The strange story of “Ready’n’Steady” by D.A.: a record that hit number 102 on the U.S. singles charts in 1979 despite no commercial release, remained a mystery for decades, and was solved in 2016.
“Ready’n’Steady” reached number 102 on the American singles charts in 1979 even though no copy was ever sold in stores.
Research in 2016 by chart investigator Paul Haney identified D.A. as Dennis “D.A.” Lucchesi, a part-time musician and California mortgage broker.
“Ready’n’Steady” remains the only known song to chart without an official release, and the musician had died in 2005.
# Overview
In 1979 a single credited to an artist called D.A. — the song titled "Ready'n'Steady" — reached number 102 on the American singles charts even though no commercial copies ever appeared in stores. For decades the record's origin and fate were unsolved puzzles: who was D.A., how did an unreleased song chart, and where did the recording go?
# The mystery and the chart entry
Billboard chart listings showed "Ready'n'Steady" at number 102 in 1979. Chart placement typically requires commercial availability or verified sales and airplay, yet no one could find a pressing, retail distribution, or verified sales copies for the single. The absence of an available record made the chart appearance unprecedented and puzzling to historians and collectors.
# The 2016 breakthrough
In 2016 chart researcher Paul Haney cracked the case. Haney's investigation identified D.A. as Dennis "D.A." Lucchesi, a part-time musician who worked as a mortgage broker in California. Haney's findings clarified the human identity behind the initials but also pointed to irregular promotional activity as the mechanism that put the song on the chart.
# The recording's afterlife
# What this means for chart history
"Ready'n'Steady" is notable because it stands as the only song known to have reached the American singles charts without an official release. The case demonstrates how chart placements can sometimes reflect anomalies created by promotional methods rather than the conventional metrics of retail availability and widespread airplay. For collectors and music historians, it is an example of an archival mystery that was solvable only with dedicated chart research decades later.
# Bottom line
The story of D.A. and "Ready'n'Steady" is about an obscure musician, an unusual promotional campaign, and a chart appearance that refused to match the available evidence. Paul Haney's 2016 research supplied the missing identity and confirmed the odd mechanics behind the entry. Even now, the song remains a unique artifact in the history of American singles charts: charted, largely unheard, and never officially released.
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