“Do you wanna ride?”

That was the question Oakland, California singer Pebbles posed to the public 23 years ago with her second single, “Mercedes Boy.” The public overwhelmingly responded in the affirmative, sending the song to #2 on the Billboard Hot 100.

“Mercedes Boy” continued the pop/R&B sound established by Kenneth “Babyface” Edmonds and Antonio “L.A.” Reid on Pebbles’ debut single, “Girlfriend,” which they’d penned and produced. But for “Mercedes Boy,” the duo handed the keys to Pebbles, who wrote the song, and producer Charlie Wilson of the Gap Band.

Pulling up to the charts in May 1988, “Mercedes Boy” parked itself for two weeks at the runner-up spot in July. Held back by Cheap Trick’s “The Flame,” Pebbles bested the showing of “Girlfriend,” which reached #5. “Mercedes Boy” also hit #2 on the Dance chart, and made it all the way to #1 on the R&B chart.

Pebbles’ hit is one of those songs that was the perfect combination of theme and timing: A confident female come-on dead smack in the middle of summer, when the possibilities for fun new adventures seem endless.

Besides the shimmering synths, the best part of “Mercedes Boy” is the “…with me, with me, with me” background bit in the chorus. And how about that blistering guitar solo? Doesn’t get much more ’80s than that.

Married for a time to L.A. Reid, with whom she has a son, Pebbles helped build LaFace Records while running her production company, Pebbitone. She discovered and managed TLC until things turned tense, with the trio eventually filing for bankruptcy claiming she’d improperly handled their money. After parting ways, Pebbles turned away from secular music, dropped her childhood nickname and became an ordained minister, “Sister Perri.”

Earlier this year, however, Pebbles assisted Essence in its search for a new R&B star to perform at the magazine’s annual music festival in New Orleans. In an interview with HLN about the project, she dismissed talk of recording a new album, saying she had no aspirations to do so.

Purchase Pebbles – “Mercedes Boy” via iTunes.