Don't Mess with Bill

{{Infobox song

| name = Don't Mess with Bill

| cover = Don’t Mess With Bill.jpeg

| alt =

| type = single

| artist = The Marvelettes

| album = The Marvelettes Greatest Hits

| B-side = Anything You Wanna Do

| released = November 26, 1965

| recorded = Hitsville USA; June 1965

| studio =

| venue =

| genre = Soul, pop

| length = 2:51

| label = Tamla
T 54126

| writer = Smokey Robinson

| producer = Smokey Robinson

| prev_title = Danger Heartbreak Dead Ahead

| prev_year = 1965

| next_title = You're the One

| next_year = 1966

}}

"Don't Mess with Bill" is a song recorded by the Marvelettes for Motown Records' Tamla label.The Complete Motown Singles Vol 5: 1965 [CD liner notes]. New York: Hip-O Select/Motown/Universal Records. 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.{{cite book |title= Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004|last=Whitburn |first=Joel |author-link=Joel Whitburn |year=2004 |publisher=Record Research |page=379}}[{{Allmusic|class=artist|id=the-marvelettes-mn0000376608/awards|pure_url=yes}} Don't Mess with Bill at Allmusic]

Background

The titular "Bill" referenced is not an allusion to the song's author, Bill "Smokey" Robinson. Robinson reports that he chose the name because it fit the lyrics, not because it was his.{{Citation needed|date=March 2008}}

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."{{cite magazine |title=CashBox Record Reviews |date=December 18, 1965 |page=10 |access-date=2022-01-12 |url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Cash-Box/60s/1965/CB-1965-12-16.pdf |magazine=Cash Box}}

Personnel

Lead vocals by Wanda Young Rogers
Background vocals by the Andantes: Jackie Hicks, Marlene Barrow, and Louvain Demps
Instrumentation by the Funk BrothersLiner notes. The Complete Motown Singles Vol. 5: 1965, Hip-O Select – B0006775-02, USA, 04 Aug 2006
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

class="wikitable sortable"

!Chart (1965-1966)

!Peak
position

US Billboard Hot 100

|align="center"|7

US Top Selling Rhythm & Blues Singles (Billboard)

|align="center"|3

Other versions

It was included as part of the Spinners' "Superstar Medley", released on the 1975 Spinners Live! album.[https://www.amazon.com/Spinners-Live/dp/B000009QJF/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1444525896&sr=1-1&keywords=spinners+live The Spinners Live! LP]

References

Category:1965 songs

Category:1966 singles

Category:The Marvelettes songs

Category:Songs written by Smokey Robinson

Category:Motown singles

Category:Song recordings produced by Smokey Robinson