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<br><small>T 54126</small> | 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.<ref name= "Motown">The Complete Motown Singles Vol 5: 1965 [CD liner notes]. New York: Hip-O Select/Motown/Universal Records.</ref> 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.<ref>{{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}}</ref><ref>[{{Allmusic|class=artist|id=the-marvelettes-mn0000376608/awards|pure_url=yes}} Don't Mess with Bill at Allmusic]</ref>

==Background== The titular "Bill" referenced is not an allusion to the song's author, Bill "Smokey" Robinson.<ref name= "Motown" /> 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."<ref name=cb>{{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}}</ref>

==Personnel== *Lead vocals by Wanda Young Rogers *Background vocals by the Andantes: Jackie Hicks, Marlene Barrow, and Louvain Demps *Instrumentation by the Funk Brothers<ref>Liner notes. ''The Complete Motown Singles Vol. 5: 1965'', Hip-O Select – B0006775-02, USA, 04 Aug 2006</ref> **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<br>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.<ref>[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]</ref>

==References== {{Reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Don't Mess With Bill}} 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