I'm Ready for Love



"I'm Ready for Love" is a 1966 single by Motown girl group Martha and the Vandellas. Scoring their biggest hit since "Nowhere to Run" peaked at #8 on the pop singles chart, this tune, which had the narrator longing to be in love with her object of affection, rose to #9 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #2 on Billboard's Hot R&B singles chart. The song, produced and written by Holland-Dozier-Holland, was written in a similar style to The Supremes' smash hit, "You Can't Hurry Love". Other than the Vandellas, The Temptations also recorded a version of this song that was released on their 1967 album In A Mellow Mood. The Vandellas' version was issued as the first official release off the group's 1966 album, Watchout!, though the album's actual first single, the emotive ballad "What Am I Going to Do Without Your Love" bombed on the chart. This song renewed the Vandellas' popularity among mainstream audiences with its top ten showing and also was a chart hit for the group in the UK where the song peaked at number twenty-nine on the chart. The Vandellas are helped in harmony by session girl group the Andantes, who sing the higher parts of the song with the Vandellas singing the lower parts as similar as records produced with The Four Tops.

Personnel

 * Lead vocals by Martha Reeves
 * Background vocals by Betty Kelly, Rosalind Ashford and The Andantes
 * Produced by Brian Holland and Lamont Dozier
 * Written by Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier and Edward Holland, Jr.
 * Instrumentation by The Funk Brothers