Biography
Sharon Redd maintains an enduring association with Prelude Records, the New York imprint responsible for some of the era’s most exhilarating dance releases spanning the close of the 1970s and the opening of the 1980s. Across three albums issued by the label she accumulated numerous club successes that disco and house selectors have long enshrined as staples, treating that period with lasting respect. Even as disco receded in the early 1980s, Redd and comparable artists sustained its momentum while steering the style toward greater emphasis on structured, song-oriented R&B.
Before stepping forward as a solo performer, Redd—daughter of a King Records staff member, stepdaughter of a musician who worked with Benny Goodman, and sister of a Kool & the Gang songwriter—had already engaged with theater. Lead parts in a 1970s Australian staging of Hair and a U.S. production of The Wedding of Iphigenia brought her initial prominence. Subsequent visibility arrived via a widely seen Shaffer Beer advertising campaign that in turn secured background-vocal work alongside Bette Midler. Additional sessions followed with Carol Douglas, Bonnie Raitt, Gwen McCrae on “Love Insurance,” and Norman Connors on “You Are My Starship,” paving the way for a Prelude solo contract by decade’s end. The albums Sharon Redd (1980), Redd Hot (1982), and Love How You Feel (1983) appeared in rapid succession. Although none of her singles registered strongly on the R&B charts, club play proved far more receptive, with “Can You Handle It,” “Never Give You Up,” “Beat the Street,” and “Love How You Feel” receiving repeated spins.
Following her third and last Prelude release Redd reduced her activity to sporadic session contributions. A brief return yielded one additional solo single in 1991, after which no further notable recordings emerged. She died from pneumonia-related complications on January 5, 1992. Unidisc has maintained her catalog on CD, while several anthologies have likewise kept her recordings available.
Before stepping forward as a solo performer, Redd—daughter of a King Records staff member, stepdaughter of a musician who worked with Benny Goodman, and sister of a Kool & the Gang songwriter—had already engaged with theater. Lead parts in a 1970s Australian staging of Hair and a U.S. production of The Wedding of Iphigenia brought her initial prominence. Subsequent visibility arrived via a widely seen Shaffer Beer advertising campaign that in turn secured background-vocal work alongside Bette Midler. Additional sessions followed with Carol Douglas, Bonnie Raitt, Gwen McCrae on “Love Insurance,” and Norman Connors on “You Are My Starship,” paving the way for a Prelude solo contract by decade’s end. The albums Sharon Redd (1980), Redd Hot (1982), and Love How You Feel (1983) appeared in rapid succession. Although none of her singles registered strongly on the R&B charts, club play proved far more receptive, with “Can You Handle It,” “Never Give You Up,” “Beat the Street,” and “Love How You Feel” receiving repeated spins.
Following her third and last Prelude release Redd reduced her activity to sporadic session contributions. A brief return yielded one additional solo single in 1991, after which no further notable recordings emerged. She died from pneumonia-related complications on January 5, 1992. Unidisc has maintained her catalog on CD, while several anthologies have likewise kept her recordings available.
Albums
