Wedding Bell Blues - "Lesley Gore".

[maxisussex]

To answer your question Lesley, "am I ever gonna see my wedding day?" Depends what state you live in.......

[cruptbside]

damn ... i didn't know Leslie coverd this song.

Luara Nyro ... favorite songe writer of all time.

[Lyork]

Laura Nyro wrote this song and actually does the best version. Look for her version here with the album cover that says "The First Songs." 

[bernardsdaughter]

Another beautiful rendition done by Lesley! 

[HerecomesLori]

WHERE ARE YOU BILL WALTERS..YOU WERE IN THE NAVY IN FORT ALLEN IN PUERTO RICO..WHERE ARE YOU..ARE YOU DEAD, ARE ALIVE AND WELL? YOU WERE MY FIRST LOVE IN 1966 AND THEN YOU WENT BACK TO JACKSON, MISS AND NEVER HEARD FROM YOU...HOPE YOU ARE OK....WILL NEVER FORGOT YOU..

[stevemichaels2020]

Lesley actually recorded two versions of this song. One version is the "single" release; the other one is featured on the Bear Family 5-cd box set. Both are great!

[tavian1269]

Nice post. Didn't even know she did this song. Prefer the 5th Dimension verson a little better since I really didn't care for the ending of this song...Just my opinion.

[jimymax58]

@tavian1269 I like an honest view of this song even though I prefer Lesley Gores version better. But they are both great songs.

[wjes12]

myy girl inspiredd me 22 watchh dis!!:) haha love dis songg soo muchh!!?!!

[ponkaton1]

lets not forget the great Laura Nyro, she wrote the song . sadly she passed away in the late 1990's. alot of the 5th dimmension songs belonged to Laura Nyro. google her music you will be amazed how many songs that were popular from that era were Laura Nyro's

[misterlove3301]

Her name is Lesley, by the way... and this song is pure heaven. This gals work has brought me more joy than I can measure. Thank you Miss Gore! As a youth I wanted to grow up & marry Lesley Gore and I still do, regardless of her sexual orientation. Her career was about spreading joy, & shes done that in spades. I thank my lucky stars that shes been part of my life for so many decades. Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!

[jackdav34]

I can't decide b/w this and 5th dimension version. Close call.

[Petekiv]

Leslie is what she is! I love her!

[JubalCalif]

Heavens to Murgatroid! What a joy to listen to! THANKS so much for posting this terrific version of the classic Laura Nyro tune! Hope you & yours are having a VERY happy holiday season! :)

[RImusclebear]

Leslie, Bill won't marry you because he knows you are a lesbian!

[ItsMrPumpkinhead2U]

@RImusclebear OOhhhh.......just fuck off , will you?

[ItsMrPumpkinhead2U]

@RImusclebear Ms. Gore being a lesbian is old news.

[drbrookman]

You're right. This is a good version. It's a little faster than the 5th Dimension version. I'm very surprised to like this version better than theirs!

[bobanob1967]

todays female singers cant hold a candle to leslie

[nealadams70]

this doesnt hold a candle to the 5th dimension's version...its over-produced

[RImusclebear]

She married her partner of 30 years in California when Gays and Lesbians could get married there! I wonder if she had this song played at the wedding?

[Thearl]

Thanks for the post.

[mietze1993]

I Love this song

[herasmarket]

was this a single? It blows the fifth way out of the water!!!

[HOGEFAN]

@herasmarket Couldn't disagree more. That said, she does a terrific job on a song known as a Marilyn McCoo hit. Lesley's the shit, but she can't touch the talent of Marilyn McCoo.

[ItsMrPumpkinhead2U]

@HOGEFAN Ms. Mc Coo hardly made a dent in the music industry. And she certainly had no staying power. I am not discarding her talent, mind you. But what is she doing in the last ten years? Hhmmmm?

[HOGEFAN]

@ItsMrPumpkinhead2U What do the last 10 years have to do with anything? Leslie isn't turning in number 1 hits anymore, and you sure don't see many others from the 60's making chart toppers now either. 5th Dimension hits are constantly played in radio and movies and they had put out 12 albums in about 10 years.

Leslie Gore was big for a few years. Now why don't you tell me which one had a #1 hit with this song we're listening to, and which one didn't chart at all?

[ItsMrPumpkinhead2U]

Don't expect a lot of support on a Lesley Gore channel. It's about Ms. Gores' music, not the 5TH Dimension, nor Marilyn McCoo. Ms. Gore is still performing.

[ItsMrPumpkinhead2U]

@HOGEFAN Plus, you never answered my question, what is Marilyn McCoo done lately? Is she still performing?

[HOGEFAN]

@ItsMrPumpkinhead2U Yes, Marilyn McCoo is still performing.

[ItsMrPumpkinhead2U]

@HOGEFAN That's great! I like her too.

[boofer69]

oh my god is This beautiful ... leslie your are the greatest female artist of all time !!!

[angelangel3000]

This version was not the white version ripoff of the 5th Dimension. A Jewish girl from the Bronx named Laura Nyro wrote/sung the song about the dating situation of her aunt, singer Helen Mirrell.

[herasmarket]

wow -- I love this -- she is simply breathtaking in this -- LESLIE!

[JubalCalif]

@herasmarket

I second that emotion! I've always loved the music of the lovely and talented Ms Gore. This is an AWESOME version of the Laura Nyro-penned classic. THANKS for your insightful comment! :)

[cecibraz]

She was a beautiful girl, and her songs are explendid. I love her.

[TESICOguitarWORKS]

Who gives a flip about whos' better than leslie or marilyn... they both can sing... listen to the voice and style, and don't worry about who you like better... music appreciation 101.

[Spiritwolfe09]

Perfection.....and I am a priest.  Ms. Lesley is everything a man wants in a woman.

But, alas, she prefers the female sex. That is fine. She has a God given talent to us.

Let us appreciate the wonderful woman she is. I will always love her. Even in my position. She is a special woman, just like most women....special in every one's eyes

[agamemnon1]

Question - did this song come out because people couldn't listen to records done by African American musicians?

[Spiritwolfe09]

@agamemnon1 Are you living beneath a rock?

[lasktguy]

agamemnon1, What the fuck? There was never a time when people couldn't listen to records by black musicians. I lived back then and this is just another version of the song. There are lots of covers of this song. The version by the Fifth Dimension was the hit version. Everybody heard it.

[uncoverbrother]

@agamemnon1 maybe so, maybe not. back then, several artists recorded the same song. songs were stars unto themselves back then. not like these days. if somebody recorded one of beyonce's hit songs today and tried to have a hit record with it, they would be looked at as a copycat. it was just a different time, musically.

[2020Bookworm]

What wedding bell blues?Gay marriage is legal up here in Canada.

[notbatman1000]

This was sweet, but nobody can outsing Marilyn Mccoo!

[Stevemc90]

@notbatman1000

Laura Nyro does.

[emerging2012]

@notbatman1000 Lesley just did right here!

[kitboy69]

i had totally forgotten about this...I loved her (i loved the 5D too) ever since 'california nights' ...and hers was out first so i thought it was gonna be a huge hit but then all you heard was theirs...and i was 6 and didn't buy records. what a nice treat!

[namxw]

Leslie's version was released a full year before the 5D version. Late 1968.

[Jobeterob]

Well the 5D tried to scoop Motown and Diana Ross about 10 years later with Love Hangover and we all know how that one turned out. Sometimes, the timing is just off for an artist; it was on for Lesley with It's My Party, on for the 5D with Wedding Bell Blues and on for Diana Ross with Love Hangover.

[Spiritwolfe09]

Ms. Gore does decent versions of others tunes.

[leigy]

@Spiritwolfe09 Actually this versio came out before 5D's.

[JubalCalif]

Heavens to Murgatroid! Never knew until now that the lovely & talented Ms Gore had ever recorded this classic 60's tune by the late great Laura Nyro. What a DYNAMITE version! I've always adored Ms Gore & her talent! Strictly from coolsville, daddy-o! THANK YOU for sharing this delightful "blast from the past" with us! You've MADE my day! :)

[sierria64]

HER VOICE WAS TOO SOFT

[megalove80]

she is my idol

[Vstar4me]

Sweeeet! Lesley has such a sexy voice!!

[waynebrasler]

Had Lesley's version preceded the Fifth Dimension's release she would have enjoyed a big hit and career rivitalization. But I don't think Crewe was ever prepared to give her the level of promotion any artist needs. I saw her perform this on T.V. and she was sensational. Any chance EVER that her Crewe work will come out on C.D.?

[leigy]

@waynebrasler Her Bob Crew stuff is all on the box set...and btw, this version did get released before 5d's.

[carlmonico]

i like !!!

[debsdad2]

I absolutely love both Marilyn and Lesley, but what about the spectacular version by the lady who wrote it? a true genius...Laura Nyro...It's a great song from all three ladies, hands down...all versions are great...

[ScienceProjek]

I love this version.

[vicdanafan44]

Lesley's single of WEDDING BELL BLUES was a more stripped down version of this song, The Fifth Dimension managed to come up with a more upbeat, commercial version of this tune and therefore won out on the hit parade.

[stevemichaels2020]

The Fifth Dimension's version was completed and released prior to Lesley's version being released. Wonder what would have happend to Lesley's version had it been released first? Same situation with Lesley's version of It's My Party. ....Phil Spector was in the studio with the Crystals recording it but Quincy and Mercury got Lesley's version out first!

[DROly1]

Gors version is OK..But I am sorry...the 5th Dimensions version is WAY!!!! Way!! more beleiveable with More emotion.

[Lester2955]

Thanks for the posting. I had not heard this before. It was great.

[JubalCalif]

Thanks a LOT for posting this rare gem. Had no idea that Ms Gore did her own cover of this Laura Nyro classic. And Lesley does her usual OUTSTANDING job here. Really made my day! :)

[martinjp1958]

On this version I listen to the words. In Laura Nyro's I hear the passion. 5th Dimension's version just makes me cry with joy.

[scubawrestler]

Most of the big hits had covers. A cover is considered to be a compliment by the original performers.

[thimoneus]

Folks, this song is nothing to argue about. It's supposed to be a feel good song for everybody.

[eaglesgeo1]

Never heard it by Leslie, it isn't bad at all.

[wvnota]

Laura's version is better but this one is not bad at all!

[StanBennet]

1-- Lesly Gore got a hold of this song before the 5th Dimension? And 2nd, how did the comments turn into Art Bell? Perhaps the name 5th Dimension invited it.

[RobynAndreaBaxter0z]

Sorry to sound controversial, but I prefer a banana

[deep71483]

I like both versions, she kind of sounds like Tammi Terrell in this. And like the other poster said, you can't compare apples with oranges. People are fools, is a rose better than a violet? Is this sun better than the moon? Give me a break.

[RobynAndreaBaxterOz]

The sun IS better than the moon, although maybe it will take the disappearance of the sun before people will start to realise that

[TheDayMyHeadFellOff]

I agree with you, the sun is better than the moon. Whoever heard of anyone getting a good "moon tan"? Boy there are some idiots posting on this board

[ScienceProjek]

This Is The Best Version of This Song. I Prefer This One To 5th Dimension

[stevemichaels2020]

Lesley actually recorded two different versions of Wedding Bell Blues. Both great tunes!

[streamstree1]

@ScienceProjek yeah.i was going to disagree but youre right.its really has a groovier feel to it.

[OMax3rd]

@ScienceProjek the song writer, Laura Nyro, does it better than either of those other versions. And I like Leslie but her's wasn't a hit, The 5th Dimension version was.

[ScienceProjek]

@OMax3rd Yup 5th Dimension's was a hit but Leslie gave it that 'Supremes sound. I love The Supremes which is why I favor this version for myself, the style reminds me so much of Diana & The Girls.

[stevemichaels2020]

@OMax3rd The Fifth Dimension's version was released before Lesley's version.

[johnsain]

I really love and appreciate nyro, the 5th dimension, and lesley.

[MrFruitMixer]

Hi, can anyone give me some advice, I have been given two types of fruit by my tutor (oranges and apples) and she has asked me to write a report comparing them. Does anyone know - is such a thing possible?

[jimymaxx58]

Yet AGAIN, another fool that thinks you can compare apples to oranges. Two very different fruits. Very hard to make a comparison, if a comparison can be made at all. But to each their own!

[johnsain]

they both grow from seeds,...and are edible.....

[nj8ive]

Wow, this sucks compared the to Marilyn McCoo and the Fifth Dimension. The song is so good that Lesley Gore can't completely ruin it, but her voice is completely unsuited to this song, and she ruins a couple of phrases completely by the way she times the words. Sounds like she's out of breath and barely making it. I won't listen to this again.

[jimymax58]

Again another fool who thinks you can compare apples to oranges. I take it you know little or nothing about music! Oh well I still think it is a good song done by a wonderful singer!

[sadfgdstj]

Comparing two female singers who are singing the same song is pretty much like...comparing apples to apples.

[er20092009]

That's a bit racist of you, isn't it???

[NotTrying2BFunnyBut]

You're the racist one, making that connection, it shows how your mind works

If only people could discuss the song and forget about fruit and celestial bodies and racism, this channel would be a better place but I don't expect it to happen any time soon; such is YouTube :(

[ardenspanzers]

Way wrong!

[stevemichaels2020]

Wedding Bell Blues was released on Mercury Records September 1969. Lesley always wanted to record this song, but her producers would did not want her to record it.

[uncoverbrother]

i guess she was referring to "billie". great song!

[tdupuy]

Agreed Saltifish. Marilyn has them all hands now. There shouldn't even be a comparasion.

[jimymax58]

Well, you are comparing apples to oranges. Two different sining styles. Very hard to make a comparison, if a comparison can be made at all. But to each their own!

[xTjPx]

laura!

case closed.

[saltifish]

OK, I have now listened to all the versions and McCoo is easily the best! There will be no more talk of who is better from now on.

[jimymax58]

What you fail to realize that you are comparing apples to oranges. Two different singing styles. But to each their own!

[mfbinc]

inferior version to laura nyro's

[kickassfan]

Such a sweet voice

[bartleby2007]

Is there a Wanda Jackson version of Wedding Bell Blues out there?

[wintermoon1939]

I lke Lesley ok, but the first word she sings here "Bill" sounds pretty lame and emotionless... not a good start to the tune IMO

[RegencyRoyale]

She sounds a bit Country Fine like our Dolly Pardon!...Not so lame..and 'Not the entire Song!..but you know how cool with a proper appraisal:Patty LaBelle!

[jimymax58]

You have to keep in mind that Lesley has a very soft singing voice and style. Other women who have sung this song have tended to have very strong and powerful voices. So it is not that Lesley voice is "lame" it is cause she has a softer voice. What ever it sounds good to me

[riverland73]

I think they both sounds good, but marilyn song sounds better.

[saulpicazo]

Everyone's on crack. Laura Nyro's is THE version to have on an ipod!

[JohnnyGNV]

Marilyn McCoo's vocal was certainly fine, but LESLEY GORE gives a more interesting reading of the lyric. Had MERCURY RECORDS released this version before the 5th Dimension it surely would have been the Hit Record it should have been for Lesley at a time when it was getting tougher for female vocalists to make the Charts which were being dominated by psychadelic sounds of various bands. LESLEY was unfairly pigeon-holed as the "it's my party" gal and wanted to move on to more adult tunes.

[stevemichaels2020]

Lesley had wanted to record songs by Laura Nyro, however, Quincy Jones did not want her to. The 5th Dimension's version was finished and released before Lesley's version.

[juleseca]

Got to agree johnny I love this version

[JohnnyGNV]

This is actually the superior Vocal version of WEDDING BELL BLUES ~ Lesley Gore is an interesting singer and extremely underated as a musician. Had this record been released just prior to the bland 5th Dimension's effort it surely would have charted on it's own.

[blackmore4]

"Bland" 5th Dimension version? That Bones Howe honky tonk piano/punchy strings arrangement is infinitely more powerful than the tediously dull string writing on this version (which also fluffs a couple of chords). I like both singers but I'd say that Marilyn McCoo takes the prize merely by sounding interested. Gore's disinterest, charming as it is, struggles to compete.

[blackmore4]

For my tuppence worth, the Laura Nyro original is THE vocal performance but even that version gets dragged down by the slow tempo and perfunctory arrangement.

Another great singer, Bobbie Gentry, sounds slightly distracted on it. Then again, she'd just divorced after a couple of months of marriage and both Nyro and Gore obviously had no interest in marriage at all. McCoo married shortly after the 5D version was a hit. The girlish passion in her vocal probably came from conviction.

[gregorvonkallahann]

C'mon, Bill--I mean, Blackmore. You're being a little snarky. Reportedly Gore came to terms w/ her lesbianism in college, but Nyro was much more "undecided." She DID marry, had a son, etc. Of course, some reports have this song being written about an aunt's real life experience w/ a man named Bill who kept putting off knot tying.

[jeffcarruthers]

nice version, but not even close to marilyn mccoo and the fifth dimension. sorry....

[leterno]

As an addendum to Kurplunktube's comment regarding Ms. Gore's sexual preferences...Ms. Nyro who wrote the song was also a lesbian or at least a pretty active bisexual...

[arlaur]

Laura Nyro was, in fact, bisexual . . . but that has nothing to do with this song, which was actually NOT written from personal experience. Laura actually wrote it about the jazz vocalist Helen Merrill, who was a close friend of Laura's parents. Helen was having an affair with a married man named Bill, who, in turn, would not divorce his heiress wife for Helen. So, Laura, who was 17 at the time, mischievously wrote the song based on what she heard Helen complaining about!

[leterno]

thanks ariatur! That's info we all didn't know!

[2004mojo]

I love Lesley Gore but she does nothing with this song.

[brokenHeart55]

i actually like lesley gore's version better

her voice is just pretter.

[orlandrake]

Laura Nyro's version is a lot better.

[whispperson]

What a Great Song this is.

Thanks for this.

[presley822]

i dont know who bill is but i hope he marries her.

[whispperson]

Ha Ha

[BernardProfitendieu]

lol!  yeah, wake up Bill!!

[idedaryl]

as far as I know she never got married. Like me a Nice Jewish Girl from NY (altho' I did get married)

Quincy Jones found her when she was still in h.s. She had a good musical education in childhood, so she was ready. She is underrated and not as well-known as she should be.

[kerplunktube]

Since Leslie Gore is a lesbian, she will have to marry Jill. That is when America drops the bigotry and prejudice and lives up to equality that it currently pretends to have.

[italoman9]

I almost don't know a '60s hit performer who could phrase a lyric or a word in a pop song like Lesley, except maybe Diana Ross at that time, she really had a way with expressing the songs she sang.

[blumentopf443]

hey ahbe den bei gilmore girls gehört ...haha echt cool

[nin514]

I dunno what it is...I just love this song. Twoot.

[ThorSmith]

Wow, I clicked on this vid by accident and what an unexpected treat! Never cared for the 5th Dimension and Laura Nyro renditions of this song but this is excellent. Lesley most definitely should've had a hit with this. Her phrasing and the arrangement are both beautiful!

[mtlguy264]

Laura Nyro's version is the best. After all, she wrote the song!

[blackmore4]

I just about agree. A close thing between Laura Nyro and the 5th Dimension. I disagree with your "After all, she wrote the song" implication though. This "everybody-should-write-their-­own-stuff' edict is relatively recent and usually without foundation. Too many singers scribbling and writers warbling. Compare the Cole Porter and Frank Sinatra versions of "Night and Day". Porter wrote it but with his voice it's nothing. Sinatra nails it and makes it one of the greatest songs of the 20th Century.

[queenblanche]

And here I am thinking that the 5th Dimension were the only who ever recorded this song(hehehe) ! I had no idea that Lesley Gore recorded this song.

[Jey159]

This is so cool!

I heared this song as I watched Gilmore Girls

by the wedding from Richard and Emily

[blumentopf443]

yeah im too

[Eversince2005]

I have always love the 5th Dimension..

But this was Lesley's song...

It should have been a major hit for her

JP

[lkol235]

i luv this song : )

[stevemichaels2020]

Thanks for posting this song. Could possibly have been the hit had Mercury released it before the 5th Dimension released their song.

[silverfox4yu]

This one should have been the hit instead of The 5th Dimensions..oh well...thanks for posting.