Being the child of
country songwriter
Randy Sharp (he's written hits for
Clay Walker,
Patty Loveless, and others) and growing up in the San Fernando Valley in the '70s had to have given
Maia Sharp a leg up on her way to a musical career. That was the era of
Jackson Browne,
Joni Mitchell, and
Rickie Lee Jones and music was in the Southern California air. By age 12,
Sharp was noodling around on the piano, saxophone, oboe, and guitar. Fast forward to her early twenties, and she could be found on-stage at one of L.A.'s many acoustic venues performing her own
jazz/
folk songs to an engaged throng of fans. When not on-stage,
Sharp could surely be found collaborating with artists such as
Carole King,
Jules Shear,
Lisa Loeb, and
Jonatha Brooke. It was
Sharp's songwriting that won the attention of manager
Miles Copeland, who signed her to his new Ark 21 label and released her debut album, Hardly Glamour, in 1997. That year,
Sharp was nominated for Triple-A radio's Artist of the Year. She also shared the stage with
Bruce Cockburn,
Vonda Shepard, and
David Wilcox, among others. As a songwriter,
Sharp has had tunes recorded by
Cher,
Kim Richey,
Amanda Marshall, and
Paul Carrack. Hardly Glamour's "Parting Request" was also included on the soundtrack for The Mighty. In 1998,
Sharp recorded her follow-up album, Tinderbox, and released it independently after parting ways with her label. The new millennium saw her teaming with
Art Garfunkel and
Buddy Mondlock, and getting a track on the highly acclaimed debut from
Shivaree. Spring 2002 brought her back to the forefront with a second album. She hit the road with Keb Mo and Jonny Lang and issued her self-titled debut for Concord. ~ Kelly McCartney, All Music Guide
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Echo [Crooked Crown]