"You Beat Me to the Punch" is a soul single by

Motown Motown Records is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. It was founded by Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on June 7, 1958, and incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmanteau of ''moto ...

singer Mary Wells, released on the Motown label in 1962. It was co-written by

Smokey Robinson William "Smokey" Robinson Jr. (born February 19, 1940) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and former record executive director. He was the founder and front man of the Motown vocal group the Miracles, for which he was also chief ...

the Miracles The Miracles (also known as Smokey Robinson and the Miracles from 1965 to 1972) were an American vocal group that was the first successful recording act for Berry Gordy's Motown Records, and one of the most important and most influential groups ...

, who was responsible for the majority of hits released by Wells - and another Miracles member, Ronnie White - while Wells was a Motown artist. Following the success of the previous single, "

The One Who Really Loves You ''The One Who Really Loves You'' is the second album recorded by R&B singer and Motown recording artist Mary Wells, released in 1962 on the Motown label. The album featured the hits, "The One Who Really Loves You" and "You Beat Me to the Punch" a ...

", Motown released "You Beat Me to the Punch" shortly after it was produced and it performed similarly to "The One Who Really Loves You", becoming a ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' 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 won Wells a Grammy nomination for Best Rhythm and Blues Recording. Like "The One Who Really Loves You" before it, the song was produced with 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 and different lyrics and became a Pop and R&B chart hit 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

and Ronnie White *Instrumentation by

The Funk Brothers The Funk Brothers were a group of Detroit-based session musicians who performed the backing to most Motown recordings from 1959 until the company moved to Los Angeles in 1972. Its members are considered among the most successful groups of stud ...

Trivia

In DTV, "You Threw A Lucky Punch" was set to

Toby Tortoise Returns ''Toby Tortoise Returns'' is a 1936 animated Technicolor cartoon in Walt Disney's ''Silly Symphonies'' series. It was directed by Wilfred Jackson. It is a sequel to the 1935 short ''The Tortoise and the Hare'', and premiered on August 22, 1936. ...

.
This song was used in the movie

Boulevard Nights ''Boulevard Nights'' is a 1979 American neo noir crime film directed by Michael Pressman. It is about life in East Los Angeles and its street gangs. It concerns two brothers, Raymond (Richard Yniguez) and Chuco (Danny De La Paz). Raymond is 'str ...

References

1962 singles Mary Wells songs Motown singles Songs written by Smokey Robinson Songs written by Ronald White Song recordings produced by Smokey Robinson 1962 songs {{1960s-single-stub