Don't Mess with Bill

"Don't Mess with Bill"
"Don't Mess with Bill"
Single by The Marvelettes
from the album The Marvelettes Greatest Hits
B-side	"Anything You Wanna Do"
Released	November 26, 1965
Recorded	Hitsville USA; June 1965
Genre	Soul, pop
Length	2:51
Label	Tamla; T 54126
Songwriter	Smokey Robinson
Producer	Smokey Robinson
The Marvelettes singles chronology

"Don't Mess with Bill" is a song recorded by the Marvelettes for Motown Records' Tamla label.^[1] Written and produced by Smokey Robinson, "Don't Mess with Bill" features a lead vocal by Wanda Young. The single peaked at number seven on the Billboard Hot 100 in February 1966, and at number three on Billboard's R&B singles chart. "Don't Mess with Bill" was the Marvelettes' final top 10 single.^[2]^[3]

Background

The titular "Bill" referenced is not an allusion to the song's author, Bill "Smokey" Robinson.^[1] Robinson reports that he chose the name because it fit the lyrics, not because it was his.^{[citation needed]}

Cash Box described it as a "funky medium-paced pop-blues shuffler about love-struck gal who serves notice on one and all to leave her fella alone."^[4]

Personnel

Lead vocals by Wanda Young Rogers
Background vocals by the Andantes: Jackie Hicks, Marlene Barrow, and Louvain Demps
Instrumentation by the Funk Brothers^[5]
- Bass – James Jamerson
- Congas – Eddie "Bongo" Brown
- Drums – Benny Benjamin
- Guitar – Robert White
- Organ – Earl Van Dyke
- Baritone saxophone – Andrew "Mike" Terry
- Tenor saxophone solo – Norris Patterson
- Trombone – Don White, Paul Riser
- Trumpet – Floyd Jones, John Trudell
- Vibraphone – Jack Ashford

Chart performance

Chart (1965-1966)	Peak position
US Billboard Hot 100	7
US Top Selling Rhythm & Blues Singles (Billboard)	3

Other versions

It was included as part of the Spinners' "Superstar Medley", released on the 1975 Spinners Live! album.^[6]

References

^ ^a ^b The Complete Motown Singles Vol 5: 1965 [CD liner notes]. New York: Hip-O Select/Motown/Universal Records.
^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research. p. 379.
^ Don't Mess with Bill at Allmusic
^ "CashBox Record Reviews" (PDF). Cash Box. December 18, 1965. p. 10. Retrieved 2022-01-12.
^ Liner notes. The Complete Motown Singles Vol. 5: 1965, Hip-O Select – B0006775-02, USA, 04 Aug 2006
^ The Spinners Live! LP

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[Motown-1] The Complete Motown Singles Vol 5: 1965 [CD liner notes]. New York: Hip-O Select/Motown/Universal Records.

[2] Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research. p. 379.

[3] Don't Mess with Bill at Allmusic

[cb-4] "CashBox Record Reviews" (PDF). Cash Box. December 18, 1965. p. 10. Retrieved 2022-01-12.

[5] Liner notes. The Complete Motown Singles Vol. 5: 1965, Hip-O Select – B0006775-02, USA, 04 Aug 2006

[6] The Spinners Live! LP

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v t e The Marvelettes
Gladys Horton Katherine Anderson Wanda Young Ann Bogan Georgeanna Tillman Juanita Cowart Georgia Dobbins
Albums	Please Mr. Postman (1961) The Marvelettes Sing aka Smash Hits of '62 (1962) Playboy (1962) The Marvelous Marvelettes (1963) The Marvelettes Recorded Live on Stage (1963) The Marvelettes Greatest Hits (1966) The Marvelettes (1967) Sophisticated Soul (1968) In Full Bloom (1969) The Return of The Marvelettes (1970) The Marvelettes Anthology (1975) The Best of The Marvelettes (1975)
Singles (US/UK Top 40)	"Please Mr. Postman" (1961) "Twistin' Postman" (1961) "Playboy" (1962) "Beechwood 4-5789" (1962) "Too Many Fish in the Sea" (1965) "I'll Keep Holding On" (1965) "Don't Mess with Bill" (1966) "The Hunter Gets Captured by the Game" (1967) "When You're Young and in Love" (1967) "My Baby Must Be a Magician" (1968)
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