The band, from Sacramento, California, was a popular 1960s group, recognizable for its horns and lead singer/guitarist Pat Upton's distinctive voice. The group also included Harvey Kaye (organ), Dick Lopes (saxophone), Bobby Raymond (bass guitar) and Vinny Parello (drums).
Starting as the Fydallions, they released that song, one album, and a few more singles including "No One for Me to Turn To" after signing with Columbia.
The band is known for their hits "More Today Than Yesterday" (U.S. #12), released in January 1969, and the follow-up "She's Ready". "More Today Than Yesterday" has been widely covered by, among others, Diana Ross and the band Goldfinger, and was featured in the 1991 film My Girl, on the soundtrack of The Waterboy in 1998, and in an episode of Ally McBeal entitled Silver Bells.
History
The group evolved from a four-piece instrumental group called the Fydallions, which formed in 1964 in Sacramento, California, for an Air Force talent contest. After leaving the Air Force, the band went on the road, playing five hour lounge jobs on the Las Vegas circuit. The Fydallions, now a quintet consisting of Dick Lopes (saxophone), Bobby Raymond (bass guitar), Harvey Kaye (keyboards), Vinnie Parello (drums), and Pat Upton (guitar and lead vocals), were noticed by the A&R representative for Columbia Records, Gary Usher, while they were working in El Monte, California. Columbia signed the band, but insisted that they change their name. "They loved our work" said Upton, "but they hated the name and they didn’t like the way we dressed. This was in the late sixties when all the musicians were wearing long hair. We looked very square!"[citation needed] The band was renamed after the movie The Spiral Staircase, but with a deliberate misspelling.
Their first two singles, produced by Gary Usher, were regional successes in markets like Phoenix, Arizona. At this time, Sonny Knight was brought in to produce their first album. Usher had encouraged Upton to write original material for the group, and Upton had written "More Today Than Yesterday," while the band was working the Flamingo Sky Room in Las Vegas.
In 1969, "More Today Than Yesterday" charted #12 in the Billboard Hot 100, (in Cash Box, it reached #7) but sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc.[1] About 18 months after the single's release, after releasing one album and a couple more singles, the group disbanded due to poor management and squabbles over finances.
Upton went back to Los Angeles to work as a session musician, eventually working with Ricky Nelson.
Kaye returned to Las Vegas where he re-formed the band. That line-up featured Mike Caschera (aka. Michael Anthony) (lead vocals), Al Sebay (guitar), Gene Austin (electric bass) and Mark Barrett (drums). The band toured extensively and played every major venue in the United States, Canada, and Mexico through the mid 1980s with a full horn section and two backup girl singers to replicate the trademark sound of their biggest hits.
Present day
Kaye headed a management company in Las Vegas with his wife Candy. He died on August 17, 2008. Candy still owns SMASH Productions and holds the trademark for "Spiral Starecase". Parello is retired in Southern California but Upton still performs various times throughout the year. Raymond died in 1984.
Get Ready
Spiral Starecase Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
(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
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
The lyrics to the Spiral Starecase's song Get Ready describe a man who has found the love of his life and is on his way to make her his. He talks about how he has never met a girl who makes him feel the way she does, and when asked who makes his dreams real, he answers that it's her. He warns her against playing hide and seek with love because she will miss out on the love he has to give. He is determined to get to her before his friends do, who he knows also desire her.
The song has a catchy melody and upbeat tempo that makes it perfect for dancing. The use of words like "fee fi fo fum" and "fiddle-lee-dee fiddle-lee-dum" adds a playful touch to the lyrics. The repetition of the phrase "so get ready" throughout the song encourages listeners to get in the mood to dance.
Overall, the song is a classic love song about a guy who has found the love of his life and is determined to make her his.
Line by Line Meaning
I never met a girl who makes me feel the way that you do (it's alright)
I have never met a girl who has the same effect on me as you, and that feeling is alright.
Whenever I'm asked who makes my dreams real I say that you do (you're outta sight)
When I am asked who makes my dreams come true, I tell them that it's you who deserves the credit because you are amazing.
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
I am coming towards you in a loving way, and I am going to try to make love to you. You better get ready to receive my love because I am on my way towards you.
If you wanna play hide and seek with love let me remind you (it's alright)
If you want to avoid love, then let me remind you that it is ok to give in and find true love.
The loving you're gonna miss and the time it takes to find you (it's outta sight)
You will miss out on some amazing love if you keep avoiding it, and the time it will take for you to find someone good enough is immeasurable.
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
I am once again reminding you to get ready because I am bringing my true love to you, and I am on my way to you.
All my friends shouldn't want me to I understand it (be alright)
I understand why my friends might not want me to pursue you, but it's alright because I am going to try anyways.
I hope I'll get to you before they do the way I planned it (be outta sight)
I hope to get to you before my friends do so that I can proceed the way I had planned because it would be great.
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 once again because I am coming with my true love, and I am on my way towards you to make love to you if I can.
Get ready 'cause here I come, boy Get ready 'cause here I come, boy Get ready 'cause here I come, boy
Get ready because I am coming towards you with my love, and I am not stopping until I get to you. So I hope you are ready for me, boy.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: William Robinson Jr.
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
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