Don't Mess with Bill

1965 single by The Marvelettes

"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(s)

Smokey Robinson

Producer(s)

Smokey Robinson

The Marvelettes singles chronology

"Danger Heartbreak Dead Ahead"
(1965)

"Don't Mess with Bill"
(1965)

"You're the One"
(1966)

"Don't Mess with Bill" is a million-selling Gold-certified 1966 single 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 Gladys Horton, Katherine Anderson and 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" and released on the 1975 "Spinners Live!" album.^[6]

"Don't Mess with Bill" has also been recorded and released by Mona Lisa Young.

Mona Lisa Young
Born	Los Angeles, California
Known for	"Lovers" by World Class Wreckin Crew(1988), Saint Tropez(1982-1983)
Notable work	Knife(1983), Partners in Pleasure(1992)
Website	http://www.monalisayoung.com, https://www.discogs.com/sell/item/2398930244

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