Dee Dee Sharp
Encyclopedia
Dee Dee Sharp is an American
R&B
singer, who began her career recording
as a backing vocalist
in 1961.
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). Both "Mashed Potato Time" and "Ride" each sold over one million copies, and were awarded gold discs
. "Do the Bird" provided her only entry in the UK Singles Chart
, where it peaked at #46 in April 1963. In 1967, she married
record producer
Kenny Gamble and has since recorded under the name Dee Dee Sharp-Gamble.
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.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
R&B
Rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues, often abbreviated to R&B, is a genre of popular African American music that originated in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly to urban African Americans, at a time when "urbane, rocking, jazz based music with a...
singer, who began her career recording
Sound recording and reproduction
Sound recording and reproduction is an electrical or mechanical inscription and re-creation of sound waves, such as spoken voice, singing, instrumental music, or sound effects. The two main classes of sound recording technology are analog recording and digital recording...
as a backing vocalist
Backing vocalist
A backing vocalist or backing singer is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists...
in 1961.
Career
In 1962 she began a string of successful Billboard Hot 100Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
Top 10 hits
Hit record
A hit record is a sound recording, usually in the form of a single or album, that sells a large number of copies or otherwise becomes broadly popular or well-known, through airplay, club play, inclusion in a film or stage play soundtrack, causing it to have "hit" one of the popular chart listings...
: "Slow Twistin'" (with Chubby Checker
Chubby Checker
Chubby Checker is an American singer-songwriter. He is widely known for popularizing the twist dance style, with his 1960 hit cover of Hank Ballard's R&B hit "The Twist"...
) (#3), "Mashed Potato Time" (#2), "Gravy (For My Mashed Potatoes)" (#9), "Ride" (#5) and "Do the Bird" (#10). Both "Mashed Potato Time" and "Ride" each sold over one million copies, and were awarded gold discs
Music recording sales certification
Music recording sales certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped or sold a certain number of copies, where the threshold quantity varies by type and by nation or territory .Almost all countries follow variations of the RIAA certification categories,...
. "Do the Bird" provided her only entry in the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
, where it peaked at #46 in April 1963. In 1967, she married
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
record producer
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
Kenny Gamble and has since recorded under the name Dee Dee Sharp-Gamble.
She had a brief career resurgence during the disco
Disco
Disco is a genre of dance music. Disco acts charted high during the mid-1970s, and the genre's popularity peaked during the late 1970s. It had its roots in clubs that catered to African American, gay, psychedelic, and other communities in New York City and Philadelphia during the late 1960s and...
era: as a member of the Philadelphia International All Stars (which also included Lou Rawls
Lou Rawls
Louis Allen "Lou" Rawls was an American soul, jazz, and blues singer. He was known for his smooth vocal style: Frank Sinatra once said that Rawls had "the classiest singing and silkiest chops in the singing game"...
, Billy Paul
Billy Paul
Billy Paul is a Grammy Award winning American soul singer, most known for his 1972 number-one single, "Me and Mrs. Jones" as well as the 1973 album and single "War of the Gods" which blends his more conventional pop, soul and funk styles with electronic and psychedelic influences...
, Teddy Pendergrass
Teddy Pendergrass
Theodore DeReese "Teddy" Pendergrass was an American R&B/soul singer and songwriter. Pendergrass first rose to fame as lead singer of Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes in the 1970s before a successful solo career at the end of the decade...
, The O'Jays
The O'Jays
The O'Jays are an American R&B group from Canton, Ohio, formed in 1963 and originally consisting of Eddie Levert , Walter Williams , William Powell , Bobby Massey and Bill Isles. The O'Jays were inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2004, and The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2005...
and Archie Bell
Archie Bell
Archie Lee Bell is an African-American solo singer and former lead singer of Archie Bell & the Drells.-Background:...
) 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
Hot Dance Club Play
The Hot Dance Club Songs chart is a weekly national survey of the songs that are most popular in U.S. dance clubs...
chart
Record chart
A record chart is a ranking of recorded music according to popularity during a given period of time. Examples of music charts are the Hit parade, Hot 100 or Top 40....
with "Breaking and Entering" / "Easy Money," from her album
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the 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
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
at the Salle De L'Hotel de Ville.
Sharp and her husband Bill Witherspoon have been residents of Medford, New Jersey.
Studio albums
- 1962: Biggest Hits
- 1962: It's Mashed Potato TimeIt's Mashed Potato Time-Track listing:...
- 1962: Songs Of Faith
- 1962: Down To Earth with Chubby CheckerChubby CheckerChubby Checker is an American singer-songwriter. He is widely known for popularizing the twist dance style, with his 1960 hit cover of Hank Ballard's R&B hit "The Twist"...
- 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