The 5th Dimension, One Less Bell To Answer | Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶

In the 114th edition of Throwback Vibez (2024), we recollect and reflect on “One Less Bell To Answer” by The 5th Dimension. 

The vibes, the vibes, those Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶! Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶 is a column that celebrates awesome songs from the past.  The records that grace this column are older, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they’re ancient – no fossils 🦴! All genres of music are welcome. In the 114^th edition of Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶 (2024), we recollect and reflect on “One Less Bell To Answer” performed by The 5^th Dimension.

“One less bell to answer / One less egg to fry / One less man to pick up after / I should be happy / But all I do is cry.” Oh, the plight of love, Marilyn McCoo! The 5th Dimension is one of the most iconic soul collectives. They charted 29 songs on the Billboard Hot 100 including seven top-10 hits and two no. 1 hits (“Aquarius / Let The Sunshine In (The Flesh Failures)” and “Wedding Bell Blues”). McCoo, Billy Davis Jr., Florence Rue, and company just missed the top spot of the pop charts with “One Less Bell to Answer”. “One Less Bell to Answer,” the second track from their 1970 album, Portrait, peaked at no. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100.  Two iconic songwriters composed it: Burt Bacharach (1928 – 2023) and Hal David (1921 – 2012).  With its unique harmonic progression, memorable melodies, and a timely meter shift (a two-four measure interrupts common time), “One Less Bell To Answer” is a tried-and-true Bacharach/David composition.

Heartbreak is rampant in the relatable “One Less Bell To Answer.” While being single can be a win, it can also be devastating. Also, the circumstances of the end of this relationship determine the reaction too. “I only know that since he left / My life’s so empty,” McCoo sings. How bad is this love pain – this heartache? Well, expectedly, the doorbell is a trigger, hence, one less bell to answer.  “Though I try to forget / It just can’t be done,” she sings, adding, “Each time the doorbell rings / I still run.”  Ultimately, The 5th Dimension asks the burning question that McCoo seeks to answer: “Oh why, why, did he leave?” We never find out the answer to this question, leaving it subject to the listener’s interpretation.  What we do know is Marilyn’s love-pain is our listening pleasure.  We also know that Billy Davis Jr. didn’t leave her – they’ve been married for over 50 years. The instrumental is glorious beyond the fabulous vocals and impeccable songwriting. The music is lush and beautifully orchestrated. “One Less Bell to Answer” is one of many awesome gems from The 5^th Dimension.

The 5^th Dimension // Portrait // Sony Music Entertainment // 1970

The 5^th Dimension, One Less Bell To Answer: Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶 No. 114 (2024) [📷: Brent Faulkner / The Musical Hype; Sony Music Entertainment; OpenClipart-Vectors, Speedy McVroom from Pixabay]