"Yes, I'm Ready" is a song by Barbara Mason from her album '' Yes, I'm Ready'' (1965). It has been

covered Cover or covers may refer to: Packaging * Another name for a lid * Cover (philately), generic term for envelope or package * Album cover, the front of the packaging * Book cover or magazine cover ** Book design ** Back cover copy, part of ...

by numerous artists, and was a

hit single A hit song, also known as a hit record, hit single, or simply hit, is a recorded song or instrumental that becomes broadly popular or well-known. Although ''hit song'' means any widely played or big-selling song, the specific term ''hit record'' ...

for

Teri DeSario Teri Lynn DeSario (born November 27, 1951) is an American singer-songwriter from Miami, Florida. Career DeSario worked within several music genres out of high school. She was a vocalist and played both recorder and harp from 1970–1977 with ...

and K.C. when they recorded a

duet A duet (italian language, Italian: ''duo'') is a musical composition for two Performing arts, performers in which the performers have equal importance to the piece, often a composition involving two singers or two pianists. It differs from a har ...

version in 1980.

Barbara Mason

Mason, a

soul The soul is the purported Mind–body dualism, immaterial aspect or essence of a Outline of life forms, living being. It is typically believed to be Immortality, immortal and to exist apart from the material world. The three main theories that ...

/ R&B singer from

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

, had released a few singles while she was a teenager in the mid-1960s. "Yes, I'm Ready" became Mason's first big hit on the music charts, peaking at No.2 on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

R&B chart The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by '' Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 ...

,Hyatt, Wesley (1999). ''The Billboard Book of #1 Adult Contemporary Hits'' (Billboard Publications) and No. 5 on the ''Billboard''

Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100, also known as simply the Hot 100, is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), o ...

chart in the summer of 1965. While Mason would continue recording into the 1980s, this song has been her highest-charting hit. Mason later re-recorded the song for her 1973 album, ''Give Me Your Love''. The key personnel who helped bring this hit recording to life later became the important creators of the "Philly Sound". These people include: Kenny Gamble as a backup singer, Bobby Eli and Norman Harris on guitar, Ronnie Baker on bass and Earl Young on drums (Eli, Harris and Baker later on became principal members of MFSB and Kenny Gamble would co-found Philadelphia International Records with Leon Huff).

Teri DeSario

DeSario, a vocalist from

Miami Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

, was a high school classmate of

Harry Wayne Casey Harry Wayne Casey (born January 31, 1951), better known by his stage name KC, is an American record producer, musician, and songwriter. He is best known for his band, KC and the Sunshine Band, with co-founder Richard Finch (musician), Richard Fi ...

, best known as the lead vocalist and songwriter for KC and the Sunshine Band. Casey liked the original recording and wanted to record a cover version of the song, and he was producing DeSario's second studio album, ''Moonlight Madness'', for

Casablanca Records Casablanca Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group and operated under Republic Records. Under its founder Neil Bogart, Casablanca was most successful during the disco era of the mid to late 1970s. The label focuses ...

Neil Bogart Neil E. Bogart (born Neil Scott Bogatz, February 3, 1943 – May 8, 1982) was an American record executive. He was the founder of Casablanca Records, which later became Casablanca Record and Filmworks. Life and career Born Neil Scott Bogatz i ...

, president of the record label, had an idea to record the song as a duet, and it was the first single released from the album in late 1979. Their version of the song spent two weeks at No. 2 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart in March 1980, kept from the summit by "

Crazy Little Thing Called Love "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" is a song by the British rock band Queen. Written by Freddie Mercury in 1979, the track is included on their 1980 album '' The Game'', and also appears on the band's compilation album '' Greatest Hits'' in 198 ...

" by the rock group

Queen Queen most commonly refers to: * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a kingdom * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen (band), a British rock band Queen or QUEEN may also refer to: Monarchy * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Q ...

. It also spent two weeks at No. 1 on the ''Billboard'' adult contemporary chart and reached No. 20 on the ''Billboard'' R&B chart, earning Gold Record certification from the

RIAA The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

. Whitburn, Joel (1996). ''The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits'', 6th Edition (Billboard Publications)

Chart performance

Weekly charts

;Barbara Mason

Year-end charts

;Tom Sullivan ;Teri DeSario with K.C.

Other versions

"Yes, I'm Ready" has been covered by other artists, including Mona Carita ( fi) (as "Tahdon"), Shirley Ellis,

Gladys Knight & the Pips Gladys Knight & the Pips were an American Rhythm and blues, R&B, soul music, soul, and funk family music group from Atlanta, Georgia, that remained active on the music charts and performing circuit for over three decades starting from the early ...

Maureen McGovern Maureen Therese McGovern (born July 27, 1949) is an American singer and Broadway actress, well known for her renditions of the songs " The Morning After" from the 1972 film '' The Poseidon Adventure''; " We May Never Love Like This Again" from ' ...

Jeffrey Osborne Jeffrey Linton Osborne (born March 9, 1948) is an American singer-songwriter, musician and lyricist. He is the former drummer and lead singer of the American R&B/soul group L.T.D. (band), L.T.D., with whom he began his musical career in 1970. B ...

, and

Carla Thomas Carla Venita Thomas (born December 21, 1942) is an American singer, who is often referred to as the Queen of Memphis Soul. She is best known for her 1960s recordings for Atlantic and Stax including the hits " Gee Whiz (Look at His Eyes)" (1960) ...

. It was recorded as a duet by the artist Jed and American singer

La Toya Jackson La Toya Yvonne Jackson (born May 29, 1956) is an American singer and television personality. The fifth child and middle daughter of the Jackson family, Jackson first gained recognition on the family's variety television series, ''The Jacksons (TV ...

. This single was released only in 7" format in Japan, where it failed to chart. It was not included on any of Jackson's albums and includes the instrumental version on the B-side. In 1997, teenage singing sensation

Kimberly Scott Kimberly Scott is an American actress. She received a Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play nomination for her performance in the 1988 play '' Joe Turner's Come and Gone''. Scott later appeared in films including '' The Abyss'' (1989), ' ...

, mostly known for her hit "Tuck Me In", covered this song with Taiwanese musician Harlem Yu, arranged by Eric Hung which was included in Harlem Yu's 1997 English cover album "Harlem Music Channel". Chicago's hit "

Beginnings Beginnings may refer to: Literature * ''Beginnings'' (collection), a 1988 collection of short stories and poems by Gordon R. Dickson * ''Beginnings'' (Honorverse), a 2013 collection of short stories in the Worlds of Honor series * ''Beginnings ...

" ("Live at Tanglewood" version) includes the line "I don't even know how to hold your hand" from "Yes, I'm Ready". Barbara Mason's original 1965 recording was sampled by

Phantogram Phantogram may refer to: *Phantogram (band) Phantogram is an American music duo from Greenwich (town), New York, Greenwich, New York (state), New York, formed in 2007 and consisting of multi-instrumentalists and vocalists Sarah Barthel and Josh ...

for their 2013 hit single "Fall In Love."

References

External links

Mason release info at discogs.comDeSario release info at discogs.comMusic Video of Harlem Yu and Kimberly Scott's version
{{Authority control 1965 songs 1965 singles 1976 singles 1979 singles La Toya Jackson songs Teri DeSario songs Barbara Mason songs KC and the Sunshine Band songs Casablanca Records singles Pop ballads Rhythm and blues ballads Male–female vocal duets