Donnie Elbert (May 25, 1936 – January 26, 1989) was an American soul singer… Read Full Bio ↴Donnie Elbert (May 25, 1936 – January 26, 1989) was an American soul singer, who had a prolific career from the mid-1950s to the late 1970s. His US hits included "Where Did Our Love Go?" (1972), and his reputation as a Northern soul artist in the UK was secured by "A Little Piece of Leather", a performance highlighting his powerful falsetto voice.

Elbert was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, but when aged three his family relocated to Buffalo, New York. He learned to play guitar and piano as a child, and in 1955 formed a doo-wop group, the Vibraharps, with friend Danny Cannon. Elbert acted as the group's guitarist, songwriter, arranger, and background vocalist, making his recording debut on their single "Walk Beside Me". He left the group in 1957 for a solo career, and recorded a demonstration record that earned him a recording contract with the King label's DeLuxe subsidiary. His solo debut "What Can I Do?" reached #12 in the U.S. R&B chart, and he followed it up with the less successful "Believe It or Not" and "Have I Sinned?", which became a regional hit in Pittsburgh.

He continued to release singles on DeLuxe, but with little commercial success, and also played New York's Apollo Theater and toured the chitlin' circuit of African-American owned nightclubs. After completing an album, The Sensational Donnie Elbert Sings, he left DeLuxe in 1959, joining first Red Top Records, where in 1960 he recorded "Someday (You'll Want Me to Want You)", and then Vee-Jay Records, where he had another regional hit with "Will You Ever Be Mine?," which reportedly sold 250,000 copies in the Philadelphia area but failed to take off nationwide. His career was also interrupted by a spell in the US Army, from which he was discharged in 1961. He then recorded singles for several labels, including Parkway, Cub and Checker, but with little success. However, although the 1965 Gateway label release of "A Little Piece of Leather" failed to chart in the US, the record became a #27 pop hit when released on the London label in the UK several years later in 1972, and remains a Northern soul favorite.

Elbert relocated to the UK in 1966, where he married. There, he recorded "In Between The Heartaches" for the Polydor label in 1968, a cover version of The Supremes' hit "Where Did Our Love Go?". and an album of Otis Redding cover versions, Tribute To A King. His 1969 Deram release "Without You" had a rocksteady rhythm, and went to the top of the Jamaican charts. He returned to the US the same year, and had his first US chart hit in over a decade with the Rare Bullet label release "Can't Get Over Losing You," which reached #26 on the Billboard R&B chart. Following the success of that record, "Where Did Our Love Go?" was released on the All Platinum label, and became his biggest hit, reaching #15 on the US pop charts, #6 on the R&B charts, and (in 1972) #8 in the UK. Its follow-up "Sweet Baby" reached #30 on the R&B chart in early 1972.

Elbert then signed with Avco-Embassy, where he entered the recording studio with the successful production team of Hugo & Luigi. Although his cover of The Four Tops' "I Can't Help Myself" reached #14 on the R&B chart, Elbert balked at the label's insistence that he record material associated with Motown. He returned to All Platinum and had a run of minor R&B hits, but left after he claimed authorship of Shirley & Company's R&B chart-topper "Shame Shame Shame" which was credited to label owner Sylvia Robinson. For 1975's "You Keep Me Crying (With Your Lying)," Elbert finally formed his own label, and "I Got to Get Myself Together," appeared on an imprint bearing his surname, but it was among his final recordings.

By the mid-1980s Elbert had retired from performing, and became director of A&R for Polygram's Canadian division. He suffered a massive stroke and died in 1989, at the age of 52.

Get Ready
Donnie Elbert Lyrics

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I never met a girl who makes me feel the way that you do
(it's alright)
Whenever I'm asked who makes my dreams real
I say that you do
(you're outta sight)
So fee fi fo fum

Look out baby 'cause here I come

And I'm bringing you a love that's true so get ready
So get ready
I'm gonna try to make love to you so get ready
So get ready here I come
I'm on my way

If you wanna play hide and seek with love let me remind you
(it's alright)
The loving you're gonna miss and the time it takes to find you
(it's outta sight)
So fiddle-lee-dee fiddle-lee-dum

Look out baby 'cause here I come
And I'm bringing you a love that's true so get ready
So get ready
I'm gonna try to make love to you so get ready
So get ready here I come
I'm on my way

All my friends shouldn't want me to I understand it
(be alright)
I hope I'll get to you before they do the way I planned it
(be outta sight)
So twiddle-dee-dee twiddle dee dum

Look out baby 'cause here I come
And I'm bringing you a love that's true so get ready
So get ready
I'm gonna try to make love to you so get ready
So get ready here I come.
I'm on my way.
Get ready 'cause here I come, boy

Get ready 'cause here I come, boy
Get ready 'cause here I come, boy

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Donnie Elbert's song "Get Ready" speak of the excitement and anticipation of love. The singer sings about a girl who makes him feel a certain way that he has never felt before. He says that whenever someone asks him who makes his dreams real, he always answers that it's her. He is so caught up in his emotions that he even forgets basic words like "fee fi fo fum" and "fiddle-lee-dee fiddle-lee-dum."

The singer clearly states his intentions of making love to the girl he is singing about. He warns her of the consequences of playing games with love, assuring her that the love he brings is true. He hopes to reach her before his friends do, as they also seem to have an interest in her.

Get ReadyDonnie Elbert Lyrics

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ALAIN DEWAELE

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Get Ready
Donnie Elbert Lyrics