Don't Mess With Bill

[milven]

Evertime I hear the first couple of notes of this commercial, it reminds me of the Marvellettes' Don't Mess With Bill. Is it because I am a Motown freak or do others hear it too ?


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ID21iNB_UM


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nf4GxH9g5LQ

[milven]

I just listened to them side by side for the first time. Maybe I am just a Motown Freak. There are worse things that I can be. :D:)

[RossHolloway]

While I can't address the Motown freak question, I too think of Don't Mess With Bill whenever I heard the opening notes to that commercial.

[milven]

Thanks Ross. Every once in a while I hear something on commercials that seems to borrow from Motown. It was making me wonder if I was just hearing what I wanted to hear. Thanks for the validation.

[kenneth]

It does sound like the opening notes, without the bass line on the bottom.

[tomato tom]

Thats IT! Marvelettes....Paulo xxx

[copley]

Just the 1st few notes. Paulo, have you checked your message box?

[tomato tom]

Copley..no,sorry.

[Jimi LaLumia]

call Mr.Gordy!...he can make some more bucks off the girls!!

[tomato tom]

copley..thank you. I have just noticed I am having problems with my e-mail. Will get back to you. Paulo xxx

[tomato tom]

copley..just tried smething else, but cant get through..aaarrgf

[copley]

No worries.

[texassoul]

Excellent extended remix [[re-edit) of the Marvelettes "Don't Mess With Bill" by Midnight Johnny Peronne. Check it out.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qvffbBVD8Bs

[daddyacey]

True the Marvelettes performance on this track is MAGIC. But out of the combination of the genius of Smokey and his lyrics , the perfect delivery and arrangement of the vocals and the Organ parts, Jamersons bassline is the glue that holds this track together. The tone and execution of the bassline paints an aural picture that say ,"I'm serious ,I'll F you up" . Copare it to feeling you get when you hear the shark music from "JAWS". "DOOM DUMP", repeated many times and at faster tempo ,has got to make you think "Oh Shii ,somethings about to jump off!!!" With Jamersons Bass starting off the track and at the same time constantly laying in the cut throughout ,it gives the impression [[at least to me) of someone laying there just watching you..... a steady intense stare.........making sure you don't FnnK with MY SHIII , magnified by the female delivery and sound of Wanda's voice ,it's as complex as it is simple. The Bassline is a simple Jazz riff ,but the lyrics and vocals and arrangement ........are just perfect.

[johnjeb]

The Bassline is a simple Jazz riff ,but the lyrics and vocals and arrangement ........are just perfect.

As is the title.

Can you imagine what would have happened to this song if it was called "Leave My Billy Alone"!

I oftentimes think of The Marvelettes as Motown's version of The Shangri-Las.

[bankhousedave]

Definite similarities there. Has that guy on the ad been drinking his own chemicals? He seems to have left the A an the F out of BASF.

[jobeterob]

I liked the 1st 4 or 5 notes and the guys attached to the snowboard; I assume the snowboard flip is all fake??

Motown's Shangrilas..........a good metaphor.

[Roger Polhill]

The Shangri Las were awkward and embarassing crap.How could you compare them! Have you heard the Funk`s live version of "Bill" on the "Standing in The Shadows" cd.

[bankhousedave]

Earl blows the B3 into a heap on that one, Roger.

[bankhousedave]

Lord knows what he would have done to the Shagri-Las.

[Roger Polhill]

If only Smokey had handled Barbara McNair`s version of "Bill" and all the others he wrote that Frank Wilson produced.The LA. sound was so sterile.Were the Shangri-las serious? I always thought they were a very sick joke.

[bankhousedave]

I couldn't possibly comment, Roger. I think Frank had some great moments out yonder, but inevitably the musicians were doing impersonations. The were good at the Beach Boys, Love, The Monkees and so forth, but they were never Motown.

[stephanie]

Shangri Las junk! Those are fighting words...LOL Roger you are entitled to your opinion but IMO those white girls in the 60s and I dont mean soul groups I mean pop were the baddest thing going. Im not tallking talent but I mean talent, image, sound and the whole nine yards. Before them you didnt even see any white girls looking tough like they did and acting like they were. Maybe it was an act but as far as I am concerned they paved the way for the rebel white girl look and sound. Mary Weiss was a looker guys were crazy about her and she could really sing! I thought the twins voices added to the mix as well. I read somewhere that when one of the Ganser twins died there was a riot in the UK or somewhere overseas.

[floyjoy678]

Don't forget about Betty Weiss, who was always in and out of the group, she was the one I went nuts for. I think it was James Brown who said he requested to have them on tour with him and he was shocked to find out that they were white.

[Roger Polhill]

I`m sorry Stephanie, to me the were corny, awkward and wooden. Just my one eyed view - forgive me I`m not trying to be offensive.

[Jimi LaLumia]

I have been a Shangri Las fan since 1965, so back off, haters....

[kenneth]

I have been a Shangri Las fan since 1965, so back off, haters....

I loved them as well. Some of their material got repetitive, obviously, but "Remember [[Walking in the Sand)" is still one of the great pop records of all time, and the only song that even approaches it in its enigmatic qualities is possibly "Sally Go 'Round the Roses" by the Jaynetts. I think "Remember" was one of the very first records to use sound effects for the "memory" effect. One writer commented something like the song "evoked not just memories of the beach and the sand, but the feeling of memory itself." I thought that was very true.

[stephanie]

Roger
Im not a hater dont worry. As a matter of fact I didnt even take offensive and I can see how you may have found them to be corny. I am not a huge Stevie Wonder fan and I know people who worship the ground he walks on. Its very few groups that I am as passionate about as the Supremes but the Shangs come in a close second. That is what I like about this forum I am a civil person and I welcome differences of opinion you dont have to worry about me.

[jobeterob]

I do see a similarity in the sound and style of the Shangs and the Marvs.................a little campy, a little raunchy, a little brassy..........at least in the beginning. In the later years, it seems to me the influence of the Supremes was showing in the Marvelettes and the Shangrilas were over.

[oldiesmusicfan]

My favorite Shangri-Las song, sounding very Motown-ish -

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cM9orBt3ZWY

When Don't Mess With Bill hit the charts, I had just turned 15 and I didn't really care for it at first, but it has since grown on me. I don't think the Marvelettes ever received the respect and popularity they deserved. I much prefer them over the Supremes. [[ducking for cover!)

Oldies