I did indeed want to ride in her Mercedes

I have been busy throwing all sorts of playlists together for my new iPod.
I listened to some 80s music as I compiled a half-dozen playlists devoted to that era.
Several songs stopped me in my tracks -- long enough to sing along.
Among them was a nugget from 1988, sung by a girl from MY BIRTHPLACE -- OAKLAND, CALIF.
"MERCEDES BOY" was the second big hit by PEBBLES (after the previous year's "Girlfriend." Ridiculously infectious, "Mercedes Boy" song reached No. 2 on the U.S. charts, but I never held that success against it. I *adored* that damn song.
I loved it again tonight, as I heard it for the first time in long while.
"Do you wanna ride in my Mercedes, boy?"
My future brother-in-law (and current Route 1 reader Dave B.) played "Mercedes Boy" frequently when he DJed at our local college watering hole.
I wasn't aware at the time that Pebbles was in fact Oak-Town girl Perri Alette McKissack.
She later managed TLC and married R&B producer L.A. Reid.
I heard many more songs tonight that I haven't enjoyed in years. "Mercedes Boy" is my favorite of the bunch. I love it just as much 20 years down the road.