| Ready for the World | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Flint, Michigan, USA |
| Genres | R&B, funk, soul, pop, electro, new jack swing |
| Years active | 1982–1991 2004–present |
| Labels | MCA Records Thump Records |
| Members | Melvin Riley Gordon Strozier Gregory Potts Willie Triplett John Eaton Gerald Valentine |
| Notable instruments | |
| bass, guitar, keyboards, synthesizers, drums | |
Ready for the World is an American R&B band from Flint, Michigan, that scored several pop, soul, and dance hits in the mid to late 1980s. They were founded by Melvin Riley and Gordon Strozier.
Contents
History[edit]
The group originally consisted of frontman Melvin Riley, Gordon Strozier (lead guitar), Gregory Potts (keyboards), Willie Triplett (percussion/keyboards), John Eaton (bass guitar), and Gerald Valentine (drums). They had performed throughout Flint at high school talent shows and were discovered by WJLB Detroit 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. They recorded their debut album, Ready for the World, during 1984 with producer Bernard Terry and engineer Charles Brown, Jr.
Success[edit]
In 1985, the band signed to the Steven Machat-Rick Smith management company, AMI. The agreement with MCA was redrawn, and promotion and marketing dollars were committed to promote the group. This proved successful as the group was steered to #1 on the US pop charts as well as top five in all the Western European countries and Australia, with their best-known hit "Oh Sheila." In the US, this song went to #1 on the R&B, Pop Charts, and the Hot Dance Club Play charts that year, becoming the first ever single to hold the #1 spot on all three of these charts simultaneously. The song "Digital Display" followed and hit #21.
In 1986, the band released their second album, Long Time Coming, produced by: Gary Spaniola which returned them to the Top 10 on the pop charts with the slow jam, "Love You Down," which peaked at #9.
Ready for the World went on to release several more albums that failed to capture the success of the group's first two releases, and as a result, they disbanded in 1991.
Post-breakup[edit]
After the breakup, lead singer Riley went on to record solo albums. He released Ghetto Love on MCA in 1994 and Bedroom Stories on the independent label Bogard Entertainment Group in 2000. A Ready for the World reunion album She Said She Wants Some followed in 2004 featuring mostly urban ballads.
Discography[edit]
Studio albums[edit]
| Year | Album | Chart Positions[1] | US Certifications[2] |
Record Label | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US | US R&B |
|||||
| 1985 | Ready for the World | 17 | 3 | Platinum | MCA | |
| 1986 | Long Time Coming | 32 | 5 | Gold | ||
| 1988 | Ruff N' Ready | 65 | 17 | — | ||
| 1991 | Straight Down to Business | — | 43 | — | ||
| 2004 | She Said She Wants Some | — | — | — | Thump | |
| 2011 | Love, Money & Music | — | — | — | ||
| "—" denotes the album failed to chart or was not certified | ||||||
Compilation albums[edit]
| Year | Album | Chart Positions | Record Label | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US | US R&B |
|||||
| 1993 | Oh Sheila! Ready for the World's Greatest Hits | — | — | MCA | ||
| 2002 | The Millennium Collection: The Best of Ready for the World | — | — | |||
| "—" denotes the album failed to chart | ||||||
Singles[edit]
| Year | Single | Chart Positions[1][3][4][5] | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US | US R&B |
US A/C |
US Dance |
UK | |||
| 1984 | "Tonight" | 103 | 6 | — | — | — | |
| "Deep Inside Your Love" | — | 6 | — | — | — | ||
| 1985 | "Oh Sheila" | 1 | 1 | — | 1 | 50 | |
| "Digital Display" | 21 | 4 | — | 3 | — | ||
| 1986 | "Slide Over" | — | 57 | — | — | — | |
| "Ceramic Girl" | — | 82 | — | — | — | ||
| "Love You Down" | 9 | 1 | 24 | — | 60 | ||
| 1987 | "Mary Goes 'Round" | — | 23 | — | — | — | |
| "Long Time Coming" | — | 54 | — | — | — | ||
| 1988 | "My Girly" | — | 6 | — | 49 | — | |
| "Gently" | — | 30 | — | — | — | ||
| 1991 | "Straight Down to Business" | — | 15 | — | — | — | |
| "Can He Do It (Like This, Can He Do It Like That)" | — | 9 | — | — | — | ||
| "—" denotes the single failed to chart | |||||||
See also[edit]
- List of number-one hits (United States)
- List of artists who reached number one on the Hot 100 (U.S.)
- List of number-one dance hits (United States)
- List of artists who reached number one on the U.S. Dance chart
References[edit]
- ^ a b "Ready for the World Chart History". billboard.com. Retrieved 2009-06-11.
- ^ "Ready for the World U.S. Certification History". riaa.com. Retrieved 2009-06-11.
- ^ "Ready for the World Chart History". allmusic.com. Retrieved 2009-06-11.
- ^ "Ready for the World UK Chart History". chartstats.com. Archived from the original on 2013-01-19. Retrieved 2009-06-11.
- ^ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 451. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
External links[edit]
- Ready for the World official website
- Ready for the World at AllMusic
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