The Wedding Cake

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]

• "The Wedding Cake" - 2:37
• "Overhill, Underground" – 3:27