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

Melanie

MelanieSongwriter Interviews

The singer-songwriter Melanie talks about her spiritual awakening at Woodstock, "Brand New Key," and why songwriting is an art, not a craft.

We Will Rock You (To Sleep): Pop Stars Who Recorded Kids' Albums

We Will Rock You (To Sleep): Pop Stars Who Recorded Kids' AlbumsSong Writing

With the rise of Kindie rock, more musicians are embracing their inner child with tunes for tots - here, we look at pop stars who recorded kids' albums.

Michael Franti

Michael FrantiSongwriter Interviews

Franti tells the story behind his hit "Say Hey (I Love You)" and explains why yoga is an integral part of his lifestyle and his Soulshine tour.

Tom Keifer of Cinderella

Tom Keifer of CinderellaSongwriter Interviews

Tom talks about the evolution of Cinderella's songs through their first three albums, and how he writes as a solo artist.

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.

Stand By Me: The Perfect Song-Movie Combination

Stand By Me: The Perfect Song-Movie CombinationSong Writing

In 1986, a Stephen King novella was made into a movie, with a classic song serving as title, soundtrack and tone.