Maia Sharp

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.

from Wikipedia:

Maia Sharp is an American singer and songwriter. In addition to her solo career, she has written songs for and collaborated with several country and pop musicians including Cher, Trisha Yearwood, Bonnie Raitt, Edwin McCain, and Art Garfunkel.

Early life

Sharp was born in the Central Valley in California, the only child of country songwriter Randy Sharp and anthropology professor Sharon Bays. When she was four, the family moved to Los Angeles. When she was five she recorded her first song. By the age of twelve she played piano, saxophone, oboe, and guitar, and by her twenties she was performing her jazz/folk songs in L.A. acoustic venues. Musically, she was inspired by Bonnie Raitt, Joni Mitchell, Jackson Browne and Sting. Sharp studied music theory at California State University, Northridge and began to focus on song-writing. She came out as a lesbian at the age of 23.

Career

Sharp played her first gig in 1993. Two years later, she met music executive Miles Copeland and recorded her debut album, Hardly Glamour (1997), on his record label Ark 21. Her next album Tinderbox failed to be released when Ark 21 was incorporated into PolyGram. Three of its songs featured on Sharp's 2002 album Maia Sharp on Concord. Her 2005 album Fine Upstanding Citizen was released by Koch. 2009's Echo, released by Crooked Crown, is, according to Sharp, her most personal album to date.

During her career, Sharp has collaborated with other musicians including Lisa Loeb, Carole King, Jules Shear and Jonatha Brooke. As a song-writer, her songs have been recorded by musicians including Cher, Kim Richey, Amanda Marshall, Paul Carrack, Edwin McCain, The Dixie Chicks, Trisha Yearwood and Kathy Mattea. She collaborated with Art Garfunkel and Buddy Mondlock on the 2002 album Everything Waits to be Noticed, Garfunkel's debut as a songwriter.

Sharp contributed the track "Castaway" to the album Music from the Aisle of Lesbos, an album featuring various lesbian artists from different genres. In 2009 Sharp opened for Bonnie Raitt on several dates. She started a national concert tour in October 2009.