Oh Sheila

Album: Ready for the World (1985)
Charted: 50 1
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • What, you've never heard of this song? If so, heed well of its lesson: Don't make your songs sound too much like Prince, or people might forget about you and think it's just one of Prince's minor hits. And not only that, but Michael Jackson was also on top of his game during the mid-'80s. Between those two, it's no wonder this group got swamped out of the spotlight so soon.

    Ready for the World hails from Flint, Michigan - setting of Roger & Me - and the Minneapolis sound was all the rage.

    Named after a lyric from a song from their debut album called "Ceramic Girl," They had a modest underground hit in Detroit and Flint with their first single "Tonight," which was helped by airplay on the Detroit radio station WJLB, where the song was championed by a DJ called The Electrifying Mojo. This got them signed to MCA Records, who released "Tonight," followed by "Deep Inside Your Love," which both went Top 10 on the R&B charts. It was the third single, "Oh Sheila," that was the breakout hit, going to #1 on the Dance, R&B, and Hot 100 charts.
  • Rumors to the contrary, this song has nothing to do with Prince protégé Sheila E. When lead singer Melvin Riley was working on the song in his basement, he came up with the melody and tried the names of various girls to make it fit - "Lisa" almost made the cut but "Sheila" sounded best. The name was simply made up, which Riley admitted instead of making up stories like Tommy Tutone did with "Jenny (867-5309)."
  • Ready for the World's success was never quite duplicated again. Their debut album went platinum, their follow-up album Long Time Coming went gold, and from that they clawed their way back into the Billboard charts two last times, with "Digital Display" (#21) and "Love You Down" (#9). They went through two more albums and then split up by 1991. Intriguingly, they continued to at least chart in the US R&B right up until their last hit "Can He Do It (Like This, Can He Do It Like That)" in 1991, so it's not like they were tanking. They've since reunited from time to time.

Comments: 3

  • Jeff from BostonIn Australian slang, "sheila" means a woman. The band clearly chose to playfully acknowledge this in the song when the singer tries a bad Australian accent at the beginning and then again later in the song.
  • Barry from Sauquoit, NyOn this day in 1985 {November 2nd} Ready For The World performed "Oh Sheila" on the syndicated TV program, 'Soul Train'...
    At the time "Oh Sheila" was at position #26 on Billboard's Hot Black Singles chart, six weeks earlier it peaked at #1 {for 2 weeks}...
    "Oh Sheila" also reached #1 on Billboard's Top 100 and Hot Dance Songs charts, plus it peaked at #1 on the Canadian RPM Singles chart...
    Between 1984 and 1991 the Flint, Michigan sextet had thirteen records on the Hot Black Singles chart, seven made the Top 10 with two reaching #1, the above "Oh Sheila" and "Love You Down" for two weeks in December of 1986...
    They had three records peaked at #6, "Tonight" in 1984, "Deep Inside Your Love" in 1985, and "My Girly" in 1988...
    Besides the above five records, their other two Top 10 records were "Digital Display" {#4 in 1985} and "Can He Do It" {#9 in 1991}...
    R.I.P. to Don Cornelius {1936 and 2012}...
  • Hannah from Hopkinton, MaThis song is one of the band’s two Billboard R&B charts, the other is 1987’s “Love You Down”.
see more comments

Editor's Picks

Jon Foreman of Switchfoot

Jon Foreman of SwitchfootSongwriter Interviews

Switchfoot's frontman and main songwriter on what inspires the songs and how he got the freedom to say exactly what he means.

Adele

AdeleFact or Fiction

Despite her reticent personality, Adele's life and music are filled with intrigue. See if you can spot the true tales.

Lori McKenna

Lori McKennaSongwriter Interviews

Lori's songs have been recorded by Faith Hill and Sara Evans. She's performed on the CMAs and on Oprah. She also has five kids.

Donnie Iris (Ah! Leah!, The Rapper)

Donnie Iris (Ah! Leah!, The Rapper)Songwriter Interviews

Before "Rap" was a form of music, it was something guys did to pick up girls in nightclubs. Donnie talks about "The Rapper" and reveals the identity of Leah.

Dave Edmunds

Dave EdmundsSongwriter Interviews

A renowned guitarist and rock revivalist, Dave took "I Hear You Knocking" to the top of the UK charts and was the first to record Elvis Costello's "Girls Talk."

Andy McClusky of OMD

Andy McClusky of OMDSongwriter Interviews

Known in America for the hit "If You Leave," OMD is a huge influence on modern electronic music.