Issue No. 6 of Johnny Be Good features one of 45 songs from the book, Anatomy of a Song: The Oral History of 45 Iconic Hits That Changed Rock, R&B and Pop, by Marc Myers. Read John Pearson's review here. Order from Amazon here. Listen to the book on Libro (9 hours, 34 minutes). Each blog will spotlight a song from the book and a guest blogger’s color commentary. Click here to subscribe. Each issue of Your Weekly Staff Meeting will highlight the latest blog.
“A Chirpy Love Song”
Today’s blogger is JOHN PEARSON.
Title: “Chapel of Love
Singers: The Dixie Cups
Released: April 1964
I APPRECIATED THIS:
Happy Valentine’s Day today! In 1964, “When roughly 75 million baby boomers were 18 or younger, going to the chapel seemed like the right thing to do—at least for young girls.” Charting at No. 1 for three weeks, “Chapel of Love,” by the Dixie Cups, wasn’t a hit from the get-go, as Marc Myers explains.
The author of Anatomy of a Song notes that “two weeks before the Beatles’ first visit to the U.S., in February 1964, not one of the top 10 song titles on the Billboard pop chart included the word ‘love.’” Darlene Love first recorded “Chapel of Love” in 1963. Then Phil Spector asked the Ronettes to give it a try. This chapter tells the story of the unlikely trio from New Orleans (two sisters and a cousin) who added their twist to the song—and when it was released in April 1964, it pushed “Love Me Do,” by the Beatles, off the No. 1 spot.
Myers writes, “But the song’s gleeful celebration of marriage—or the idea of marriage—as a natural next step would be short-lived. By 1965, 6.5 million women were on the pill” and living together eliminated the need to visit the chapel of love. The author notes that later songs, including “Tammy Wynette’s D-I-V-O-R-C-E (1968), began to reflect the reality of their times.”
Ironically, the “Pepper…And Salt” cartoon in the Wall Street Journal on Feb. 13, 2024, features a couple holding hands, and the young man says, “I’ve done the numbers and we’ll be richer if we stay single, employed, healthy, childless, living in the same house.”
I love the Dixie Cups (originally called the Mel-tones) and the toe-tapping song. Myers labeled it a “chirpy love song,” which is perfect because the new record company was called Red Bird. “Chapel of Love” was their first release—and their first No. 1 hit. Great story!
Read Marc Myers’ column on the Dixie Cups in the WSJ (June 16, 2015).
Listen to “Chapel of Love," sung by the Dixie Cups.
MY FAVORITE QUOTES:
• After winning a talent contest in New Orleans, the trio joined seven other musicians and drove to New York City in a station wagon to audition for various record companies. “None of us had any money, so two of the artists checked into the Hotel Bryant on Broadway and 54th Street. The rest came up later and stayed for free—with five of us to a room.”
• “’Chapel of Love’—one of pop’s last feel-good tributes to matrimony—has been covered by Elton John, Bette Midler, and the Beach Boys, among others.”
• Producers Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller had a song, but the record company dropped out. Stoller explains: “Fortunately, George Goldner, who had owned and run record companies, was looking for a job. Jerry and I had a ten-minute conversation with him and decided to give George a third of the label if he came aboard.”
WHERE WERE YOU WHEN YOU FIRST HEARD THIS SONG?
In April 1964, I was looking forward to graduating from Queen Anne High School in Seattle. (I know. This year will be our 60th class reunion. That can’t be!) Some of my friends had formed Beatles-wanna-be bands, but I was Baptist and didn’t smoke, drink, or dance—or go with girls who did. I likely heard “Chapel of Love” that summer of ’64.
JOHNNY BE...GOOD, BETTER, OR BEST?
• GOOD: At least…at some point in our history, the songs—even rock and roll songs—urged young lovers to get married.
• BETTER: The producers wanted to embellish the second verse of the song, “Bells will ring, the sun will shine.” Mike Stoller shares that “As luck would have it, a set of tubular symphonic chimes had been left behind in the studio from the last recording session.” More luck: Artie Butler walked in and added that touch.
• BEST: Jerry Leiber, one of the producers, told George Goldner, their new promo guy, that he hated “Chapel of Love.” Goldner thought it would be a hit, so he pushed back, “Who’s going to make decisions, you or me?” The result: “Jerry conceded and ‘Chapel of Love’ became Red Bird’s first release and a No. 1 hit.” (There’s a great leadership lesson in this chapter!)
THIS ISSUE'S COMMENTARY BY John Pearson:
PHOTO: For the record (no pun intended), John still owns three harmonicas.
I played the trumpet in grade school and was in a trumpet trio in high school at Elim Baptist Church in Seattle. I also sang in school choirs. In our church choir, all five Pearson brothers sang bass. Once there were at least three Pearson basses in the church choir, our dad dropped out of the choir—thinking his recruitment work was done. Today, I can still sing the bass part of most hymns and recall the lyrics to maybe two or three verses—so I especially enjoy listening to one hymn each morning in The One Year Book of Hymns.
In those years as kids, we attended lots of church weddings and looked forward, especially, to the special wedding mints and mixed nuts at the wedding receptions in the church basement. “Because we're going to the chapel and we're…gonna get married.”
I should mention that I used to play the harmonica in camp skits and once at a Seattle Pacific College (now SPU) event, “The President’s Deception.” Today’s song, “Chapel of Love,” could have used a little harmonica perhaps!
NEXT UP! Song #7 of 45: "You Really Got Me" (The Kinks)
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It all started in 2023, when John Pearson read and reviewed a "fun" book, Anatomy of a Song: The Oral History of 45 Iconic Hits That Changed Rock, R&B and Pop, by Marc Myers. Read John's review here. Order from Amazon here. Listen to the book on Libro (9 hours, 34 minutes).
If you'd enjoy being one of 45 guest bloggers, along with John Ashmen, Dick Nelson, Suzy West, Dave Barton, Paul Palmer, Bill Butterworth, Jim West, Melinda Schmidt, Jason Pearson, Gary Rea, Callista Dawson, and others, read more here and contact John Pearson. Click here to subscribe to this blog and enjoy the toe-tapping musicians in each weekly blog post—reminding you of these iconic songs of yesteryear.