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{{Short description|1970 single by the 5th Dimension}}

{{Infobox song
| name = One Less Bell to Answer
| cover = One_Less_Bell_to_Answer_-_The_5th_Dimension.jpg
| type = single
| artist = [[The 5th Dimension]]
| album = [[Portrait (The 5th Dimension album)|Portrait]]
| B-side = Feelin' Alright?
| released = April 1970
| recorded = 1969–1970
| genre = [[Easy listening]]<ref name="Ultra 1997">{{cite book|last= DeMain|first= Bill|chapter= Burt Bacharach|editor-last= Jones|editor-first=Dylan|date= 1997|title= Ultra Lounge: The Lexicon of Easy Listening|publisher=[[Rizzoli Libri|Universe Publishing]]|location=New York|page= 33}}</ref>
| length = 3:31
| label = [[Bell Records|Bell]]
| composer = [[Burt Bacharach]]
| lyricist = [[Hal David]]
| producer = [[Bones Howe]]
| prev_title = [[On the Beach (In the Summertime)]]
| prev_year = 1970
| next_title = [[Love's Lines, Angles and Rhymes (song)|Love's Lines, Angles and Rhymes]]
| next_year = 1971
}}

"'''One Less Bell to Answer'''" is a song written by [[Burt Bacharach]] and [[Hal David]]. Originally written in 1967 for [[Keely Smith]], the song was rediscovered in late 1969 by [[Bones Howe]], the producer for [[the 5th Dimension]], and the song was included on the group's 1970 debut album for [[Bell Records]], ''[[Portrait (The 5th Dimension album)|Portrait]]''. Lead vocals on the single were sung by [[Marilyn McCoo]].

"One Less Bell to Answer" was a [[Music recording sales certification|platinum record]]. The song peaked at No.2 on the [[Billboard Hot 100|''Billboard'' Hot 100]] behind "[[My Sweet Lord]]" by [[George Harrison]] for the weeks of December 26, 1970 and January 2, 1971.<ref>[https://www.billboard.com/charts/hot-100/1970-12-26/ ''Billboard'' Hot 100, Week of December 26, 1970 – Billboard.com.] Retrieved December 7, 2018.</ref><ref>[https://www.billboard.com/charts/hot-100/1971-01-02/ ''Billboard'' Hot 100, Week of January 2, 1971 – Billboard.com.] Retrieved May 24, 2023.</ref> On other US charts, it went to No.1 on the [[Adult Contemporary (chart)|Adult Contemporary]] chart, as well as No.4 on the [[Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs|Best Selling Soul Singles]] chart.

== Background ==
Burt Bacharach and Hal David disagree on the origin of "One Less Bell to Answer". Bacharach told Paul Zollo, the author of ''Songwriters on Songwriting'', that the song was inspired by an incident that occurred with his then-girlfriend, actress [[Angie Dickinson]]. "That was kind of a freak that it happened. The title was born from working on 'What's New Pussycat', and Angie Dickinson was living with me in London. A doorbell rang, and I think she made the comment, 'One less bell to answer, when I get out of here.' It was pretty intense, and it bothered her. We weren't married yet but we were living together. I think Hal heard her say, 'One less bell to answer'. He thought, that's a good song title and we wrote it."

In the liner notes of Bacharach's "The Look of Love" box set, Hal David described a different inspiration for the song: "Burt and I were in London working on a project, and I was invited to a dinner party. The hostess said to me, 'When you arrive, don't ring the bell, just come in. It'll make one less bell for me to answer.' I was wise enough to know it was a good title!"

==Personnel==
According to the AFM contract sheets, the following musicians played on the track.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.wreckingcrewfilm.com/afmcontracts/5thDimension_OneLessBell.pdf |title=One Less Bell To Answer AFM Contract|publisher=[[American Federation of Musicians]] |website=The Wrecking Crew |accessdate=January 1, 2023}}</ref>

*[[Hal Blaine]]: Drums, percussion
*[[Bones Howe]]
*[[Larry Knechtel]]: Keyboards
*[[Joe Osborn]]: Bass
*[[Tommy Tedesco]]: Guitars
*Gary Illingworth
*[[Fred Tackett]]: Guitars
*[[Jimmy Rowles]]: Keyboards, Piano
*Robert Alcivar
*[[Bill Holman (musician)|Bill Holman]]: Saxophone
*Sid Sharp
*William Kurasch
*Ralph Schaeffer
*Arnold Belnick
*Assa Drori
*Tibor Zelig
*Bernard Kundell
*Henry Ferber
*Robert Konrad
*[[Bud Shank]]: Flute, Alto Saxophone
*[[Jim Horn]]: Saxophone
*[[Emil Richards]]: Vibraphone, Percussion
*William Hinshaw
*Jim Decker
*Richard Perissi

==Chart history==
{{col-begin|width=75%}}
{{col-2}}

===Weekly charts===
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
!Chart (1970–1971)
!Peak<br />position
|-
|Canada ''[[RPM (magazine)|RPM]]'' Adult Contemporary<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discover/films-videos-sound-recordings/rpm/Pages/image.aspx?Image=nlc008388.3739&URLjpg=http%3a%2f%2fwww.collectionscanada.gc.ca%2fobj%2f028020%2ff4%2fnlc008388.3739.gif&Ecopy=nlc008388.3739|title=Item Display – RPM – Library and Archives Canada |website=Collectionscanada.gc.ca |date=1971-01-09 |access-date=2018-07-04}}</ref>
| style="text-align:center;"|7
|-
|Canada ''RPM'' Top Singles<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discover/films-videos-sound-recordings/rpm/Pages/image.aspx?Image=nlc008388.3749&URLjpg=http%3a%2f%2fwww.collectionscanada.gc.ca%2fobj%2f028020%2ff4%2fnlc008388.3749.gif&Ecopy=nlc008388.3749|title=Item Display – RPM – Library and Archives Canada |website=Collectionscanada.gc.ca |date=1971-01-30 |access-date=2018-05-31}}</ref>
| style="text-align:center;"|11
|-
|U.S. ''[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]'' [[Billboard Hot 100|Hot 100]]<ref>''Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955–1990''. {{ISBN|0-89820-089-X}}</ref>
| style="text-align:center;"|2
|-
|U.S. ''[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]'' [[Adult Contemporary (chart)|Easy Listening]]<ref>{{cite book |title= Top Adult Contemporary: 1961–2001|last=Whitburn |first=Joel |author-link=Joel Whitburn |year=2002 |publisher=Record Research |page=91}}</ref>
| style="text-align:center;"|1
|-
|U.S. ''[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]'' [[Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs|Soul Singles]]<ref>{{cite book |title= Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942–2004|last=Whitburn |first=Joel |author-link=Joel Whitburn |year=2004 |publisher=Record Research |page=202}}</ref>
| style="text-align:center;"|4
|-
|U.S. [[Cash Box (magazine)|''Cash Box'']] Top 100
|align="center"|2
|-
|}
{{col-2}}

===Year-end charts===
{| class="wikitable"
|-
!Chart (1971)
! style="text-align:center;"|Rank
|-
|U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot 100<ref>[http://www.musicoutfitters.com/topsongs/1971.htm Musicoutfitters.com]</ref>
| style="text-align:center;"|98
|-
|U.S. ''Cash Box'' <ref>{{Cite web |url=http://tropicalglen.com/Archives/70s_files/1971YESP.html |title=Cash Box Year-End Charts: Top 100 Pop Singles, December 25, 1971 |access-date=July 5, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161006205612/http://tropicalglen.com/Archives/70s_files/1971YESP.html |archive-date=October 6, 2016 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
| style="text-align:center;"|91
|-
|}
{{col-end}}

==Certifications==
{{Certification Table Top}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=United States|award=Platinum|type=single|artist=Fifth Dimension|title=One Less Bell to Answer|accessdate=24 October 2023|relyear=1970|certyear=1991}}
{{Certification Table Bottom | nosales=true}}

==Use in media==
The 5th Dimension version of the song was prominently featured at the same time in an episode of the [[Robert Wagner]] TV series ''[[It Takes a Thief (1968 TV series)|It Takes a Thief]]''.

==Other versions==
Bacharach himself included a version of it as the closing number, with Cissy Houston singing, on his own 1971 eponymous A&M album.

[[Rosemary Clooney]] had a national [[easy listening]] chart record of this song in 1968 (US No.34). [[Barbra Streisand]] partially covered the song in the medley "One Less Bell to Answer/[[A House Is Not a Home (song)|A House Is Not a Home]]" on her 1971 album ''[[Barbra Joan Streisand (album)|Barbra Joan Streisand]]''. Also in 1971, [[Rita Reys]] recorded the song for her album ''Rita Reys Sings Burt Bacharach'', which won her an Edison Award. [[Dionne Warwick]] recorded a version of the song on her 1972 [[Warner Music Group|Warner Bros.]] album ''Dionne''; Bacharach and David produced their track for Warwick. Another 1972 cover was by [[Shirley Bassey]] on her album ''[[I Capricorn]]''. [[Vikki Carr]], [[Michael Ball (singer)|Michael Ball]], [[Vanessa L. Williams|Vanessa Williams]] from ''[[Everlasting Love (Vanessa Williams album)|Everlasting Love]]'' (2005), [[Trijntje Oosterhuis]], and [[Sheryl Crow]] also have performed covers, and the song (specifically the Streisand medley version) was performed by [[Matthew Morrison]] and [[Kristin Chenoweth]] in an episode of the American television series [[Glee (TV series)|''Glee'']]. In 2012 [[Steps (pop group)|Steps]] covered the song on their album [[Light Up the World (Steps album)|''Light Up the World'']].

==See also==
*[[List of number-one adult contemporary singles of 1971 (U.S.)]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* {{YouTube|Xy2YOL8wdBA&ab|Listen to "One Less Bell to Answer"}}

{{The 5th Dimension}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:One Less Bell To Answer}}
[[Category:1967 songs]]
[[Category:1970 singles]]
[[Category:The 5th Dimension songs]]
[[Category:Songs with music by Burt Bacharach]]
[[Category:Songs with lyrics by Hal David]]
[[Category:Songs about loneliness]]
[[Category:Torch songs]]
[[Category:Bell Records singles]]

One Less Bell to Answer - Revision history

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