“R” is for “Reddy” and “Ready”

“Reddy,” of course, is Australian-American singer Helen Reddy. Phenomenally successful worldwide during the 1970s, she will forever be known for the feminist anthem, “I Am Woman.” That song and seven others — including “Delta Dawn,” “Angie Baby,” and “Ain’t No Way To Treat A Lady” — peaked at number one on the Billboard Easy Listening (now Adult Contemporary) Chart. Her record sales dwindled in the 1980s, and she turned her attention to musical theater, in effect returning to her performing roots: Her parents were professional entertainers, and she got her start at the age of four performing with them on the Australian vaudeville circuit. She retired from performing in 2002, returned to Australia, and subsequently earned a degree in clinical hypnotherapy and neurolinguistic programming. In 2012, she briefly returned to performing but, sadly, was diagnosed with dementia shortly thereafter. She passed away from an undisclosed cause in September 2020.

“Ready” is a fun little Emerson, Lake, and Palmer song, “Are You Ready Eddy?” Eddy was their engineer/producer Eddy Offord. According to Keith Emerson, every time ELP was ready to record, one of them would yell “are you ready, Eddy?” A tongue-in-cheek poke at rock ‘n’ roll standards, the song is one of the few composed by the entire band.

Enjoy “I Am Woman” and “Are You Ready, Eddy?”