"Don't Mess with Bill" | ||||
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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 | ||||
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"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]
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]
Chart (1965-1966) | Peak position |
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US Billboard Hot 100 | 7 |
US Top Selling Rhythm & Blues Singles (Billboard) | 3 |