'Eternal Flame' was written by lead singer Susanna Hoffs and songwriters Tom Kelly and Billy Steinberg. According to a Huffington Post interview with Hoffs, the song originated from the Bangles' tour of Graceland: "I was describing the band standing in the rain in the Meditation Garden, singing "Heartbreak Hotel" (a la Spinal Tap) in front of Elvis's eternal flame," explains Hoffs. And over 20 years later, the song is still a top pick at weddings.
Featured off KCi and JoJo's first studio album without the R&B group Jodeci, the single stayed at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for three weeks. And if you listen closely, the catchy piano melody has a similar arrangement to the funky electric piano underlining King Harvest's 'Dancing In The Moonlight.' Although a wedding love song classic, the song was originally written about JoJo's daughter.
Penned by Missy Elliot and Timbaland (who also produced the track), the song was the title track for Aaliyah's double platinum 1996 sophomore album. Although the song is driven by R&B back beats, the lyrics exemplify the love between two people: "Won't let no one come and take your place / Cause the love you give can't be replaced / See no one else love me like you do / That's why I don't mind to spend my life with you."
FireHouse's most successful glam rock power ballad, 'Love of a Lifetime,' transpired while C.J. Snare was playing solo gigs at the Holiday Inn. Years later while going through the band's demos for their debut album, Epic Records requested a stronger power ballad, which prompted Snare to contribute this song. Snare added in a 2005 interview, that "there isn't a show that goes by where people don't come up to us and are like, ''Love of a Lifetime'... we got married to that song!'"
Originally released by Jennifer Rush in 1985, Celine Dion included the single on her third English album, 1993's 'The Colour of My Love.' It became her fist No. 1 hit in the U.S, Canada, and Australia. The song earned Dion at 1995 a Grammy Award nomination for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance, but lost to Sheryl Crow's 'All I Wanna Do.' Air Supply, Andrea Bocelli and Michael Crawford, among others, have all covered this top wedding love song.
This duet was featured on 1996's soundtrack 'The Mirror Has Two Faces,' which starred Streisand. It was nominated for multiple Best Song accolades by the Academy Awards and the Golden Globes.
Paul Stookey first performed this top wedding love song at Peter Yarrow's marriage ceremony in 1971. Shortly after the ceremony, Stookey decided to distribute all the song's royalties through a nonprofit he initiated called Public Domain Foundation (PDF) -- which facilitates the creation of cause-related music.
Lionel Richie originally wrote this love ballad for the 1981 flick 'Endless Love' starring Brooke Shields. The song became the second biggest selling single of that year and took the No. 1 slot on Billboard's Hot 100 for nine consecutive weeks. The wedding love song has been covered by numerous artists including Luther Vandross and Mariah Carey, Kenny Rogers and even the cast of Glee.
1942's musical film 'Orchestra Wives' first featured this wedding love song, which was performed by Ray Eberle, Pat Friday and composer Glenn Miller's orchestra. Etta James' version didn't surface until 1960 when it was included on her debut album. The song has been covered by a slew of artists ranging from Joni Mitchell to Beyonce.
'Here and Now' was a single on the Grammy-Award winning compilation album 'The Best of Luther Vandross... The Best of Love.' The song became Vandross' first major pop hit, and won him a Grammy for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance in 1991. With lyrics that truly exemplify the purest essence of love, devotion and commitment, it's no wonder 'Here and Now' is AOL Radio's No. 1 wedding love song.
Share your favorite wedding love songs in the comments below. Plus, don't miss these other wedding music lists: Top Father Daughter Dance Songs and Top Mother Son Dance Songs. For even more wedding planning check out Aisle Dash, and for fun, check out AOL Music's top wedding music videos.
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51. Ours was "From this Moment"- the duet version with Shania Twain. It was perfect! Plus we're dancers, so we did a semi-choreographed dance that ended in a nice dip, right on cue...SIGH:)!
Posted at 3:07AM on Apr 30th 2010 by thmpsheil