Released May 1, 1949 Length 2:54 | Genre Country, blues Label MGM | |
B-side "I've Just Told Mama Goodbye" Recorded March 20, 1949, Castle Studio, Nashville | ||
"Wedding Bells" is a song written by Claude Boone and recorded by Hank Williams on MGM Records. It peaked at No. 2 on the country singles chart in 1949.
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Background
"Wedding Bells" had been first recorded by Knoxville radio veteran Bill Carlisle on King Records in 1947. According to country music historian Colin Escott, Claude Boone, who played guitar for Knoxville bluegrass star Carl Story, bought the song for twenty-five dollars from James Arthur Pritchett, a local musician and drunk who performed under the name "Arthur Q. Smith." The song is rife with Victorian-era sentimentality as the narrator describes his despair over the love of his life marrying another man. According to Boone, Hank called it "the prettiest song he'd ever heard." Williams recorded it at Castle Studio in Nashville on March 20, 1949 with Fred Rose producing and was supported by Dale Potter (fiddle), Don Davis (steel guitar), Zeb Turner (electric guitar), Jack Shook (rhythm guitar), and Velma Williams (bass). "Wedding Bells" was significant because it was the first single following Hank's biggest hit yet, "Lovesick Blues."
The recording session for "Wedding Bells" took place after Williams' first ever flight. Hank telegrammed producer Fred Rose before takeoff: "Flight 58 will arrive at 5:45. I hope."