Every New Zealand #1 single…
10
Chapel of Love by The Dixie Cups
Topped the NZ chart for 2 weeks from 6 August 1964.
The Dixie Cups
The Dixie Cups are a trio from New Orleans. The classic lineup consisted of sisters Barbara Ann and Rosa Lee Hawkins, with their cousin Joan Marie Johnson. As of 2025, Barbara Ann Hawkins is still a member.
The trio signed with Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, who produced and wrote hits for them. ‘Chapel of Love’ was their first single – it reached #1 on Billboard and sold a million copies.
Chapel of Love
‘Chapel of Love’ was written by Jeff Barry and Ellie Greenwich, along with uber-producer Phil Spector. Barry and Greenwich had recently married when they wrote it – Barry wrote the lyrics and Greenwich wrote the music.
You and Ellie wrote several big hits with Phil Spector, such as “Da Doo Ron Ron, “Be My Baby,” “Chapel of Love” and “River Deep – Mountain High.” When you and Ellie were writing with Phil Spector, how did the three of you work together?
Barry: Well, my recollection is that Phil would be at the piano, playing in his style, which leads to the records he made in his style and format, and I would be tapping on stuff and coming up with lyrics and melody, with Ellie contributing her musical and lyrical thoughts. Then the three of us would usually have an enjoyable time.
Jeff Barry, Songwriter Universe
My verdict
‘Chapel of Love’ is so brilliantly simple that it’s almost impossible to make a bad version. The Dixie Cups have great vocals, and their version is definitive.
The Aftermath
Barry and Greenwich’s marriage only lasted a few years. The Dixie Cups are still an active band, although ‘Chapel of Love’ remains their only top ten hit in the US.
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Classic song that I like. Love that sound the female groups had at that time. I never knew Phil Spector had a hand in writing it.
I think I read Phil Spector got a writing credit as a tradeoff for The Dixie Cups’ version being released before the Darlene Love original. So he maybe didn’t actually write much.
Ok…that makes sense. I know Sonny Bono wrote a lot back then.
As you say, brilliantly simple. The girls are not trying to be soul divas, they’re just singing in their natural voices, so it sounds naive and charming.
Agreed, and nice to hear from you.
It’s a great ’60s girls group song. I love the vocals. Given “Chapel of Love” was first released in 1964 and was a no. 1 in the US and Canada at the time, what made it pop up in New Zealand in November 2012? Was it featured in some movie? It looks remarkable to me a song like “Chapel of Love” topped the charts in New Zealand some 48 years after its initial release.
That was me cloning the previous post and forgetting to change the date – it actually topped the chart for 2 weeks from 6 August 1964.
I agree, the song is an oldy but a goody.
It’s aged pretty gracefully too, I think.
I agree with you on that.