Are You Ready? (Pacific Gas & Electric song)

"Are You Ready?"
Single by Pacific Gas & Electric
from the album Are You Ready?
B-side	"Staggolee"
Released	April 22, 1970
Length	5:49 (Album Version) 3:00: (Single Version)
Label	Columbia 45158
Songwriter(s)	Charlie Allen, John Hill
Producer(s)	John Hill
Pacific Gas & Electric singles chronology
"Bluesbuster" (1969) "Are You Ready?" (1970) "Father Come on Home" (1970)

"Are You Ready?" is a song written by Charlie Allen and John Hill and performed by Pacific Gas & Electric. It reached No. 14 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 49 on the R&B chart ^[1] in 1970. The band featured it on their 1970 album Are You Ready? ^[2]

The song was produced by John Hill ^[3] and featured the back-up vocal group The Blackberries. ^[4]

The album version was nearly 6 minutes in length and had to be cut down to 3 minutes for the single, resulting in omitting the slower recitative Introduction, the omission of the first verse: "People say he won't come", pertaining to the unmentioned Jesus Christ. This reference was considered too controversial for AM airplay, especially in rural areas, the Deep South, and the Bible Belt sections of the United States. The instrumental and the repeated call and response sections in the coda were shortened: "Yes, I'm Ready", and "Yes, Yes, I'm Ready". The edit version ends with the fading repeat of the chorus section.

The single was ranked No. 93 on Billboard's Year-End Hot 100 singles of 1970. ^[5] Music critic Robert Christgau has called it "easily [the band's] best cut ever". ^[6]

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (1969/70)	Peak position
Australia (Kent Music Report) [7]	44
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders) [8]	1
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia) [9]	3
Canada (RPM) [10]	8
Italy ( Musica e Dischi ) [11]	19
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40) [12]	2
Netherlands (Single Top 100) [13]	2
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade) [14]	9
United States (Billboard)	14
West Germany (Official German Charts) [15]	16

Year-end charts

Chart (1970)	Peak position
USA (Billboard 100)	93

Other versions

• DeGarmo and Key, on their 1984 album, Communication. ^[16]
• The Staple Singers, as a single in 1985; it reached No. 39 on the R&B chart. ^[17]

References

1. Pacific Gas & Electric, "Are You Ready?" chart positions Retrieved January 10, 2016
2. Pacific Gas & Electric, Are You Ready? Retrieved January 10, 2016
3. Pacific Gas & Electric, "Are You Ready?" single release Retrieved January 10, 2016
4. Pacific Gas & Electric, "Are You Ready?" single release information Retrieved January 10, 2016
5. Billboard 1970 Top 100 Year-End Singles Archived 2010-02-02 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved January 10, 2016
6. Christgau, Robert (1981). "Consumer Guide '70s: P". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies . Ticknor & Fields. ISBN   089919026X . Retrieved March 10, 2019– via robertchristgau.com.
7. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 227. ISBN   0-646-11917-6.
8. "Pacific Gas & Electric – Are You Ready" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved June 14, 2022.
9. "Pacific Gas & Electric – Are You Ready" (in French). Ultratop 50. Retrieved June 14, 2022.
10. "RPM Top 100 Singles - August 8, 1970" (PDF).
11. "Classifiche". Musica e Dischi (in Italian). Retrieved June 14, 2022.Set "Tipo" on "Singoli", then search "Pacific Gas & Electric" under "Artista".
12. "Nederlandse Top 40 – Pacific Gas Electric" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved June 14, 2022.
13. "Pacific Gas & Electric – Are You Ready" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved June 14, 2022.
14. "Pacific Gas & Electric – Are You Ready". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved June 14, 2022.
15. "Offiziellecharts.de – Pacific Gas & Electric – Are You Ready" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved June 14, 2022.
16. DeGarmo and Key, Communication Retrieved January 10, 2016
17. The Staple Singers, "Are You Ready?" chart position Retrieved January 10, 2016