Early life and education Sharp began playing the piano from an early age and directed church choirs for her grandfather's and other congregations in her hometown of Philadelphia. She grew up in
North Philadelphia and graduated from
Overbrook High School.
Career When Sharp was thirteen, her mother suffered a car accident, which spurred her to find a singing job to help support the family while her mother recovered from her injuries. After Sharp promised to keep up with her schooling, she received her grandmother's blessing. She was later asked to accompany Checker as his opening act when he was scheduled to appear at the
1962 Seattle World's Fair. "Do the Bird" provided her only entry in the
UK Singles Chart, where it peaked at No. 46 in April 1963. From 1962 to 1981 she appeared several times on
American Bandstand, the ABC Television Network music-performance and dance series hosted by Dick Clark. She was also a regular feature on Clark's
Caravan of Stars tours. Sharp recorded for Gamble Records and
Philadelphia International, and she worked with Gamble & Huff behind the scene at various iterations of
TSOP (The Sound of Philadelphia) Records. As Dee Dee Sharp Gamble, she had a career resurgence during the
disco era and hit the charts again with her version of
10 CC's "
I'm Not In Love." She also joined
Lou Rawls,
Billy Paul,
Teddy Pendergrass,
The O'Jays and
Archie Bell as a member of the Philadelphia International All Stars, who had a minor hit with "Let's Clean Up the Ghetto." In 1980 she spent four weeks at
number one on the
Hot Dance Club Play chart with "
Breaking and Entering" / "Easy Money," from her
album Dee Dee. In 1992, Sharp's 1962 hit "Gravy (For My Mashed Potatoes)" was featured in a scene in the American movie comedy
Sister Act which starred
Whoopi Goldberg. It was also included as part of the film's soundtrack album. More recent appearances included a performance at
Pontins in the UK for the Northern Soul Show, and at the 2008
Detroit Jazz Festival. In May 2009, she appeared in
Belgium at the Salle De L'Hotel de Ville. ==Personal life==