1985 Pop No. 1, Long-Mistaken As A Prince Performance, Hit The Top 41 Years Ago Today
On October 7, 1985, "Oh Sheila" was in the middle of its sole week as the No. 1 song on the Billboard Hot 100. Ready for the World's hit was an infectious, synthesizer-driven, dance-funk jam with aggressively flirtatious lyrics, and it just so happens that the sound was eerily similar to that of a legendary artist at the peak of his powers: Prince.
At the time, sounding like Prince could be quite lucrative, and "Oh Sheila" came around not long after he hit No. 1 with "When Doves Cry" and "Let's Go Crazy," a classic with a riff that still rips more than 40 years later. But Ready for the World, a six-piece, all-male group from Michigan, was ready for the attention, the criticism, and the success that accompanied the triumph of "Oh Sheila," a groovy, upbeat, undeniably dance-floor-ready song that's actually about a messy, complicated, and agonizing relationship, albeit one that didn't really exist.
Oh Sheila was as familiar as it was memorable
Prince wrote many songs for other famous musicians, but not "Oh Sheila." Ready for the World founded Blue Lake Records to release their music, and their single "Tonight" got the ear of MCA Records, which brought on the act. After a couple of releases flopped, "Oh Sheila" resonated and could attribute its early success in part to how many fans thought it was a Prince tune, fooled in part by how "Sheila" could've been Sheila E., a Prince ex and rising star.
"Sheila isn't anybody. I made her up," Ready for the World frontman Melvin Riley told the Los Angeles Times. "I'm flattered that we're compared to a great artist like him. But we didn't try to sound like him." Nevertheless, Riley's singing voice does sound like Prince's, and the energetic bass line and production sheen on "Oh Sheila" are reminiscent of hits by "The Purple One." Furthermore, Tommy Roe, singer of the 1962 No. 1 hit "Sheila," publicly suggested that "Oh Sheila" shared not just a title but a chord progression with his song.
Ready for the World sounded less like Prince on subsequent releases, yet they could still captivate an audience. The electro-leaning "Digital Display" was a Top 30 hit, and the ballad "Love You Down" made it into the Top 10.