The 5th Dimension, Wedding Bell Blues | COVERS

In the 29^th edition of COVERS (2024), The 5^th Dimension delivers a compelling rendition of “Wedding Bell Blues” originally performed by Laura Nyro.   

Ah, it’s time to get cozy and cover up! In COVERS, we highlight a musician or band covering songs by another musician (likely a popular musician). COVERS focuses solely on the musician who covers.  It is open to established musicians and musicians who may not be as well-known. In the 29^th edition of COVERS (2024), The 5^th Dimension delivers a compelling rendition of “Wedding Bell Blues” originally performed by Laura Nyro.

“Bill, I love you so, I always will / I look at you and see the passion eyes of May.” Was Marilyn McCoo singing to her future husband, Billy Davis Jr. on “Wedding Bell Blues”? Yes. Both members of the iconic, eclectic soul collective were engaged when the song was released.  But, this beloved The 5^th Dimension classic is a cover 🤯.  “Wedding Bell Blues” was written and originally performed by the late Laura Nyro (1947 – 1997). Nyro, a fantastic songwriter, provided the Grammy-winning soul collective with several songs with “Wedding Bell Blues” earning top honors.  ‘Bill’ was the potential groom addressed in her original. Still, Marilyn addressing her eventual husband (they married the same year) is an irresistibly sweet storyline. The fourth track from the collective’s 1969 album, The Age of Aquarius, earned them their second no. 1 hit following their ‘ace-in-the-hole,’ “Aquarius / Let The Sunshine In (The Flesh Failures)”.

The songwriting is marvelous.  Laura Nyro was ‘the stuff,’ and, rightfully, posthumously inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame. “Oh, but am I ever gonna see my wedding day?” McCoo asks, adding, “I’d never scheme or lie, Bill, there’s been no fooling / But kisses and love won’t carry me till you marry me, Bill.” Bill had to marry Marilyn – it was inevitable! Notably, Davis Jr. and McCoo would have success as a duo post-5^th Dimension.  Besides urging Bill to “take those wedding vows,” the musicianship of “Wedding Bell Blues” shines. It’s groovy and ‘sunny’ from the get-go.  The piano is crucial to the accompaniment.  Additionally, sweet orchestration ups the ante – soaring strings, bright, biting horns, and mallets. The lead vocals are authentic, commanding, fun, and playful.  The 5^th Dimensions backing vocals are assertive – a fabulous response to the lead. With tuneful melodies and encouraging matrimony (“Oh, come on Bill” and “Come on and marry me, Bill / I got the wedding bell blues”), “Wedding Bell Blues” was an inevitable chart-topper on the pop charts.

The 5^th Dimension // The Age of Aquarius // Sony Music Entertainment // 1969

The 5^th Dimension, Wedding Bell Blues: Covers No. 29 (2024) [📷: Brent Faulkner /The Musical Hype; Sony Music Entertainment; Alan Cordero, Ba Tik, Kampus Production, Matteo Milan, SHVETS production from Pexels; OpenClipart-Vectors, StockSnap, Vicki Hamilton from Pixabay]