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
Format	7" single
Recorded	Hitsville USA; June 1965
Genre	Soul/pop
Length	2:51
Label	Tamla T 54126
Writer(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]

The titular "Bill" referenced in the song 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. "Don't Mess With Bill" has also been recorded and released by Monalisa Young. It was also included as part of The Spinners "Superstar Medley" and released on the 1975 "Spinners Live!" album.^[4]

Personnel

• Lead vocals by Wanda Young Rogers
• Background vocals by Gladys Horton, Katherine Anderson, and The Andantes
• Instrumentation by The Funk Brothers

References

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
4. The Spinners Live! LP

External links

• Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics