- Dee Dee Sharp
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Dee Dee Sharp Birth name Dione LaRue Born September 9, 1945
Philadelphia, PennsylvaniaGenres R&B
SoulOccupations Singer Instruments Vocals Years active 1961–present Labels Cameo, Atco, Atlantic, Gamble, Philadelphia International Dee Dee Sharp (born Dione LaRue, September 9, 1945, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States[1]) is an American R&B singer, who began her career recording as a backing vocalist in 1961.
Contents
Career
In 1962 she began a string of successful Billboard Hot 100 Top 10 hits: "Slow Twistin'" (with Chubby Checker) (#3), "Mashed Potato Time" (#2), "Gravy (For My Mashed Potatoes)" (#9), "Ride" (#5) and "Do the Bird" (#10).[1] Both "Mashed Potato Time" and "Ride" each sold over one million copies, and were awarded gold discs.[2] "Do the Bird" provided her only entry in the UK Singles Chart, where it peaked at #46 in April 1963.[3] In 1967, she married record producer Kenny Gamble and has since recorded under the name Dee Dee Sharp-Gamble.[1]
She had a brief career resurgence during the disco era: as a member of the Philadelphia International All Stars (which also included Lou Rawls, Billy Paul, Teddy Pendergrass, The O'Jays and Archie Bell) she had a minor hit with "Let's Clean Up the Ghetto."
In 1981 she spent four weeks at number one on the Hot Dance Club Play chart with "Breaking and Entering" / "Easy Money," from her album Dee Dee.
More recent appearances included a performance at Pontins in the UK for the Northern Soul Show, and at the 2008 Detroit Jazz Festival. In May 2009, she appeared in Belgium at the Salle De L'Hotel de Ville.
Sharp and her husband Bill Witherspoon have been residents of Medford, New Jersey.[4]
Discography
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This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.
Studio albums
- 1962: Biggest Hits
- 1962: It's Mashed Potato Time
- 1962: Songs Of Faith
- 1962: Down To Earth with Chubby Checker
- 1963: Do The Bird
- 1963: Down Memory Lane
- 1975: Happy Bout The Whole Thing
- 1977: What Color Is Love
- 1980: Dee Dee
Compilations
- 1963: 18 Golden Hits
- 1963: All The Hits
- 1963: Biggest Hits
- 2005: Best Of Dee Dee Sharp 1962-1966
See also
- List of artists who reached number one on the Billboard R&B chart
- List of artists who reached number one on the US Dance chart
- List of disco artists
- List of people from Philadelphia
- List of acts who appeared on American Bandstand
References
- ^ a b c "Biography by Andrew Hamilton". Allmusic.com. http://www.allmusic.com/artist/p20483/biography. Retrieved 14 April 2009.
- ^ Murrells, Joseph (1978). The Book of Golden Discs (2nd ed.). London: Barrie and Jenkins Ltd. p. 152. ISBN 0-214-20512-6.
- ^ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 494. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
- ^ Staff. "For Dee Dee Sharp, a good life moves on", The Philadelphia Inquirer, October 24, 2008. Accessed October 24, 2011. "Over the next 20 years, that spotlight would shine on a career that took her around the world and finally back to Medford, NJ, where she spends most of her time keeping house for her husband, attorney Bill Witherspoon."
External links
Categories:- 1945 births
- Living people
- American female singers
- American rhythm and blues musicians
- Musicians from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Philadelphia International Records artists
- Northern soul musicians
- People from Medford, New Jersey
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