The Wedding Cake

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"The Wedding Cake"
The Wedding Cake (Spanish Release).png
Spanish release cover
Single by Connie Francis
from the album The Wedding Cake
B-side "Overhill, Underground"
ReleasedJanuary 1969
Genre Country [1]
Length2:37
Label MGM
14034
Songwriters Margaret Lewis, Mira Ann Smith
Producer Shelby Singleton [2]
Connie Francis singles chronology
"I Don't Wanna Play House"
(1968)		"The Wedding Cake"
(1969)		"Gone Like the Wind"
(1969)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Record Mirror Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [3]
Billboard Positive (Special Merit Pick) [4]
Cashbox Positive (Pop Best Bets) [5]
Record World Positive (Single of the Week) [6]

"The Wedding Cake" is a song written by Margaret Lewis and Mira Ann Smith and most notably performed by Connie Francis. [2] The single brought her back to the pop, easy listening and country charts. [1]

Contents

Connie Francis version

Background

By 1969 Connie Francis' chart presence declined. She rarely scored hits, and the main chart she had success with, was the Adult Contemporary chart. "The Wedding Cake" was a brief return to the bottom half of the charts, [7] and was the first of three singles that she released that year. It was produced by Shelby S. Singleton Jr. and months later featured on her 1969 album, The Wedding Cake released a couple of months later. [2] After 1969 Francis took a break from recording, coming back in 1973. [8]

Release and reception

"The Wedding Cake" was released as a seven-inch single in January 1969 by MGM Records. [9] It was backed by another country song written by the same writers of "The Wedding Cake", [5] "Overhill, Underground" on the B-side, [9] which never saw an album inclusion. The single was advertised as a "new kind of Connie". Focus was also put on the fact that the song was similar to other hit country songs of the time like "Gentle on My Mind", "Honey" and "Little Green Apples". [10]

"The Wedding Cake" was given a positive critical response following its release. US Billboard stated that the "Country flavored rhythm item with good lyric line is performed to perfection by Miss Francis in this commercial entry." [4] Record World put the single in its "Singles of the Week" section, writing that "Connie Francis has gotten together with Shelby Singleton for 'The Wedding Cake'", calling it "...a wife's message". [6] Cashbox reviewed the single in early February and stated that it was "One of the most pleasant derivatives of 'Gentle on My Mind.'" Continuing that "this new Connie Francis side has a lovely sound and the lyrical magnetism to make it her biggest in some time." [5] In the UK Record Mirror gave the single four out of five stars and said that Francis was "on top form", but that "it probably won't be good enough". The magazine noted that the "Story-line song reminiscent of such as 'Honey', with a guitar backing and a build-up of her personal emotion". [3]

Chart performance

The single received heavy airplay [11] and in 1969, the track reached its best position (No. 19) on the Billboard Easy Listening chart. [12] "The Wedding Cake" also marked Francis' return to the country charts after a nine-year break, the single peaked at No. 33 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart [13] and at No. 42 on the Cashbox Top 50 Country chart. [14] It was her final entry on the Billboard Hot 100, reaching No. 91 on the chart. [12] On other American music magazines the single was ranked lower, peaking at No. 97 on the Cashbox Top 100 Singles [15] and at No. 92 on the Record World 100 Top Pops chart. [16] In Canada the single reached No. 83 in the Canadian RPM Top 100 Singles national survey and peaked at No. 16 on their AC chart. [17] [18] Overseas the single also peaked at No. 96 in Australia. [19]

Track listing

7" vinyl single [9] [5]

Charts

MGM advertisement for the single, the advert notes that the song is similar to the country songs Honey and Little Green Apples Connie-francis-The-Wedding-Cake-.jpg
MGM advertisement for the single, the advert notes that the song is similar to the country songs Honey and Little Green Apples
Chart (1969)Peak
position
US Billboard Hot 100 [12] 91
US Billboard Easy Listening [12] 19
US Billboard Country Singles [13] 33
US Cashbox Top 50 Country [14] 42
US Cashbox Top 100 Singles [15] 97
US Record World 100 Top Pops [16] 92
CAN RPM Top 100 Singles [17] 83
CAN RPM Adult Contemporary [18] 16
AUS Top 100 Singles [19] 96

Other versions

References

  1. 1 2 Billboard magazine, "Special Merit Spotlight". May 17, 1969
  2. 1 2 3 Connie Francis, "The Wedding Cake" Single Release Retrieved May 6, 2023
  3. 1 2 "Record Mirror, Singles Reviews" (PDF). Record Mirror . No. 418. March 15, 1969. p. 8. Retrieved December 30, 2025– via worldradiohistory.com.
  4. 1 2 Billboard magazine, "Special Merit Spotlight". February 1, 1969, page 79
  5. 1 2 3 4 Cashbox magazine, February 1, 1969. Record Reviews, Best Bets, page 28.
  6. 1 2 "Record World "Singles of the Week"" (PDF). Record World . Vol. 23, no. 1135. February 1, 1969. p. 1. Retrieved December 25, 2025– via worldradiohistory.com.
  7. ↑ Billboard magazine, Album Reviews, May 31, 1969 (mentioned in the review of the album The Wedding Cake).
  8. ↑ Ron Roberts: Connie Francis Discography 1955–1975
  9. 1 2 3 "The Wedding Cake"/"Overhill, Underground" (7" vinyl single) (Media notes). Connie Francis. MGM Records. January 1969. 14034.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  10. ↑ MGM Records advertisements.
  11. ↑ Cashbox magazine, "Office manager Patricia Porter reports heavy airplay on the Connie Francis release of "The Wedding Cake." March 1, 1969
  12. 1 2 3 4 Connie Francis, "The Wedding Cake" Chart Positions Retrieved May 6, 2023
  13. 1 2 Whitburn, Joel (1998). Joel Whitburn's top country singles 1944-1997. Menomonee Falls, Wisc.: Record Research. p. 168. ISBN   0898201292.
  14. 1 2 Cashbox Top 50 Country, April 12, 1969. page 46. Retrieved December 28, via worldradiohistory.com
  15. 1 2 Downey, Pat; Albert, George; Hoffman, Frank (1994). Cash Box Pop Singles Charts, 1950–1993. Englewood, Colorado: Libraries Unlimited, Inc. pp. 129–130. ISBN   1563083167.
  16. 1 2 Whitburn, Joel (2012). Hit Records 1954–1982. Record Research. ISBN   978-0-89820-200-7.
  17. 1 2 "RPM Top 100 Singles - April 7, 1969" (PDF).
  18. 1 2 "RPM Top 40 AC - April 28, 1969".
  19. 1 2 Kent, David (2005). Australian Chart Book 1940–1969. Australian Chart Book Pty Ltd, Turramurra, N.S.W. ISBN   0-646-44439-5.
  20. ↑ Connie Smith, Back in Baby's Arms Retrieved May 6, 2023
  21. ↑ Martell, Linda (August 1970). "Color Me Country (LP Liner Notes and Album Information)". Plantation Records . PLP-9.
  22. ↑ Jeannie C. Riley, The World of Country Retrieved May 6, 2023
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