ABBA

Singer-songwriter from Orlando, Florida, who started out performing on WORZ’s Hillbilly Radio Show which was headlined by her father. She attended Edgewater High School, and was bit with the acting bug when she portrayed Mammy Yokum in a production of Li’l Abner. Mel Tillis discovered her at, of all places, the Ponderosa Steak House Lounge. Soon, she was attending college, singing live gigs and performing on the radio.

Her move to Nashville, Tennessee, is the stuff of rural legend, riding in a horse trailer with fifty bucks in her pocket. She worked a series of odd jobs, was fired from the traffic department at WSM, and even sold bras, but she did land a few gigs, as a jazz singer, no less, with Richard Cotten’s and Boyce Hawkins’ bands.

Sharon was one of the original members of the Lea Jane Singers, who were a staple on country albums in the ‘70s. She also worked with The Holladay Sisters, The Jordanaires and The Nashville Edition. After a brief stint as a solo artist, which resulted in a top-twenty hit, she spent a decade as an on-air TV personality.

Her true calling, however, was songwriting. This was evidenced when The Oak Ridge Boys took “Y’all Come Back Saloon” to #1. Even bigger success came when Waylon Jennings sang “My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys”. It appeared on The Outlaws, which has the distinction of being the first country album to go triple platinum. Willie Nelson famously covered the song and took it to #1, partially on the strength of The Electric Horseman, in which it appeared. The soundtrack of that film was nominated for an Academy Award.

On these accomplishments alone, Sharon’s nomination into the NSAI Songwriters’ Hall of Fame was a no-brainer. That was in 2005, the same year an old recording of John Rich (of Big & Rich fame) re-surfaced. Underneath the Same Moon was recorded in 1999, and features Sharon on background vocals and in the capacities of producer and co-writer, with L. David Lewis and John Rich, of the title track.

Her passion for theatre, however, never went away. She has since moved to New York and embarked on a career in musical theatre. Along with Rupert Holmes and Melissa Manchester, she has seen The Sweet Potato Queens, The Musical, finally come to fruition. It is based on a series of books penned by Jill Conner-Brown. In January 2008, another one of her productions, Hats!, opened at Harrah’s Theatre Room in Las Vegas, Nevada. Her latest stage adventure is a collaboration with Doug Besterman on a musical about Jerry Lewis and Dean Martin.

Meantime, Sharon keeps one foot in the door of the recording industry. In tandem with Lee Brice and Kyle Jacobs, she has crafted a number of compositions for one of RCA’s new artists, Crystal Shawanda, to whom Sharon gives high marks. Her songs, including “The Guardian” and “Why”, continue to be covered overseas. They must be a lucky charm: Delta Goodrem’s version of “The Guardian” helped propel her new album to #1 and platinum status in a mere 48 hours.

Sharon also runs her own publishing house, Grinnin’ Girl Music, with whom she won a BMI Publishing Award for Rodney Clawson’s “Amarillo Sky”. If there is such a thing as the Midas touch, Sharon has it. For more info on this multi-talented artist, please see her myspace page, listed below.

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