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.

[3] It also earned Wells a Grammy nomination for Best Rock and Roll Recording.

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.

In DTV, "You Threw A Lucky Punch" was set to Toby Tortoise Returns.