Chapel of Love

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
For the London Boys song, see Chapel of Love (London Boys song).
"Chapel of Love"
Mike Stoller, Ellie Greenwich and Jeff Barry
The Dixie Cups singles chronology
"Chapel of Love"
(1964) 		"People Say"
(1964)

"Chapel of Love" is a song written by Jeff Barry, Ellie Greenwich and Phil Spector, and made famous by The Dixie Cups in 1964, spending three weeks at number one on the Billboard Hot 100.[2] 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 "[they'll] never be lonely anymore." Many other artists have recorded the song.

It was originally recorded by

Mike Stoller along with George Goldner.[3] The Ronettes included the song on their debut album released in November 1964 with production by Phil Spector. In 1973, singer and actress Bette Midler
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 Phil Spector was dissatisfied with her version and it was not released for some years.[4]

The Mel-Tones – a group of three young women from

Leiber and Stoller in the Brill Building. The group rehearsed the song with Barry and Greenwich before recording it. The arrangement 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, Red Bird, and changed the group's name to The Dixie Cups.[4]

The definitive version of "Chapel of Love" by The Dixie Cups was released as a single in April 1964.

The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time, being the group's only song on the list.[11] Billboard named the song No. 33 on their list of 100 Greatest Girl Group Songs of All Time.[12]

Chart performance

Chart (1964) Peak
position
U.S. Billboard Hot 100[2] 1
UK Singles Chart[7]
 22
Canada RPM[8] 1

Bette Midler version

Background

American singer and actress Bette Midler recorded a cover version of "Chapel of Love" for her 1972 debut studio album, The Divine Miss M. The track was produced and arranged by Barry Manilow. The following year, Midler included her version as the B-side of her number 40 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 The Divine Miss M. Midler's single of "Chapel of Love" was issued on Atlantic Records.

Chart performance

Chart (1973) Peak
position
U.S. Billboard Hot 100 40

The Beach Boys version

"Chapel of Love"
Song by The Beach Boys
from the album 15 Big Ones
ReleasedJuly 5, 1976 (1976-07-05)
Recorded1976
Length2:34
Songwriter(s)Jeff Barry, Ellie Greenwich and Phil Spector
Producer(s)Brian Wilson

Background

A cover by the American rock group, The Beach Boys was released on their 1976 album, 15 Big Ones.

Personnel

The Beach Boys

Additional musicians

  • Mike Altschol – saxophone
  • Steve Douglas
    – saxophone
  • Dennis Dreith – saxophone
  • Gene Estes – percussion
  • John J. Kelson Jr. – saxophone
  • Carol Lee Miller – autoharp
  • 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.
  • Presenting the Fabulous Ronettes Featuring Veronica, released in November 1964 and produced by Phil Spector
    .
  • 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.
  • A
    Holly and the Italians as the B-side of their debut "Tell That Girl to Shut Up" single on Oval Records.[13]
  • The song was covered by Elton John for the soundtrack of Four Weddings and a Funeral in 1994.

References

  1. ^ Breihan, Tom (June 19, 2018). "The Number Ones: The Dixie Cups' "Chapel Of Love"". Stereogum. Retrieved June 10, 2023. It's a small miracle of pop music — sharp, economical, idealistic, guiltlessly sentimental.
  2. ^ a b Whitburn, Joel (2009). Top Pop Singles 1955-2008 (12th ed.). Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin: Record Research Inc. p. 282.
  3. ^
    ISBN 0-933328-25-7
  4. ^
    ISBN 978-1-61185-525-8
    .
  5. ISBN 0-89820-117-9
    .
  6. ^
    ISBN 0-8230-7677-6
    .
  7. ^
    ISBN 1-904994-10-5
  8. ^ a b "Top Forty-5's". RPM. 22 June 1964. Archived from the original on 2 February 2017.
  9. ISBN 0-214-20512-6
    .
  10. ^ Chokshi, Niraj (2016-10-08). "Joan Marie Johnson, of the Singing Trio the Dixie Cups, Dies at 72". The New York Times. Retrieved 2016-10-08.
  11. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2008). Presents Across The Charts: The 1960s (1st ed.). Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin: Record Research Inc. p.119.
  12. ^ "100 Greatest Girl Group Songs of All Time: Critics' Picks". Billboard. Retrieved July 11, 2017.
  13. ^ "Tell That Girl to Shut Up"/"Chapel of Love," rateyourmusic.com
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