It’s that I had never heard of them, nor heard the song, when I discovered one day watching “Entertainment Tonight” that “Oh Sheila” had topped the charts for that week.
That all came back to me this morning when, as I was sipping my morning coffee, I heard “Oh Sheila” on “Stingray Remember the ‘80s” coming from my TV.
The hits
By the Fall of 1985, I had really been into music for over a year. That summer, and into early Fall, there were a lot of songs receiving a lot of airplay on the radio and video shows. It was pretty clear who was going to hit the top of the charts, just by virtue of staying power, quality, and all that airplay.
By the Fall of 1985, I had really been into music for over a year. That summer, and into early Fall, there were a lot of songs receiving a lot of airplay on the radio and video shows. It was pretty clear who was going to hit the top of the charts, just by virtue of staying power, quality, and all that airplay.
I was taking Accounting 30 in the first semester of Grade 11. We had a big project we were given a lot of time to complete, so while we worked, we talked a lot.
One of the subjects was music, and the songs of the day.
Again, those same songs kept coming up, and they did go to number one on the Billboard Hot 100.
There was “Separate Lives” by Phil Collins and Marilyn Martin from the movie “White Nights”. At the time, everything Phil Collins released whether solo or with someone else, went to number one. There was “Say You, Say Me” by Lionel Richie, which was also from the movie “White Nights”. There was “Broken Wings”, by a new band on the scene called Mr. Mister. And, probably the biggest ear worm of them all, the song that seemed to be on all the time was “We Built This City” by Starship. One of my classmates even came up with a parody of the song, although it is too rude to mention here.
Over time, all these songs did hit number one, as expected, often following each other up the charts.
New kid on the block
Then, one day, I was watching “Entertainment Tonight”, which often announced the top single on the Billboard Hot 100 for that week.
Then, one day, I was watching “Entertainment Tonight”, which often announced the top single on the Billboard Hot 100 for that week.
Mary Hart and Robb Weller said that week’s number one song was “Oh Sheila” by Ready for the World. It was the week of October 12, 1985.
I listened to the radio a lot, and honestly had never heard of that song. I couldn’t even imagine a song with those words in it.
It made me wonder if the charts were different or a week behind or something. I found that highly unlikely though. The chart toppers I watched on “Entertainment Tonight”, and heard on CKXL radio from Calgary, matched up every single week.
Obviously, the song was either not getting much play on 1090 CHEC broadcasting from Lethbridge, or it just got a lot more play in the States.
It remains a mystery to me.
Turn up the radio
That all changed pretty quickly. Shortly after learning “Oh Sheila” topped the charts, I heard it for the first time on the radio. It was on the school bus while going home from school one day.
That all changed pretty quickly. Shortly after learning “Oh Sheila” topped the charts, I heard it for the first time on the radio. It was on the school bus while going home from school one day.
It was obviously the song “Entertainment Tonight” had mentioned because the phrase “Oh Sheila” featured prominently in the chorus.
Parting thoughts
When I heard “Oh Sheila” this morning, I sang along with the song like I often do. It obviously meant I heard the song enough times to internalize the words and the music.
When I heard “Oh Sheila” this morning, I sang along with the song like I often do. It obviously meant I heard the song enough times to internalize the words and the music.
Yet, I still have this memory that “Oh Sheila” came out of nowhere and then was number one, which obviously is just not the case.
I still can’t figure it out.
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