he 5th Dimension's #30 album Portrait had already spun off three hits, and the group's record label wasn't so sure it wanted to release another. But because of the songwriting team of Burt Bacharach and Hal David, along with a well-timed television appearance, the album spun off its biggest single yet.

Debuting in the Billboard Top 40 on Nov. 21, 1970, "One Less Bell To Answer" was the L.A.-based vocal group 5th Dimension's 14th top 40 hit and their 5th top 10 single. It was the fourth single taken from their 5th studio album, Portrait, which first charted on May 9, 1970. The album peaked at #5 on the Billboard Hot 200 and remained on the chart for 55 weeks. It was certified as a gold seller by the R.I.A.A. on Dec. 23, 1970.

"One Less Bell to Answer" had been inspired by an incident that occurred between Burt Bacharach and his girlfriend, actress Angie Dickinson. As Bacharach told Paul Zollo, the author of Songwriters on Songwriting, "That was kind of a freak that it happened. I remember there was a program manager in New Orleans who started playing that record at a time when a key station could influence the whole south. The title was born from working on What's New Pussycat, and Angie Dickinson was living with me in London. And 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."

The song wound up in the hands of the R&B group The 5th Dimension. Ever since signing with Johnny Rivers' label Soul City, the group, which consisted of Marilyn McCoo, Billy Davis Jr., Florence LaRue, Lamont McLemore, and Ron Townson, had spun off hits like the #7 hit "Up -- Up And Away," the #3 smash "Stoned Soul Picnic," and the #1 hits "Aquarius/Let The Sunshine In" and "Wedding Bell Blues." Therefore, they were any songwriter's dream in terms of generating sales. In addition a switch to Bell Records also seemed to have energized the group members.

The first single from their Bell Records album, Portrait, was the double-sided hit "A Change Is Gonna Come & People Got To Be Free/The Declaration," which missed the Top 40 altogether. The follow-up, "Puppet Man," did much better, rising to #24. "Save The Country" did almost as well, reaching #27, although it appeared that the album had run its course. But there was one more hit to answer for, and after the group's recording of "One Less Bell to Answer" made an appearance on the television series It Takes A Thief, a Los Angeles deejay decided to start playing the track. The audience reaction was huge, and the song was officially released.

"One Less Bell To Answer" entered the chart at #81, and within ten weeks was the second-most popular song in America (behind George Harrison's "My Sweet Lord/Isn't It A Pity"), going platinum in the process. The song also reached #4 on the R&B charts. The group continued to chart through the mid-1970s, but it was clear the best days were behind them. Marilyn McCoo and Billy Davis Jr., who had been married in 1969, left in 1975 to form their own duo, which topped the charts in 1977 with "You Don't Have To Be A Star (To Be In My Show)".

- Christopher G. Feldman, The Billboard Book of No. 2 Singles, Billboard, 2000.

 

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