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, Terri Clark, 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, and at the age of 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
coming 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 were featured on Sharp's 2002 album
Maia Sharp on
Concord Records.
[
] Her 2005 album
Fine Upstanding Citizen was released by
Koch Records. 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 songwriter, 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.
Sharp contributed the track "Castaway" to the album Music from the Aisle of Lesbos, an album featuring various lesbian artists from different genres.[
]
Discography
Solo albums
-
1997: Hardly Glamour
-
2002: Maia Sharp
-
2005: Fine Upstanding Citizen
-
2006: Eve and the Red Delicious
-
2009: Echo
-
2012: Change the Ending
-
2015: The Dash Between the Dates
-
2021: Mercy Rising
-
2023: Reckless Thoughts
Collaborations
External links
