You Beat Me to the Punch - Misplaced Pages

"You Beat Me to the Punch" is a soul single by Motown singer Mary Wells, released on the Motown label in 1962. It was co-written by Smokey Robinson of the Miracles, who was responsible for most of the hits released by Wells, along with another Miracles member, Ronnie White, during her time as a Motown artist.

Following the success of the previous single, "The One Who Really Loves You", Motown released "You Beat Me to the Punch" shortly after it was produced. The song performed similarly to "The One Who Really Loves You", becoming a Billboard Top 10 Pop smash, peaking at number nine on the pop chart, and becoming her first number one hit on the Billboard R&B singles chart. It also earned Wells a Grammy nomination for Best Rock and Roll Recording.

Like "The One Who Really Loves You", this song featured a mock-calypso beat. It inspired an "answer" song by soul singer Gene Chandler called "You Threw A Lucky Punch" which used the same music but different lyrics and became a hit on both Pop and R&B charts that year.

Personnel

Lead vocal by Mary Wells
Background vocals by the Love Tones (Carl Jones, Joe Miles, and Stan Bracely)
Written and produced by Smokey Robinson and Ronnie White
Instrumentation by The Funk Brothers

Trivia

In DTV, "You Threw A Lucky Punch" was set to Toby Tortoise Returns.
This song was used in the movie Boulevard Nights.

References

"You Beat Me To The Punch". discogs.com. 17 July 1962. Retrieved 16 April 2021.
"You Beat Me To The Punch". discogs.com. 1962. Retrieved 16 April 2021.
Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research. p. 617.

v t e Mary Wells
Studio albums	Bye Bye Baby I Don't Want to Take a Chance (1961) The One Who Really Loves You (1962) Two Lovers and Other Great Hits (1963) Mary Wells Sings My Guy (1964) Mary Wells (1965) The Two Sides of Mary Wells (1966) Servin' Up Some Soul (1968) In and Out of Love (1981) Keeping My Mind on Love (1990)
Other albums	Recorded Live On Stage (1963) Together (1964) Love Songs to the Beatles (1965) Greatest Hits (1966) Vintage Stock (1966) Easy Touch (1982) The Old, The New & The Best of Mary Wells (1983)
Singles (US Top 40)	"I Don't Want to Take a Chance" "The One Who Really Loves You" "You Beat Me to the Punch" "Two Lovers" "Laughing Boy" "Your Old Standby" "What's Easy for Two Is Hard for One"/ "You Lost the Sweetest Boy" "My Guy" "Once Upon a Time" "What's the Matter with You Baby" "Use Your Head"
Related articles	Discography Albums Songs Smokey Robinson Marvin Gaye Cecil Womack Meech Wells

This 1960s single-related article is a stub. You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it.

Categories: