"Wedding Bell Blues" is a song written and recorded by Laura
Nyro in 1966 that became a number one hit for The 5th Dimension
in 1969 and subsequently a popular phrase in American culture.
The song is written from the perspective of a woman whose
boyfriend has not yet proposed to her, who wonders, "am I ever
gonna see my wedding day?" The song carries dual themes of
adoring love and frustrated lament.
Nyro wrote "Wedding Bell Blues" at the age of 18 as in
effect a "mini-suite," featuring several dramatic rhythmic
changes — a trait Nyro expanded on future albums. It was to be
recorded in 1966 for Verve Folkways label as part of what would
become her
More Than a New Discoveryalbum. However, producer Herb
Bernstein did not allow Nyro to record this version, which led
to Nyro more or less disowning the entire album.
What was recorded was fairly similar in content and
arrangement to the later, much more familiar 5th Dimension
version, albeit with a somewhat more soulful vocal line. It was
released as a single in September 1966 and remained on the
Billboard Pop Singles "Bubbling Under" charts segment for
several weeks, peaking at #103.
The 5th Dimension had already found hits with Nyro's "Stoned
Soul Picnic" and "Sweet Blindness" during 1968. When recording
tracks for their upcoming album
The Age of Aquarius, producer Bones Howe suggested it
would be amusing to record another Nyro song, this one about a
woman trying to get someone named Bill to commit to marriage.
As it happened, 5th Dimension singer Marilyn McCoo was engaged
to another member, Billy Davis, Jr., though they had not set a
wedding date. So the group recorded it, and in May 1969 the
album was released. The first single ahead of the album,
"Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In", was a tremendous hit, while
success of the second single, "Workin' On a Groovy Thing", was
much more moderate. Then a disc jockey in San Diego began
playing "Wedding Bell Blues" off the album, Soul City Records
saw its potential, and in October 1969 it was put out as a
single.
"Wedding Bell Blues" quickly soared to number one on the
U.S. pop singles chart, spending three weeks there in November,
1969. It also reached the top spot on the U.S. adult
contemporary chart, made one of the group's somewhat rare
appearances on the U.S. R&B singles chart, was a Top Five
hit in Canada, and placed in the Top 20 on the UK Singles Chart
(and their only hit there save for the earlier "Aquarius/Let
the Sunshine In").
In 1969 television appearances, McCoo would explicitly sing
parts of the song to Davis; Davis would respond with quizzical
looks. (As it happens, they would indeed marry in 1969.) The
rest of The 5th Dimension's early hits featured more unison
singing than this, and McCoo's prominent vocal and stage role
on "Wedding Bell Blues" may have led to her being more featured
in the group's early 1970s productions.
Lesley Gore recorded her own version of the song for Mercury
Records; this version was released in September 1969, and
failed to chart, overwhelmed by the attention given to The 5th
Dimension's recording.
The phrase "wedding bell blues" soon became cultural
shorthand for anyone in doubt about the subject event or the
state of being unmarried in general. As such many written or
dramatic works have been named after the song title. These
include:
The song also features on 'Being There', a Series One
episode of
Ally McBeal, during one of Ally's 'fantasy sequences' in
the law firm office. The song is here sung by Vonda
Shepard.
The song was also used in a scene with an erotic dancing
hologram in the 1993 television mini-series Wild Palms.
The song was parodied in the second episode of the
thirteenth season of
The Simpsons, The Parent Rap. Homer sings incorrect
lyrics to the song over the radio, and the radio station deejay
says that the song was "Weddings are Nice" by the 5th
Dimension.