Dee Dee Sharp

Dione LaRue (born September 9, 1945), known professionally as Dee Dee Sharp, is an American R&B singer. She was one of the first Black female teenage pop stars to achieve mainstream national success in the early 1960s.

At the age of 16, Sharp achieved her breakthrough with the duet "Slow Twistin'" alongside Chubby Checker in 1962. Her debut single "Mashed Potato Time" (1962) reached No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 and sold more than one million copies. She followed it with several additional top 10 hits, including "Gravy (For My Mashed Potatoes)" (1962), "Ride!" (1962), and "Do the Bird" (1963). A frequent performer on American Bandstand, Sharp also appeared on Dick Clark's Caravan of Stars tours. She later had dance hits with the songs "Share My Love" (1975) and "Breaking and Entering" (1981).

Dee Dee Sharp was born Dione LaRue in Philadelphia on September 9, 1945. She began playing the piano from an early age and directed church choirs for her grandfather's church and other congregations in her hometown. She grew up in North Philadelphia and graduated from Overbrook High School.

When she was 13, her mother was seriously injured in a car accident. After overhearing her grandparents discuss the severity of her mother's injuries, Sharp decided to find work to help support her family. With her grandmother's approval—on the condition that she continue her education—she answered a newspaper advertisement seeking a singer who could sight-read music, play piano, and sing. Sharp was hired by gospel singer Willa Ward Moultrie, who employed her as a backing vocalist. Soon, Sharp began recording with artists including Lloyd Price, Bobby Rydell, Frankie Avalon, and Jackie Wilson while continuing to attend school.

By 1962, singer Chubby Checker had become Parkway Records' biggest star, having charted nearly twenty singles in his first two and a half years with the label, and popularizing the twist dance craze. According to Sharp, Checker discovered her while she was providing backing vocals during one of his recording sessions and recommended her to Bernie Lowe, head of Cameo-Parkway Records. Seeking to extend the success of his dance-oriented recordings, Sharp was paired with Checker o a recording. The result was a duet, although Sharp was not credited on the original single release. Released in February 1962, "Slow Twistin'" entered the Top 10 within three weeks.

Biography summary from English Wikipedia, photograph via Wikimedia Commons.