Dee Dee Sharp
Dee Dee Sharp (born Dione LaRue; September 9, 1945) is an American R&B singer recognized for pioneering dance craze hits in the early 1960s, particularly "Mashed Potato Time," which topped the Billboard R&B chart and peaked at number two on the Hot 100 in 1962.[1][2] Born and raised in Philadelphia, she emerged as the city's first Black female teen idol through recordings on the local Cameo-Parkway label, blending energetic vocals with teen-oriented rhythms that fueled national dance trends.[3] Sharp's career began in gospel settings, where she directed church choirs and played piano from childhood, before transitioning to secular music as a backing vocalist for artists including Chubby Checker, Frankie Avalon, and Jackie Wilson amid her mother's health challenges.[3] At age 17, under producers Kal Mann and Bernie Lowe, she adopted her stage name—derived from her nickname "D" and affinity for the key of D sharp—and achieved overnight success with "Mashed Potato Time," followed by Top 10 singles like "Gravy (For My Mashed Potatoes)" (number five pop, number seven R&B) and the duet "Slow Twistin'" with Chubby Checker.[3][2] Her frequent appearances on American Bandstand, hosted by Philadelphia's Dick Clark, amplified her visibility, alongside tours on his Caravan of Stars and features in teen magazines, solidifying her as a pop mainstay with nine albums on Cameo-Parkway.[3] Later, Sharp signed with Atco/Atlantic Records, married producer Kenny Gamble, and collaborated with him and Leon Huff on ventures including Gamble Records and Philadelphia International, contributing to the soul era's evolution.[3] She extended her influence into acting with cameo roles in films such as Hairspray (1988), Sister Act (1992), and Desperately Seeking Susan (1985), while maintaining a performing career marked by induction into the Philadelphia Music Alliance Walk of Fame.[3][2]Early Life
Childhood and Family Background
Dione LaRue, who later adopted the stage name Dee Dee Sharp, was born on September 9, 1945, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.[2][3] She grew up in an urban Black community during the mid-20th century, immersed in the cultural and social dynamics of postwar Philadelphia, where church life played a central role in family and neighborhood activities.[2] Her household was oriented around religious traditions, with her grandfather leading a local congregation that provided early exposure to structured musical performance.[3] From a young age, LaRue demonstrated musical aptitude by playing piano and participating in gospel singing groups, including as a lead vocalist among teenage ensembles.[2] She also directed choirs at her grandfather's church and other nearby congregations, activities that honed her skills in an environment rich with spiritual music traditions but devoid of formal secular training at that stage.[3][4] This church-centered upbringing fostered an innate affinity for rhythm and harmony, shaped by the improvisational and communal nature of gospel practices in Philadelphia's African American communities.[2]Initial Musical Development
Sharp demonstrated early aptitude for music through piano playing, which she began at a young age in Philadelphia.[5] Her involvement extended to directing choirs at her grandfather's church and other local congregations, fostering vocal discipline and performance skills during her adolescence.[6] This church-based training immersed her in gospel traditions, emphasizing rhythmic phrasing and emotive delivery that would inform her mature style. Philadelphia's African American community in the 1950s offered exposure to burgeoning R&B and rock and roll scenes, evolving from local jazz and gospel roots, which broadened her musical palette beyond sacred music.[7] By her late teens, these amateur pursuits transitioned into aspirations for recording, though early attempts remained non-commercial and unrecognized by the industry.[2]Career
Backing Vocals and Early Recordings
Dee Dee Sharp commenced her professional recording career in 1961 as a session singer, delivering backing vocals for prominent Philadelphia labels such as Chancellor and Swan Records.[8] These early contributions supported teen pop and R&B artists including Frankie Avalon, Fabian, and Freddy Cannon, often on tracks emphasizing harmonious group vocals amid the era's twist and rock-influenced sounds.[8] Her initial foray included work with Willa Ward Moultrie, followed by uncredited session appearances that built her experience in studio environments focused on rapid production for the youth market.[9] Throughout these formative years, Sharp's roles remained largely behind-the-scenes, with minimal solo exposure as she navigated a male-dominated industry rife with transient trends and limited slots for emerging female talent.[8] Operating in Philadelphia's vibrant yet cutthroat scene, she refined her phrasing and blend in doo-wop-inflected R&B arrangements, facing practical hurdles like failed attempts to form her own vocal group during high school and familial reservations about the profession's stability.[8] By late 1961, her background work extended to Cameo-Parkway hits, positioning her amid the label's assembly-line approach to teen-oriented records before transitioning to foreground performances.[9]Breakthrough with Dance Hits
Dee Dee Sharp's solo debut, "Mashed Potato Time," released in May 1962 by Cameo-Parkway Records, propelled her to national prominence by capitalizing on the burgeoning dance craze phenomenon. The track, written by Kal Mann and Dave Appell, explicitly instructed listeners in the Mashed Potato dance steps, a shuffling foot movement that mimicked mashing potatoes, aligning with the era's twist-influenced fad for choreographed routines popularized by Chubby Checker's earlier successes. It topped the Billboard Hot R&B Sides chart for two weeks and reached number one on the Hot 100, selling over one million copies and earning a gold certification, which underscored Cameo-Parkway's strategy of formulaic, teen-oriented singles designed for radio play and dance floor replication.[10] Subsequent releases sustained her momentum through similar dance-themed follow-ups, reinforcing the label's assembly-line approach to hits amid the early 1960s teen idol surge. "Gravy (For My Mashed Potatoes)," a thematic sequel released later in 1962, peaked at number nine on the Billboard Hot 100, while "Do the Bird" in 1963 reached number ten, both benefiting from the same promotional playbook of simple, infectious hooks tied to novelty dances. Sharp also contributed uncredited vocals to Chubby Checker's "Slow Twistin'," which hit number three on the Hot 100 in 1962, extending the twist's cultural grip and cross-pollinating her exposure within Cameo-Parkway's roster of Philadelphia-based acts. These singles collectively drove her debut album, It's Mashed Potato Time, to chart success, illustrating how the label's focus on rhythmic, apolitical pop distanced her from traditional R&B circuits in favor of mainstream teen markets. Cameo-Parkway amplified Sharp's visibility through relentless promotion on platforms like American Bandstand, where she performed for every major release, leveraging host Dick Clark's influence to embed her in the visual culture of youth dances televised nationwide. This tactic, combined with targeted radio pushes and regional touring, mirrored the label's broader mechanics for manufacturing idols via low-cost production and hype, though Sharp declined opportunities in low-budget films due to familial pressures prioritizing her stability over Hollywood risks. The timing synchronized with a post-twist vacuum for fresh dances, enabling "Mashed Potato Time" to ignite a short-lived but commercially potent craze that briefly dominated sock hops and variety shows before evolving into broader soul influences.[4][11]Philadelphia Soul Era
Following the decline of Cameo-Parkway Records around 1966, Dee Dee Sharp transitioned to working closely with songwriting and production duo Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff, her husband and his partner, respectively, through their newly formed Gamble Records in 1967 and later Philadelphia International Records (PIR), established in 1971.[3][12] This shift marked a departure from her earlier reliance on teen-oriented dance crazes, as her output under Gamble-Huff emphasized polished soul arrangements with lush orchestration, horns, and strings characteristic of the burgeoning Philadelphia Sound, allowing greater showcase of her mezzo-soprano range and emotive delivery.[13] She released key albums on PIR, including What Color Is Love in 1977, featuring covers like Terry Callier's title track, and Dee Dee in 1980, noted for tracks with intricate production over simplistic rhythms.[14][15] Sharp's role extended beyond solo efforts, as she provided backing vocals for PIR artists such as the O'Jays, Lou Rawls, and Teddy Pendergrass, contributing to the label's cohesive house band sound led by MFSB.[13] She participated in the Philadelphia International All-Stars supergroup alongside these performers and others like Billy Paul and Archie Bell for the 1977 charity single "Let's Clean Up the Ghetto," aimed at urban renewal efforts, which blended social messaging with upbeat funk.[16] Additionally, her industry connections facilitated signing talents including Jerry Butler, the Blue Notes, the O'Jays, and Lou Rawls to Gamble-Huff imprints, bolstering PIR's roster amid competition from Motown.[13] As her initial teen market appeal faded with age and changing tastes, Sharp's PIR tenure highlighted sustained vocal prowess in soul contexts, exemplified by the 1980 dance single "Breaking and Entering" from her Dee Dee album, which reached number one on the Billboard Hot Dance/Disco Songs chart through its driving bassline and extended mixes.[17][18] This period reflected broader genre maturation, prioritizing depth over novelty while navigating the transient nature of pop stardom.[14]Later Collaborations and Ventures
In the decades following her peak chart success, Sharp contributed to film soundtracks, with her 1962 recording "Gravy (For My Mashed Potatoes)" featured prominently in the 1992 comedy Sister Act, underscoring scenes that highlighted her enduring association with Philadelphia's dance-oriented soul sound.[19] Similarly, her 1960s hit "I Really Love You" appeared on the soundtrack for the 2021 drama Swan Song, directed by Todd Stephens, reflecting selective licensing of her catalog rather than new productions.[20] These placements capitalized on her vintage recordings without involving principal acting roles, aligning with a pattern of passive revenue streams from her early work amid diminished original output. Sharp maintained visibility through sporadic live engagements, including a 1986 PBS concert appearance in Philadelphia alongside Harold Melvin as part of the Night Music series, but eschewed large-scale tours after the 1980s, prioritizing selective regional performances over extensive commitments.[21] In later years, she delivered occasional tributes, such as a 2023 rendition of "Day By Day" at the Mazzoni Center Honors event held at Philadelphia's Kimmel Center, emphasizing nostalgic appeal tied to her Philly roots.[22] By the 2020s, at age 80, Sharp shifted toward legacy-oriented ventures, including an on-camera interview in the 2023 documentary Cassius X: Becoming Ali, where she reflected on her early 1960s relationship with boxer Cassius Clay, providing firsthand context for his pre-Muhammad Ali persona without pursuing major new musical or acting projects.[23] This appearance, alongside song usages in commercials like a recent Airbnb spot featuring "Mashed Potato Time," illustrated a sustained but low-intensity career focused on archival value and personal anecdotes rather than active collaborations or recordings.[24] Her activities underscored the typical trajectory for 1960s artists, where industry dynamics favored preservation over reinvention.[25]Personal Life
Marriages and Relationships
Dee Dee Sharp married record producer Kenny Gamble, co-founder of Philadelphia International Records, in 1967.[26][27] The union, which lasted until their divorce in 1980, occurred amid the demands of her recording career in Philadelphia's music industry, where personal and professional spheres often intertwined for artists of the era.[26][28] During this period, she adopted the professional name Dee Dee Sharp-Gamble for some releases.[26] No prior marriages are documented in available records. Following her divorce from Gamble, Sharp married attorney Bill Witherspoon, with whom she has maintained a long-term partnership.[27][29] This relationship reflects her navigation of personal stability after the turbulence of earlier industry-adjacent partnerships in the 1960s and 1970s, a time when female performers frequently balanced relational commitments with professional travel and collaborations.[30]Family and Later Residence
Dee Dee Sharp has sustained deep-rooted connections to Philadelphia, the city of her birth on September 9, 1945, and the epicenter of her musical career, even after establishing her primary residence in nearby Medford, New Jersey.[2] This move to Medford, a suburb approximately 20 miles east of Philadelphia, reflects a preference for quieter surroundings while preserving proximity to her longstanding community and professional networks in the region. In her later years, Sharp lives with her husband, Bill Witherspoon, prioritizing a stable, private family life amid the ebb of her performing schedule.[2] This arrangement aligns with the post-peak trajectories of many 1960s-era artists, who often retreat from intensive public visibility to focus on personal well-being and familial consistency, avoiding the exploitative dynamics of nostalgia-driven revivals. Verifiable records do not detail children or extensive extended family engagements in her current setup, emphasizing instead the intimacy of her immediate household.[2]Musical Legacy
Style, Influence, and Innovations
Dee Dee Sharp's early musical style emphasized an energetic, rhythmic vocal delivery tailored to the 1960s dance crazes, fusing rhythm and blues with straightforward, hook-driven pop structures designed for immediate mass accessibility. Tracks like "Mashed Potato Time," which topped the R&B chart and reached number 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 in June 1962 while selling over one million copies, exemplified this by instructing listeners in the Mashed Potato dance through repetitive, upbeat phrasing and minimalistic instrumentation that prioritized groove over complexity.[31][32] This approach mirrored the Brill Building pop formula, prioritizing commercial viability through simple, fad-aligned lyrics and driving beats rather than technical vocal acrobatics.[25] As her career progressed into the Philadelphia soul era, Sharp adapted to the genre's signature lush, orchestral production, incorporating sweeping strings and sophisticated horn sections that enriched her soulful timbre with emotional depth. Her marriage to Kenny Gamble in the late 1960s facilitated this shift, aligning her output with the smoother, groove-oriented sound of Philly International Records affiliates, as heard in later recordings that blended her rhythmic foundation with layered arrangements.[33] This evolution reflected broader causal trends in urban soul, where danceable energy met polished studio craft, though Sharp's contributions remained adaptive to prevailing production techniques rather than inventive.[34] Sharp's influence extended to female vocalists in R&B and urban genres by modeling the crossover potential of rhythmic soul for pop audiences, evidenced by her string of top-10 Hot 100 hits like "Ride!" (number 5 in 1962) and "Do the Bird" (number 10 in 1963), each exceeding one million in sales.[31][32] However, her innovations were constrained to proficient trend exploitation—capitalizing on dance fads and Philly soul's emergent sound—without pioneering new vocal or production methods, as contemporaneous artists like Chubby Checker similarly drove similar dance records, underscoring her role in amplification over origination.[35]Achievements, Recognition, and Criticisms
Dee Dee Sharp's single "Mashed Potato Time" reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 in June 1962, while "Ride!" peaked at number five later that year, with both tracks selling over one million copies each and earning gold certification from the Recording Industry Association of America.[32] As the first Black female performer to achieve teen idol status on American Bandstand, Sharp played a role in integrating predominantly white teen pop audiences and charts during the early 1960s.[36] She was inducted into the Philadelphia Music Walk of Fame in recognition of her contributions to the city's soul and dance music heritage.[3] Sharp received the Sandy Hosey Lifetime Achievement Award from the Artists Music Guild on November 9, 2013, honoring her sustained impact on recording artistry.[37] In 2021, she was named a Legacy and Lifetime Achievement honoree by the Women Songwriters Hall of Fame for her pioneering work in Philadelphia soul.[38] Her dance-oriented hits continue to garner airplay on oldies and specialty radio formats, sustaining her cultural footprint into the 2020s, and she shared the Blue Sapphire Lifetime Achievement Award with Chubby Checker in an undated ceremony affiliated with music preservation efforts.[39] Critics have observed that Sharp's breakthrough relied heavily on ephemeral dance crazes, rendering her early catalog gimmick-driven and formulaic, as exemplified by the repetitive call-and-response structures in tracks like "Mashed Potato Time" and follow-ups that mimicked the twist and mashed potato fads.[38] This trend dependency contributed to sharper career declines after the mid-1960s dance boom waned, limiting her artistic versatility and pigeonholing her as a teenybopper act amid the British Invasion's shift toward more substantive rock influences.[38]Discography
Albums
Dee Dee Sharp's album output during her early career with Cameo-Parkway Records emphasized quick capitalization on hit singles through themed collections rather than deep album-oriented artistry, resulting in a handful of short-lived releases that peaked commercially alongside her dance crazes but faded with the label's decline by 1967.[40] Her debut, It's Mashed Potato Time (1962), bundled the title track—a number-one R&B hit—with similar upbeat fillers, achieving moderate sales driven by teen appeal. Follow-ups like Do the Bird (1963) and Down to Earth (1962) followed suit, focusing on dance instructions and pop-soul covers, though none sustained long-term chart presence beyond single support.[41] In the 1970s and 1980s, Sharp transitioned to Philadelphia International Records (PIR), where production emphasized sophisticated soul arrangements, yielding Happy 'Bout the Whole Thing (1971, initially on Roulette before associations with Gamble) and the self-titled Dee Dee (1980), the latter featuring disco-infused tracks like "Breaking and Entering" and "Easy Money" that topped the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart for four weeks.[32][42] These releases highlighted PIR's high-fidelity sound but aligned with the era's singles focus, limiting album sales. Later works, such as the gospel-oriented Songs of Faith, reflected personal shifts but garnered niche rather than mainstream attention.[6] Her catalog includes numerous compilations aggregating hits, often reissued by labels like ABKCO, with The Best of Dee Dee Sharp: Cameo Parkway 1962-1966 (2005) compiling 24 tracks from her peak era for archival value.[43] Others, like Cameo-Parkway Sessions (1979), preserved raw session material, underscoring a hitmaker's trajectory over prolific album production.[44]| Album Title | Type | Year | Label | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| It's Mashed Potato Time | Studio | 1962 | Cameo | Debut; tied to #1 R&B single sales. |
| Down to Earth | Studio | 1962 | Cameo | Early pop-soul effort.[41] |
| Do the Bird | Studio | 1963 | Cameo | Dance-themed follow-up.[45] |
| Happy 'Bout the Whole Thing | Studio | 1971 | Roulette | Soul transition album.[46] |
| Dee Dee | Studio | 1980 | Philadelphia International | Dance chart-toppers included.[32] |
| The Best of Dee Dee Sharp: Cameo Parkway 1962-1966 | Compilation | 2005 | ABKCO | 24-track hits retrospective.[43] |
| Cameo-Parkway Sessions | Compilation | 1979 | Parkway | Session outtakes.[44] |
Singles
Dee Dee Sharp's singles discography reflects a brief but intense commercial peak in the early 1960s, driven by Cameo-Parkway Records' promotion of dance-oriented R&B tracks that capitalized on emerging teen dance fads. Her debut major release, "Mashed Potato Time," released in June 1962, introduced the mashed potato dance step and achieved #1 on the Billboard R&B chart and #2 on the Hot 100, remaining on the latter for 18 weeks and earning gold certification for over 1 million units sold.[47][48] This was followed by "Gravy (For My Mashed Potatoes)" in September 1962, which extended the thematic dance motif and peaked at #5 on the Hot 100 and #7 on the R&B chart.[2] Subsequent singles sustained momentum but showed diminishing returns by mid-decade, with tracks like "Ride!" (1963) reaching #2 on some contemporaneous charts per sales data aggregators, though official Billboard peaks were lower outside the Top 10.[31] A notable uncredited vocal feature came on Chubby Checker's "Slow Twistin'" (February 1962), where Sharp's backing contributed to its #3 Hot 100 peak and 14-week chart run, highlighting her role in collaborative dance hits without label billing.[49] By 1966, releases such as "What Color (Is Love)?" failed to crack the Top 40, marking the onset of a commercial decline amid shifting musical tastes away from twist-era novelties.[47] A modest resurgence occurred in the disco era, with Sharp (billed as Dee Dee Sharp Gamble) topping the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart in 1980 via "Breaking and Entering" and "Easy Money," both from her album Dee Dee, though these did not translate to Hot 100 success.[32] Earlier, her 1952 recording of "Be-Baba-Leba" under her birth name Dione LaRue sparked minor precedence disputes, as it followed a prior version by Helen Humes but predated others like Tina Dixon's claim to originality; the track saw limited regional airplay without national charting.[50]| Title | Release Year | Billboard Hot 100 Peak | Billboard R&B Peak | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mashed Potato Time | 1962 | #2 | #1 | Gold certified; 18 weeks on Hot 100; popularized mashed potato dance.[47][48] |
| Slow Twistin' (with Chubby Checker) | 1962 | #3 | — | Uncredited vocals by Sharp; 14 weeks on Hot 100.[49][51] |
| Gravy (For My Mashed Potatoes) | 1962 | #5 | #7 | Follow-up dance track; tied to prior hit's theme.[2] |
| Ride! | 1963 | Outside Top 10 (est. #13-15 per sales) | — | Minor hit with regional dance appeal.[31] |
| Breaking and Entering | 1980 | — | — | #1 Hot Dance Club Play.[32] |