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Thread started 07/01/17 8:05pm

ThePanther

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Ready for the World ("Oh Sheila", etc.)

I only recently discovered Ready for the World's "Oh Sheila" (1985, US #1). I'd heard about the song for years, and knew it had been a big hit, but when I heard it a few years ago it didn't ring any bells. I was 9 in 1985, but I was already tuned into the pop charts and I remember nearly all the big hits then... but this one, for some reason, I didn't.

RFTWOhSheila.jpg

It's a cute and funky song. (The band, as you see, had the full mid-80s jheri-curls going on.)

Anyway, the song seems sort-of forgotten today, but listening to it, the most noticeable thing is that it's an obvious take-off on the Prince-c.1983 sound. It's all there -- the Linn-drum sound, the horny whispered vocals, the minimal but highly-mixed keyboard riffs, the funky guitar scratches... This song sounds so much like early Prince/Revolution that Prince probably thought it was him when he heard it.

Ready for the World were from Flint, Michigan, and we know that Prince was 'bigger' in Detroit than in any other market, for many years. I'm wondering if these guys caught an early Prince show or something, and sort-of followed his lead.

Any thoughts, memories, reflections on 'Oh Sheila' and Ready for the World?



Video for the song:

https://www.youtube.com/w...bL2lMn34Oo

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Reply #1 posted 07/01/17 10:57pm

Scorp

ThePanther said:

I only recently discovered Ready for the World's "Oh Sheila" (1985, US #1). I'd heard about the song for years, and knew it had been a big hit, but when I heard it a few years ago it didn't ring any bells. I was 9 in 1985, but I was already tuned into the pop charts and I remember nearly all the big hits then... but this one, for some reason, I didn't.

RFTWOhSheila.jpg

It's a cute and funky song. (The band, as you see, had the full mid-80s jheri-curls going on.)

Anyway, the song seems sort-of forgotten today, but listening to it, the most noticeable thing is that it's an obvious take-off on the Prince-c.1983 sound. It's all there -- the Linn-drum sound, the horny whispered vocals, the minimal but highly-mixed keyboard riffs, the funky guitar scratches... This song sounds so much like early Prince/Revolution that Prince probably thought it was him when he heard it.

Ready for the World were from Flint, Michigan, and we know that Prince was 'bigger' in Detroit than in any other market, for many years. I'm wondering if these guys caught an early Prince show or something, and sort-of followed his lead.

Any thoughts, memories, reflections on 'Oh Sheila' and Ready for the World?



Video for the song:

https://www.youtube.com/w...bL2lMn34Oo

Ready for the World in essence was ahead of their time

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Reply #2 posted 07/03/17 12:52pm

SoulAlive

when Sheila E. first heard this song on the radio,she thought it was Prince singing about her smile

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Reply #3 posted 07/03/17 12:55pm

SoulAlive

I like their first two albums.Most of the the songs sound like 1983 outtakes by Prince.By the mid-80s,there were alot of Prince soundalikes,but you can say that RFTW were the most successful at it.

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Reply #4 posted 07/03/17 2:54pm

MotownSubdivis
ion

I honestly never really liked this song. Sucks to because these guys hail from my homestate lol
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Reply #5 posted 07/03/17 3:38pm

purplethunder3
121

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SoulAlive said:

when Sheila E. first heard this song on the radio,she thought it was Prince singing about her smile

Yup, what I thought. nod lol

"Music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination and life to everything." --Plato

https://youtu.be/CVwv9LZMah0
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Reply #6 posted 07/03/17 4:06pm

LittleBLUECorv
ette

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They were dope until they went New Jack Swing.
PRINCE: Always and Forever
MICHAEL JACKSON: Always and Forever
-----
Live Your Life How U Wanna Live It
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Reply #7 posted 07/03/17 4:18pm

paisleypark4

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LittleBLUECorvette said:

They were dope until they went New Jack Swing.

Yeah their first album went gold, the next platinum. Should have kept that Prince sound going they had an advantage even over prince proteges. they were writing and producing their own songs...they had tio going on but...oh well. My Girly and Can He Do It Like This wasnt that bad though.

Straight Jacket Funk Affair
Album plays and love for vinyl records.
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Reply #8 posted 07/03/17 4:21pm

paisleypark4

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ThePanther said:

I only recently discovered Ready for the World's "Oh Sheila" (1985, US #1). I'd heard about the song for years, and knew it had been a big hit, but when I heard it a few years ago it didn't ring any bells. I was 9 in 1985, but I was already tuned into the pop charts and I remember nearly all the big hits then... but this one, for some reason, I didn't.

RFTWOhSheila.jpg

It's a cute and funky song. (The band, as you see, had the full mid-80s jheri-curls going on.)

Anyway, the song seems sort-of forgotten today, but listening to it, the most noticeable thing is that it's an obvious take-off on the Prince-c.1983 sound. It's all there -- the Linn-drum sound, the horny whispered vocals, the minimal but highly-mixed keyboard riffs, the funky guitar scratches... This song sounds so much like early Prince/Revolution that Prince probably thought it was him when he heard it.

Ready for the World were from Flint, Michigan, and we know that Prince was 'bigger' in Detroit than in any other market, for many years. I'm wondering if these guys caught an early Prince show or something, and sort-of followed his lead.

Any thoughts, memories, reflections on 'Oh Sheila' and Ready for the World?



Video for the song:

https://www.youtube.com/w...bL2lMn34Oo

it was very successful. I wonder how you missed the song. it gets lots of play still and not forgotten especially in r&b radio. Their single "Love You Down" was especially successful on their second album also going #1 on the charts.

Ready for the World's Melvin Riley denied any connection with the two artists, stating that the subject of the song was a fictional character. However, the song's drum machine pattern and melody was inspired by the Prince song "Lady Cab Driver."

Oh Sheila:

UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[14] 50
US Billboard Hot 100[1] 1
US Billboard Hot Black Singles[1] 1
US Billboard Hot Dance Club Play[1] 1
US Billboard Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales[1] 6
US Cash Box[15] 3

Straight Jacket Funk Affair
Album plays and love for vinyl records.
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Reply #9 posted 07/03/17 4:51pm

Scorp

This was one of my favorite jams by RFTW.

lol lol lol

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Reply #10 posted 07/03/17 7:04pm

SoulAlive

LittleBLUECorvette said:

They were dope until they went New Jack Swing.


I agree.Once they stopped imitating Prince and jumped on the New Jack Swing bandwagon,I lost interest

IMO,their best song is "Digital Display".I don't think they've ever topped that song.
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Reply #11 posted 07/03/17 7:09pm

LittleBLUECorv
ette

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SoulAlive said:

LittleBLUECorvette said:

They were dope until they went New Jack Swing.


I agree.Once they stopped imitating Prince and jumped on the New Jack Swing bandwagon,I lost interest

IMO,their best song is "Digital Display".I don't think they've ever topped that song.

Baby Let Me Love You > Dig Display
PRINCE: Always and Forever
MICHAEL JACKSON: Always and Forever
-----
Live Your Life How U Wanna Live It
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Reply #12 posted 07/03/17 8:14pm

phunkdaddy

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LittleBLUECorvette said:

SoulAlive said:
I agree.Once they stopped imitating Prince and jumped on the New Jack Swing bandwagon,I lost interest IMO,their best song is "Digital Display".I don't think they've ever topped that song.
Baby Let Me Love You > Dig Display

Yeah that one is one of my favorites too along with Long Time Coming and

Can He Do It Like This. Digital Display and Oh Sheila were cool in 1985 but those

songs don't do anything for me now.

Don't laugh at my funk
This funk is a serious joint
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Reply #13 posted 07/04/17 1:48am

SoulAlive

phunkdaddy said:

LittleBLUECorvette said:

SoulAlive said: Baby Let Me Love You > Dig Display

Yeah that one is one of my favorites too along with Long Time Coming and

Can He Do It Like This. Digital Display and Oh Sheila were cool in 1985 but those

songs don't do anything for me now.

"Baby (Let Me Love You)" is a good song,but it's kinda repetitive.The second verse is the same as the first verse smile to me,the highlights of their second album are "Mary Goes 'Round" (which really sounds alot like Prince),"Do You Get Enough",'Some People Don't Care" and the excellent slow jam "It's All A Game".

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Reply #14 posted 07/04/17 11:51am

paisleypark4

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YES for the Babyy Let Me Love You love in here. I thought I was all alone in the adoration of that tune.

Straight Jacket Funk Affair
Album plays and love for vinyl records.
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Reply #15 posted 07/04/17 12:00pm

Scorp

razz razz razz

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Reply #16 posted 07/04/17 12:28pm

SoulAlive

these guys need to do an Unsung episode!

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Reply #17 posted 07/04/17 8:32pm

206Michelle

I first became familiar with RFTW in the early 2000s due to "Love You Down" because the local hip-hop R&B station in Seattle KUBE 93.3 would play LYD during the Old Skool Lunch and at night. I know both "Oh Sheila" and "Love You Down," but I'm pretty sure that I discovered "Oh Sheila" by downloading it from Napster (lol I can chuckle about it now.) I knew that RFTW was an actual band, but beyond that, I never paid much attention to them, don't think I ever watched any of their videos until today. They definitely do sound a lot like Prince on "Oh Sheila." The music video for "Oh Sheila" reminds me of the opening scene of PR during LGC.

.

RFTW definitely have some smilarities to Mint Condition in that they are an actual band with vocalists and instrumentalists as opposed to groups like New Edition, who are all singers-dancers (and that is no knock on NE, because I really like them, but it's a fact that the guys in NE are singing and dancing, not playing drums or guitars.

Live 4 Love ~ Love is God, God is love, Girls and boys love God above
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Reply #18 posted 07/04/17 9:33pm

phunkdaddy

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Unfortunately the curls put a stain on these guys legacy

unlike guitar legends Prince and Jesse Johnson. lol

Don't laugh at my funk
This funk is a serious joint
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Reply #19 posted 07/04/17 10:53pm

SoulAlive

I actually saw RFTW in concert in early 1986.They were on a bill with The Jets and Doug E.Fresh with Slick Rick smile
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Reply #20 posted 07/05/17 5:52am

Musicslave

SoulAlive said:

these guys need to do an Unsung episode!

-

I've been saying that for years! Everytime on the Org when they have a poll of who do you think deserves an episode, I'd always vote RFTW. To me, they are the essence of "unsung". I feel like I owe these guys something because of how much they played a role in my early days with girls lol razz razz

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Reply #21 posted 07/05/17 6:14am

Musicslave

I think after reviewing their first album tracklist. "Ceramic Girl" and "I'm The One Who Loves You" were my favorites from that release. They got the most replay value out of me. Besides, I had grown so tired of the huge radio hits they had. I was glad to listen to something else.

-

-

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Reply #22 posted 07/05/17 6:27am

Musicslave

This is pretty much where I got off the RFTW train...Last song I really liked. The remix was dope too, just can't find the full version on YT...

-

-

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Reply #23 posted 07/05/17 8:44am

paisleypark4

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Musicslave said:

I think after reviewing their first album tracklist. "Ceramic Girl" and "I'm The One Who Loves You" were my favorites from that release. They got the most replay value out of me. Besides, I had grown so tired of the huge radio hits they had. I was glad to listen to something else.

-

-

Im The One is funky as hell. Add Human Toy to that too.
THIS ALBUM IS DUE for a reissue

[Edited 7/5/17 8:44am]

Straight Jacket Funk Affair
Album plays and love for vinyl records.
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Reply #24 posted 07/05/17 9:50am

Musicslave

paisleypark4 said:

Musicslave said:

I think after reviewing their first album tracklist. "Ceramic Girl" and "I'm The One Who Loves You" were my favorites from that release. They got the most replay value out of me. Besides, I had grown so tired of the huge radio hits they had. I was glad to listen to something else.

-

-

Im The One is funky as hell. Add Human Toy to that too.
THIS ALBUM IS DUE for a reissue

[Edited 7/5/17 8:44am]

-

Totally agree!

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Reply #25 posted 07/05/17 1:40pm

SoulAlive

Musicslave said:

I think after reviewing their first album tracklist. "Ceramic Girl" and "I'm The One Who Loves You" were my favorites from that release. They got the most replay value out of me. Besides, I had grown so tired of the huge radio hits they had. I was glad to listen to something else.

-

-

"I'm The One Who Loves You" is one of my faviorites,too! This track is very,very Prince-like....those Linn drums and it has that same synth/train-like sound that we heard on "Sex Shooter".

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Reply #26 posted 07/05/17 1:46pm

Musicslave

SoulAlive said:

Musicslave said:

I think after reviewing their first album tracklist. "Ceramic Girl" and "I'm The One Who Loves You" were my favorites from that release. They got the most replay value out of me. Besides, I had grown so tired of the huge radio hits they had. I was glad to listen to something else.

-

-

"I'm The One Who Loves You" is one of my faviorites,too! This track is very,very Prince-like....those Linn drums and it has that same synth/train-like sound that we heard on "Sex Shooter".

-

Yup! I thought it was a little different/strange at first listen back then but it became one of my faves from them. Yeah they bit hard from our boy (who didn't?) but they were the best of the heavily influenced groups to do it back then.

-

Did you dig Melvin's solo stuff?

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Reply #27 posted 07/05/17 1:52pm

SoulAlive

I never heard Melvin's solo album.....was it any good?

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Reply #28 posted 07/05/17 2:01pm

Musicslave

SoulAlive said:

I never heard Melvin's solo album.....was it any good?

-

Check out "Ghetto Love" on YT. I liked some of the slow jams. I never heard "Bedroom Stories" myself. Due to him being one of the principal writers and producers of RFTW's stuff, "GL" sounds like an RFTW album without the funk or guitars.

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Reply #29 posted 07/05/17 4:06pm

SoulAlive

the last song I heard from RFTW was "Straight Down To Business",their 1991 single.
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