Representative Albums: "Ready for the World," "20th Century Masters - The Millennium Collection: The Best of Ready for the World," "Oh Sheila! Ready for the World's Greatest Hits"
Representative Songs: "Oh Sheila," "Love You Down," "Digital Display"
Biography
A Michigan funk band with slight rock leanings, Ready for the World parlayed Melvin Riley's whining vocals and some trendy production into a pair of number one R&B hits in the mid-'80s for MCA. Riley, Gordon Strozier, Gregory Potts, Willie Triplett, John Eaton, and Gerald Valentine began on their own Blue Lake label before signing with MCA. The label reissued the song "Tonight," and it reached number six on the R&B charts in 1984. They followed it with "Deep Inside Your Love," another Top Ten R&B single, then had their first of two chart-toppers in "Oh Sheila." It got them a huge crossover smash, ultimately topping the pop lists as well. They scored their fourth consecutive Top Ten R&B record with "Digital Display," then had two flop singles before "Love You Down" put them back on top of the R&B world in 1986. It was their last hit and peaked at number nine pop. ~ Ron Wynn, All Music Guide
Ready for the World is an American R&B band from Flint, Michigan who scored several moderate pop, soul, and dance hits in the mid to late 1980s. They were founded by Melvin Riley and Gordon Strozier.
They had performed throughout Flint at high school talent shows and were discovered by WJLBDetroit Radio personality The Electrifying Mojo in 1982. They gained regional fame with their first release "Tonight" in 1983. "Tonight" was an underground hit in Flint and Detroit which helped garner them national prominence shortly after their signing under the MCA label. Ready for the World recorded their album Ready for the World during 1984 in Flint, Michigan under the production of Bernard Terry and recording engineer Charles Brown, Jr.
The group originally consisted of lead vocalist/keyboardist/occasional rhythm guitarist Melvin Riley with Gordon Strozier (lead guitar), Gregory Potts (keyboards), Willie Triplett (percussion/keyboards), John Eaton (bass guitar),and Gerald Valentine (drums). Their aforementioned self-titled debut was released in 1985 and included perhaps their best-known hit "Oh Sheila," which went to number one on the R&B, Billboard Hot 100, and the Hot Dance Club Playcharts that year, becoming the first ever single to hold the number one spot on all three of these charts simultaneously. The song "Digital Display" followed and hit number 21. In 1986, the band released their second album Long Time Coming, which returned them to the Top 10 on the pop charts when the slow jam "Love You Down" climbed to number nine. The band would go on to release a couple more albums into the 90s, but they weren't as successful as the first pair. (source: Book of Billboard Top 40 Singles)
When the band later separated in the early 1990s, lead singer Riley went on to recordsoloalbums, one in 1994 and one in 2000. A Ready for the World reunion album followed in 2004, featuring mostly urban ballads.
"Oh Sheila" is according to legend written about Sheila E, although according to the Book of Billboard Number 1 singles, Riley claims that the song wasn't about anybody in particular, as he just "made her up." (source: Book of Billboard Number 1 Singles)
A cover of "Oh Sheila" by Angel City (entitled "Love Me Right") was released in 2003.
In 2007, Demetrius Nichols also played Bass for the group on a brief visit to Japan.
