My Girl Bill

"My Girl Bill" is a 1974 hit song written and recorded by Jim Stafford. It was the third of four U.S. Top 40 singles from his eponymous debut album. The lyrics in the verses are spoken, rather than sung.

"My Girl Bill"
Single by Jim Stafford
from the album Jim Stafford
B-side"L.A. Mamma"
ReleasedApril 1974
Length3:12
LabelMGM Records
Songwriter(s)Jim Stafford
Producer(s)P. Gernhard and Roland Kent LaVoie
Jim Stafford singles chronology
"Spiders & Snakes"
(1973)		 "My Girl Bill"
(1974)		 "Wildwood Weed"
(1974)

Premise

The song is about a man named William/Bill and his friend, the narrator of the song. The lyrics employ double entendre, leading the listener to infer that the men, as the title also suggests, are themselves involved in a romantic relationship. However, in the last verse a twist occurs; the narrator speaks of a woman who has been the men's mutual love interest but who has now summarily rejected Bill, and he is explaining the situation (i.e. "(she's) MY girl, Bill").

Chart performance

"My Girl Bill" reached number 12 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, number 7 on the Canadian pop singles chart and number 20 in the BBC UK Top 50 chart. It was a crossover hit onto the Adult Contemporary and Country charts of both nations. The song was also a Top 20 hit in Australia.

Later uses

"My Girl Bill" was included on the 1975 Ronco compilation album, Far Out.[13]

Actor Cash Backman covered the song in 1974. His version reached number nine in Australia in 1974.[14] and was the 77th biggest selling single of 1974, 14 places higher than Stafford's version.[10]

References
  1. Hung, Steffen. "australian-charts.com - Forum - 1970 (ARIA Charts: Special Occasion Charts)". australian-charts.com. Retrieved 30 June 2016.
  2. Go Set National Top 40, 24 August 1974
  3. "RPM Top 100 Singles - June 15, 1974" (PDF).
  4. "RPM Pop Music Playlist - June 15, 1974" (PDF).
  5. "RPM Country Playlist - June 8, 1974" (PDF).
  6. "Official Charts Company". Officialcharts.com. Retrieved 2015-05-28.
  7. Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955-1990 - ISBN 0-89820-089-X
  8. Billboard Adult Contemporary, June 15, 1974
  9. "Cash Box Top 100 Singles, June 15, 1974". Archived from the original on October 3, 2016. Retrieved July 3, 2017.
  10. "National Top 100 Singles for 1974". Kent Music Report. December 30, 1974. Retrieved January 15, 2022 – via Imgur.
  11. "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. Archived from the original on 2015-05-28. Retrieved 2015-05-28.
  12. "Top 100 Hits of 1974/Top 100 Songs of 1974". Musicoutfitters.com. Retrieved 2015-05-28.
  13. "Far Out (Ronco, 1975) | Side One: It's A Miracle - Barry Man…". Flickr. 2005-11-12. Retrieved 2016-10-09.
  14. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970-1992. St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
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