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Don't Mess With Bill
"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, ''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. 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. ''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." Personnel *Lead vocals by Wanda Young, Wanda Young Rogers *Background vocals by the Andantes: Jackie Hicks, Marlene Bar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Marvelettes
The Marvelettes were an American girl group formed in Inkster, Michigan, Inkster, Michigan in 1960, consisting of schoolmates Gladys Horton, Katherine Anderson, Georgeanna Tillman, Juanita Cowart (now Cowart Motley), and Georgia Dobbins, who was replaced by Wanda Young prior to the group signing their first record deal. Achieving popularity in the early to mid-1960s, they were the first successful act of Motown, Motown Records after the Miracles and its first significantly successful female group after the release of the 1961 number-one single, "Please Mr. Postman", one of the first number-one singles recorded by an all-female vocal group and the first by a Motown recording act. The group struggled with problems of poor promotion from Motown, health issues and substance abuse, with Cowart the first to leave in 1963, followed by Tillman in 1965, and Horton in 1967. Nevertheless, they managed a comeback in 1966 with "Don't Mess with Bill". In 1969, the group ceased performing and d ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Benny Benjamin
William "Benny" Benjamin (July 25, 1925 – April 20, 1969), nicknamed Papa Zita, was an American musician, most notable as the primary drummer for the Motown Records studio band The Funk Brothers. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2003 and was named the eleventh best drummer of all time by ''Rolling Stone'' magazine in 2016. Life and career Benjamin was a native of Birmingham, Alabama. He originally learned to play drums in the style of the big band jazz groups in the 1940s. In 1958, he was Motown's first studio drummer, where he was noted for his dynamic style. Several Motown record producers, including Berry Gordy, refused to work on any recording sessions unless Benjamin was the drummer and James Jamerson the bassist. The Beatles singled out Benjamin's drumming style upon meeting Gordy in the UK. Among the Motown songs he performed on are early hits such as "Money (That's What I Want)" by Barrett Strong, " Shop Around" by the Miracles and "Do You Lo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Songs Written By Smokey Robinson
A song is a musical composition performed by the human voice. The voice often carries the melody (a series of distinct and fixed pitches) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs have a structure, such as the common ABA form, and are usually made of sections that are repeated or performed with variation later. A song without instruments is said to be a cappella. Written words created specifically for music, or for which music is specifically created, are called lyrics. If a pre-existing poem is set to composed music in the classical tradition, it is called an art song. Songs that are sung on repeated pitches without distinct contours and patterns that rise and fall are called chants. Songs composed in a simple style that are learned informally by ear are often referred to as folk songs. Songs composed for the mass market, designed to be sung by professional singers who sell their recordings or live shows, are called popular songs. These songs, which have broad appeal, are ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Marvelettes Songs
''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the most frequently used word in the English language; studies and analyses of texts have found it to account for seven percent of all printed English-language words. It is derived from gendered articles in Old English which combined in Middle English and now has a single form used with nouns of any gender. The word can be used with both singular and plural nouns, and with a noun that starts with any letter. This is different from many other languages, which have different forms of the definite article for different genders or numbers. Pronunciation In most dialects, "the" is pronounced as (with the voiced dental fricative followed by a schwa) when followed by a consonant sound, and as (homophone of the archaic pronoun ''thee' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1966 Singles
Events January * January 1 – In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa takes over as military ruler of the Central African Republic, ousting President David Dacko. * January 3 – 1966 Upper Voltan coup d'état: President Maurice Yaméogo is deposed by a military coup in the Republic of Upper Volta (modern-day Burkina Faso). * January 10 ** Pakistani–Indian peace negotiations end successfully with the signing of the Tashkent Declaration, a day before the sudden death of Indian prime minister Lal Bahadur Shastri. ** The House of Representatives of the US state of Georgia refuses to allow African-American representative Julian Bond to take his seat, because of his anti-war stance. * January 15 – 1966 Nigerian coup d'état: A bloody military coup is staged in Nigeria, deposing the civilian government and resulting in the death of Prime Minister Abubakar Tafawa Balewa. * January 17 ** The Nigerian coup is overturned by another faction of the military, led by Major Ge ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1965 Songs
Events January–February * January 14 – The First Minister of Northern Ireland and the Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland meet for the first time in 43 years. * January 20 ** Lyndon B. Johnson is Second inauguration of Lyndon B. Johnson, sworn in for a full term as President of the United States. ** Indonesian President Sukarno announces the withdrawal of the Indonesian government from the United Nations. * January 29 – Tampere Ice Stadium, Hakametsä, the first ice rink of Finland, is inaugurated in Tampere. * January 30 – The Death and state funeral of Winston Churchill, state funeral of Sir Winston Churchill takes place in London with the largest assembly of dignitaries in the world until the 2005 funeral of Pope John Paul II. * February 4 – Trofim Lysenko is removed from his post as director of the Institute of Genetics at the Russian Academy of Sciences, Academy of Sciences in the Soviet Union. Lysenkoism, Lysenkoist theories are now tr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Spinners (American Group)
The Spinners are an American rhythm and blues vocal group that formed in Detroit, Michigan, in 1954. They enjoyed a string of hit singles and albums during the 1960s and 1970s, particularly with producer Thom Bell. The group continues to tour, without any original members, after Henry Fambrough retired in 2023. The group is also listed as the Detroit Spinners and the Motown Spinners, due to their 1960s recordings with the Motown label. These other names were used in the UK to avoid confusion with a British folk group also called The Spinners (UK band), the Spinners. On June 30, 1976, they received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. The Spinners were inducted into the National Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame in 2015 and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2023. History In 1954, Billy Henderson (American singer), Billy Henderson, Henry Fambrough, Pervis Jackson, C. P. Spencer, and James Edwards formed the Domingoes in Detroit, Detroit, Michigan. The friends resided in Detroit's ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs
The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by '' Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 positions but was shortened to 50 positions in October 2012. The chart is used to track the success of popular music songs in urban, or primarily African-American, venues. Dominated over the years at various times by jazz, rhythm and blues, doo-wop, rock and roll, soul, and funk, it is today dominated by contemporary R&B and hip hop. Since its inception, the chart has changed its name many times in order to accurately reflect the industry at the time. History Beginning in 1942, ''Billboard'' published a chart of bestselling African-American music, first as the Harlem Hit Parade, then as Race Records. Then in 1949, ''Billboard'' began publishing a Rhythm and Blues chart, which entered "R&B" into mainstream lexicon. These three ch ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jack Ashford
Jack Ashford (born May 18, 1934) is an American musician who was a percussionist for Motown Records' in-house Funk Brothers band during the 1960s and early 1970s. Ashford is most famous for playing the tambourine on hundreds of Motown recordings. Biography Ashford played tambourine, vibraphone, marimba, maracas, cabasa, bells, chimes, bell tree, finger cymbals, kazoo, triangle, wood block, handclaps, foot stomps and hotel sheet. His definitive performance is on " War" by Edwin Starr. Other notable songs Ashford played tambourine on include " Nowhere to Run" by Martha & the Vandellas, "You Can't Hurry Love" by the Supremes, " Going to a Go-Go" by the Miracles, " I Heard It Through the Grapevine" by Marvin Gaye, and " Don't Leave Me This Way" by Thelma Houston. Influenced by Milt Jackson and Lionel Hampton, he played the vibes on Motown recordings such as the Miracles' " Ooo Baby Baby", the Supremes' " Where Did Our Love Go", and Marvin Gaye's " What's Going On". In the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vibraphone
The vibraphone (also called the vibraharp) is a percussion instrument in the metallophone family. It consists of tuned metal bars and is typically played by using Percussion mallet, mallets to strike the bars. A person who plays the vibraphone is called a ''vibraphonist,'' ''vibraharpist,'' or ''vibist''. The vibraphone resembles the Marimbaphone, steel marimba, which it superseded. One of the main differences between the vibraphone and other keyboard percussion instruments is that each bar suspends over a resonator tube containing a flat metal disc. These discs are attached together by a common axle and spin when the motor is turned on. This causes the instrument to produce its namesake tremolo or vibrato effect. The vibraphone also has a sustain pedal similar to a piano. When the pedal is up, the bars produce a muted sound; when the pedal is down, the bars sustain for several seconds or until again muted with the pedal. The vibraphone is commonly used in jazz music, in which ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Johnny Trudell
Johnny Trudell (May 11, 1939 – May 29, 2021) was an American jazz and studio musician and composer whose instruments included trumpet, flugelhorn, valve trombone, and piano. Trudell was active in the Detroit music scene and participated in numerous Motown recordings. Life and work Trudell graduated from Cass Tech High School and began working professionally as a musician. He played on many classic Motown albums from the 1960s and early 1970s, working with artists and groups including Marvin Gaye, Martha Reeves, The Temptations, The Four Tops, and many others. Trudell developed and directed the Motown brass section and coordinated the arrangers for the label. In 1979 Trudell released his first album, ''Dream Dance'', an attempt at a disco-Jazz crossover. By the time the album released, the disco wave was over and the album was not a success. He released another album in 1993, ''But Beautiful''. Trudell also played with the Tribe The term tribe is used in many different ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Paul Riser
Paul Riser (born September 11, 1943) is an American trombonist and Motown musical arranger who was responsible for co-writing and arranging dozens of top ten hit records. His legacy as one of the " Funk Brothers" is similar to that of most of the other "Brothers", as his career has been overlooked and overshadowed by the stars of Motown that became household names. Some of the Funk Brothers he worked with include: Earl Van Dyke, Johnny Griffith, Robert White, Eddie Willis, Joe Messina, Dennis Coffey, Wah Wah Watson, James Jamerson, Bob Babbitt, Eddie Watkins, Richard "Pistol" Allen, Uriel Jones, Andrew Smith, Jack Ashford, Valerie Simpson, Eddie "Bongo" Brown, Benny Benjamin, Cornelius Grant, Joe Hunter, Richard "Popcorn" Wylie, Marcus Belgrave, Teddy Buckner and Stevie Wonder. Early career A graduate of Cass Technical High School in Detroit, Michigan, where he studied classical and jazz trombone, Paul was introduced to Berry Gordy at Motown by a friend who had ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
