| Don't Mess with Bill | |
| Cover: | Don’t Mess With Bill.jpeg |
| Type: | single |
| Artist: | The Marvelettes |
| Album: | The Marvelettes Greatest Hits |
| B-Side: | Anything You Wanna Do |
| Released: | November 26, 1965 |
| Recorded: | Hitsville USA
|
| Genre: | Soul, pop |
| Length: | 2:51 |
| Label: | Tamla T 54126 |
| 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 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 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.
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 | |
|---|---|---|
| US Billboard Hot 100 | 7 | |
| US Top Selling Rhythm & Blues Singles (Billboard) | 3 |
| Mona Lisa Young | |
| Birth Place: | Los Angeles, California |
| Known For: | "Lovers" by World Class Wreckin Crew(1988), Saint Tropez(1982-1983) |
| Notable Works: | Knife(1983), Partners in Pleasure(1992) |
| Website: | http://www.monalisayoung.com, https://www.discogs.com/sell/item/2398930244 |