SharBaby
Sharon "SharBay" Newport is a blues singer and guitarist.
Newport grew up in South Bend, Indiana. Her father sang gospel music in local groups and she began singing in public at age 6. The Beatles inspired her to pick up a guitar at age 12, and her father paid for her lessons.
She joined her first touring band, Checkmates Part 2, at age 14, and then formed her own act, the Soul Sensations, a year later. She ended up in Pensacola, Florida, where she settled with her husband, Jim, in 1990. While there, she joined a blues band, the Big Fat Lie.
In 2005 Newport met Alabama blues man Willie King and performed at his Freedom Creek Festival in Old Memphis. She and her husband moved to Alabama where she formed SharBaby and the Rhythm Blues Band. The group has released four well-reviewed albums and played across the United States and Europe. She participates in the Tuscaloosa-based Alabama Blues Project.
In November 2012 Newport was awarded a "Master of Blues" certificate from the Blues Hall of Fame in San Francisco, California.
References
- Prewitt, Nathan T. (January 11, 2013) "Local Birmingham musician inducted in Blues Hall of Fame in San Francisco." The Birmingham News
External links
- SharBaby website