Love You Down – Ready For The World | Top 40 Chart Performance, Story and Song Meaning
Chart Performance: Pop (#9), R&B (#1 for 2 weeks) and Adult Contemporary (#24); 1986
Story Behind The Song By Ed Osborne
Ready For The World may have been globally prepared, but was the world ready for them? At first, the answer was, “not really.” Only after the Flint, Michigan gang released its first single, Tonight, on its own, did MCA come knockin’.
Re-issued with major promotion and distribution behind it, Tonight went to #6 R&B in 1985, and Deep Inside Your Love did likewise. Still, the mainstream market remained unimpressed until Oh Sheila, which topped both the R&B and pop charts.
Digital Display then reached #4 R&B, yet, Top 40 again evidenced little interest. 1986 was almost history before RFTW returned with a tune only its writer and producer believed in. RFTW instrumentalist/lead singer Melvin Riley Jr. had crafted a “let me lay you down” lyric that failed to cry out “hit” to producer Gary Spaniola.
However, once Riley retooled it into Love You Down, Spaniola was on board even if the rest of RFTW wasn’t. MCA Records sided with Riley and Spaniola, giving the group its second R&B chart topper.
This content and all Song Meaning articles were created and written by Top 40 Contributing Editor Ed Osborne. © 2024 Ed Osborne. All Rights Reserved. In addition to these song meaning articles, Ed has written our “Year in Music 1960s-1990s” articles.
Produced by:
- Gary Spaniola & Ready for the World
Lyrics Written by:
- Melvin Riley
Ed Osborne
Hi. I got my first record at age two and never looked back, spending a decades-long career in radio and the music business. Even after years of reading about and listening to all types of music, I am still fascinated by it. Apart from that, I’m endlessly intrigued by art, nature, and the inner lives of people (and dogs).