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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, Rovi
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