Dee Dee Sharp - What Kind Of Lady
  • 6 years ago
This is another performance filmed for my now legendary documentary, "The Strange World Of Northern Soul". I filmed and interviewed over three hundred people and 131 artists performing their Northern Soul classic songs, for a six disc DVD box set extravaganza, called "The Strange World Of Northern Soul", with twenty four hours of footage, including some rare footage of the Motorcity reunion. The project started in 1997, was released on VHS tape and premiered to 1300 people at the King George's Hall in Blackburn in July 1999, then took four more years to refine and re-edit into its DVD release in 2003. A life's labour of love. And here, filmed in Philadelphia, is Dee Dee Sharp herself. She was born Dione LaRue, on the 9th September 1945, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Dee Dee is a classic soul and R&B singer who began her career recording back-up vocals in 1961. In 1962 she began a string of very successful Billboard Hot 100 Top 10 hits: "Slow Twistin'" (with Chubby Checker) (#3), "Mashed Potato Time" (#2), "Gravy (For My Mashed Potatoes)" (#9), "Ride!" (#5) and "Do the Bird" (#10). In 1967 she married record producer Kenny Gamble and has since recorded under the name Dee Dee Sharp-Gamble. She had a brief career resurgence during the disco era: as a member of the Philadelphia International All Stars (which also included Lou Rawls, Billy Paul, Teddy Pendergrass, The O'Jays and Archie Bell) she had a minor hit with "Let's Clean Up the Ghetto." In 1981 she spent four weeks at number one on the Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart with "Breaking and Entering" / "Easy Money" from her album Dee Dee. It was a true honour to film such a legendary lady for our documentary, back in early 1999.