The Wedding (song)
Encyclopedia
"The Wedding", sometimes credited as "The Wedding (La Novia)", is a popular song from 1964 recorded by British singer Julie Rogers
. The song was included on Rogers' extended play
from 1964, which was also titled The Wedding, and has appeared on various compilation albums in the years since its release.
version, recorded by Prieto's brother, Antonio in Argentina, and an English
translation by Fred Jay soon became well-known in Europe and the United States, and numerous artists recorded versions of the song during the early 1960s. Among artists who recorded versions of "The Wedding" during this time were Anita Bryant
and Malcolm Vaughan
. The song was also a major hit in Japan
in a Japanese
version by Peggy Hayama, under the original title of "La Novia."
" and releasing it as her debut single, Rogers suggested "The Wedding" as its follow-up, since it was a song she remembered fondly from her time in Spain. The single was released in the UK in August 1964 and marked her first appearance on the UK Singles Chart
, steadily climbing the chart until it spent two weeks at number three in October and November of that year. Around this time Rogers' recording was released in the U.S., and "The Wedding" reached number ten on the Billboard Hot 100
chart and logged three weeks atop the Billboard Middle-Road Singles (adult contemporary) chart in January 1965. The song also reached the summit on the Australian Kent Music Report
and was a hit in other countries as well. In the mid-1970s, it was estimated that over seven million copies of the song had been sold, and for many years after its release, it was a popular selection at wedding ceremonies around the world. The only controversy in the song, was to have a protestant woman, sing a song about a catholic wedding, especially with the use of the Latin words: "Ave Maria".
Julie Rogers (singer)
Julie Rogers is an English pop singer. She is best known for her multi-million selling song, "The Wedding".-Career:...
. The song was included on Rogers' extended play
Extended play
An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...
from 1964, which was also titled The Wedding, and has appeared on various compilation albums in the years since its release.
Origins
Joaquin Prieto, an Chilean musician, wrote a song in 1958 that he called "La novia" ("The bride"). Both the original Spanish languageSpanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
version, recorded by Prieto's brother, Antonio in Argentina, and an English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
translation by Fred Jay soon became well-known in Europe and the United States, and numerous artists recorded versions of the song during the early 1960s. Among artists who recorded versions of "The Wedding" during this time were Anita Bryant
Anita Bryant
Anita Jane Bryant is an American singer, former Miss Oklahoma beauty pageant winner, and gay rights opponent. She scored four Top 40 hits in the United States in the late 1950s and early 1960s, including "Paper Roses", which reached #5...
and Malcolm Vaughan
Malcolm Vaughan
Malcolm Vaughan was a Welsh traditional pop music singer and actor. Known for his distinctive tenor voice, he had a number of chart hits in the United Kingdom during the 1950s.-Biography:...
. The song was also a major hit in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
in a Japanese
Japanese language
is a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family, which has a number of proposed relationships with other languages, none of which has gained wide acceptance among historical linguists .Japanese is an...
version by Peggy Hayama, under the original title of "La Novia."
Rogers version
Rogers heard the song while working in Spain in the early 1960s, and by 1964 she was the featured singer with British bandleader Teddy Foster. After recording a version of the song "It's MagicIt's Magic
"It's Magic" is a popular song.The music was written by Jule Styne, the lyrics by Sammy Cahn. The song was introduced by Doris Day in her film debut, Romance on the High Seas, and was published in 1947....
" and releasing it as her debut single, Rogers suggested "The Wedding" as its follow-up, since it was a song she remembered fondly from her time in Spain. The single was released in the UK in August 1964 and marked her first appearance on the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
, steadily climbing the chart until it spent two weeks at number three in October and November of that year. Around this time Rogers' recording was released in the U.S., and "The Wedding" reached number ten on the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
chart and logged three weeks atop the Billboard Middle-Road Singles (adult contemporary) chart in January 1965. The song also reached the summit on the Australian Kent Music Report
Kent Music Report
The Kent Music Report was a weekly record chart of Australian music singles and albums which was compiled by music enthusiast David Kent from May 1974 through to 1998...
and was a hit in other countries as well. In the mid-1970s, it was estimated that over seven million copies of the song had been sold, and for many years after its release, it was a popular selection at wedding ceremonies around the world. The only controversy in the song, was to have a protestant woman, sing a song about a catholic wedding, especially with the use of the Latin words: "Ave Maria".
Charts
| Chart (1964/1965) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australia Kent Music Report | 1 |
| Germany Media Control Charts Media Control Charts The official music charts in Germany are gathered and published by the company Media Control GfK International on behalf of Bundesverband Musikindustrie... |
16 |
| UK Singles Chart | 3 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | 10 |
| U.S. Billboard Middle-Road Singles | 1 |
See also
- List of number-one singles in Australia during the 1960s
- List of number-one adult contemporary singles of 1965 (U.S.)