In the fall of 1969, Paul Stookey, (the Paul of Peter, Paul and Mary) was to be the best man at the marriage of his friend Peter Yarrow (The Peter of Peter, Paul and Mary). Stookey was on a midnight flight between P.P. & M concert dates in San Jose and Boston when he decided to write the song.
Yarrow’s wedding to Mary Beth McCarthy at St Mary’s Catholic Church in Willmar MN was scheduled around their concert dates. Stookey set out to write a song for the wedding that would convey his Christian convictions while respecting Yarrow’s Jewish faith. According to Stookey “the melody and the words arrived simultaneously and in response to a direct prayer asking God how the divine could be present at Peter’s wedding. Believing he could not take personal credit for composing The Wedding Song, Stookey set up the Public Domain Foundation which since 1971 has received the song’s songwriting royalties for charitable distribution.
Stookey himself made the first recording of The Wedding Song (There Is Love) for his 1971 album release Paul and I. Petula Clark recorded The Wedding Song (There Is Love) in a July 1972 recording session at the MGM Recording Studios in Los Angeles: included on her album Now produced by Mike Curb with its arranger Don Costa.
Hundreds of others have covered this song but the original Paul Stookey song remains the best version. I think Stookey’s guitar work on this song makes it work so well.
Enjoy (or not). https://youtu.be/hR051uCNrAw
Rick
Rick's Music Trivia 