Maurus (born November 21, 1982), known as Lissie, is an American singer-songwriter. She released her debut EP, "Why You Runnin'", in November 2009. Her debut album, '' Catching a Tiger'', was released in June 2010. Her second st ...

recorded the song for her 2009 EP ''Why You Runnin. *It was recorded by Bill Anderson in 1968. * Australian

Reg Lindsay Reginald John Lindsay OAM (7 July 1929 – 5 August 2008) was an Australian country music singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, producer and radio and television personality. He won three Golden Guitar Awards and wrote more than 500 ...

included his version on the album Reg Lindsay Classics, c 1981 *

Margo Smith Margo Smith (born Betty Lou Miller; April 9, 1942 in Dayton, Ohio) is an American country and Christian music singer–songwriter. She had several years of country success during the 1970s, which included two number one hits on the '' Billboard' ...

released a version in 1982 that peaked at number 78 on the ''Billboard''

Hot Country Singles Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. This 50-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly by collecting airplay data from Nielsen BDS along with digital sa ...

chart. * Australian Dusty Rankin covered the song on his album, A Portrait of Dusty, 1974. * D.L. Menard known as the "Cajun Hank Williams" recorded his version for his 1984 Rounder Records album "Cajun Saturday Night". *

John Prine John Edward Prine (; October 10, 1946 – April 7, 2020) was an American singer-songwriter of country-folk music. He was active as a composer, recording artist, live performer, and occasional actor from the early 1970s until his death. He ...

covered the song with

Lucinda Williams Lucinda Gayle Williams (born January 26, 1953) is an American singer-songwriter and a solo guitarist. She recorded her first two albums: '' Ramblin' on My Mind'' (1979) and '' Happy Woman Blues'' (1980), in a traditional country and blues style ...

singing " Let's Turn Back The Years" on the same track for his 1999 album, ''

In Spite of Ourselves ''In Spite of Ourselves'' is the 13th studio album of John Prine, featuring duets with various well-known women folk and alt-country vocalists, released in 1999. The album was Prine's first release since successfully battling throat cancer. The ...

''.

References

{{Authority control 1949 songs Hank Williams songs MGM Records singles Songs about marriage