You Beat Me to the Punch

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“You Beat Me to the Punch”
Single by Mary Wells from the album The One Who Really Loves You
B-side	Old Love (Let's Try It Again)
Released	1962
Format	7" single
Recorded	Hitsville USA; 1962
Genre	Soul
Length	2:45
Label	Motown M 1032
Writer(s)	Smokey Robinson
Producer	Smokey Robinson
Mary Wells singles chronology
"The One Who Really Loves You" (1962) "You Beat Me to the Punch" (1962) "Two Lovers" (1962)

"You Beat Me to the Punch" is a soul single released by Motown singer Mary Wells, who released it on the Motown label in 1962. It was written and composed by Smokey Robinson of The Miracles who will be responsible for the majority of hits released by Wells while she was a Motown artist.

Following the success of the previous single, "The One Who Really Loves You", Motown released this record shortly after it was produced and the song performed similar work as "The One Who Really Loves You" did, peaking at number nine on the pop chart and becoming her first number-one hit on the 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 under a mock-calypso beat. This song inspired an "answer" song by soul singer Gene Chandler called "You Threw A Lucky Punch" which used the same music and different lyrics which became an R&B chart hit that year.