I wish I had more to tell y'all about the artist featured in today's post. Sadly, there's no bio information or anything of the sort floating around anywhere where I could find it.
All I was able to drum up was a very generic-sounding blurb from her booking agency.
Observe...
"Sharon Ridley has entertained worldwide for many years. Her performances have taken her to such far off locales as Japan, Russia, Belgium, Switzerland, and the USA gambling meccas of Las Vegas and Reno. Her performance style is smooth and sophisticated, and she captures the hearts of audiences wherever she performs. She is a musical delight."
It's really a cryin' shame that this woman has managed to deliver one the most beloved and hard-to-find singles of it's kind and nothing more about her is out there than that. Seems par for the course I'm afraid, even going back thirty years, there wasn't even a decent shot of Ms. Ridley on her own album cover. No inner sleeve, no line notes....nuthin'. Hell, it wasn't until I stumbled across the agency photo that I even knew what she looked like.
Sharon's single, "Changin'" was a staple at the famed Paradise Garage nightclub when legendary DJ Larry Levan would play the track as the night's closing song. The white label, promo-only extended mix of "Changin'" (mistakenly listed in the deadwax as "Changes") is highly sought after and commands obscene prices.
Ladies and Gentlemen, I bring you Ms. Sharon Ridley and her 2nd full length album released in 1978 on Clarence Avant's Tabu label, Full Moon.
All I was able to drum up was a very generic-sounding blurb from her booking agency.
Observe...
"Sharon Ridley has entertained worldwide for many years. Her performances have taken her to such far off locales as Japan, Russia, Belgium, Switzerland, and the USA gambling meccas of Las Vegas and Reno. Her performance style is smooth and sophisticated, and she captures the hearts of audiences wherever she performs. She is a musical delight."
It's really a cryin' shame that this woman has managed to deliver one the most beloved and hard-to-find singles of it's kind and nothing more about her is out there than that. Seems par for the course I'm afraid, even going back thirty years, there wasn't even a decent shot of Ms. Ridley on her own album cover. No inner sleeve, no line notes....nuthin'. Hell, it wasn't until I stumbled across the agency photo that I even knew what she looked like.
Sharon's single, "Changin'" was a staple at the famed Paradise Garage nightclub when legendary DJ Larry Levan would play the track as the night's closing song. The white label, promo-only extended mix of "Changin'" (mistakenly listed in the deadwax as "Changes") is highly sought after and commands obscene prices.
Ladies and Gentlemen, I bring you Ms. Sharon Ridley and her 2nd full length album released in 1978 on Clarence Avant's Tabu label, Full Moon.
You know the drill by now, Full Moon has long been on the OOP list, but you can sometimes get a copy on the cheap here.
Featured cut: "Changin'"
Listen to the full album here.
6 comments:
Thank you. I love "Changin'" Never heard the whole album.
Changin' is a CLASSIC! I am so shocked that there is absolutely nothing on the web about her.
Thanks for another great post.
Hello,
just some info. Sharon has released some singles on the "silver blue" label in the early 70s which belonged to van mccoy before releasing an album on sussex. On it there is this nice track: "Where did you learn to make love the way you do" - http://soul-stew.de/realaudio/Learn.mp3
Cheers
Martin
Thank you SO much! Searched for this forever...
Many years ago, a friend gave me this album. It is still pristine in its original jacket. One of the best and we used to listen to "Changin" around 7AM at "The Saint" in New York. I've always wondered why she has kept such a mysterious and low profile!
Mike in Erie, Pa.
This is my mom.... I cannot believe that people search for her this way... It would make her very happy to know.
Post a Comment