IN LOVING MEMORY
Sharon Redd
October 19, 1945 - January 5, 1992
The Harlette Years (1973-1978)
In 1972, Bette Midler needed a new set of Harlettes, as her first backup singers (namely, Melissa Manchester) had moved on, seeking greener pastures. In 1973, Sharon, along with Charlotte Crossley & Ula Hedwig became Harlettes. Their first LP appearance as Harlettes, was the "Bette Midler" LP, which was released in November, 1973 & was a top 10 LP on the Billboard Album Chart. Sharon's first tour as a Harlette was "The Divine Miss M Tour, which ran from January to December of 1973.
If you can find any Playbill Magazines of 1973's "Divine Miss M Tour", or "1975's "Clams On The Half Shell Tour" on ebay, I suggest that you pick them up, as that is where I got much of this information from, as well as a couple of nice pictures of Sharon. Sharon & her fellow Harlettes, received much acclaim from both fans & critics alike. In short, they made their mark. They were beautiful & they were sassy. Most of all, they were extremely talented.
Sharon was also featured on Bette's, "Songs For The New Depression" LP. The LP was released in January, 1976 & was a top 40 LP on Billboard's Album chart. The tour to support the LP
was called, "The Depression Tour" & ran from December 1975 to 1976. There was a video filmed during this tour.
The long out-of-print video, "The Bette Midler Show", was filmed for HBO & directed by Tom Trbovich. It was made in 1976 & distributed by Embassy Home Entertainment. In the video, Sharon along with future group members Ula Hedwig & Charlotte Crossley, back the "Divine One" through an 80 minute Live concert, filmed in Cleveland.
Other notable TV appearances from Sharon's stint as a Harlette included an appearance on The Tonight Show in September 1973 & Bette's December 1977's TV Special, "Ol' Red Hair Is Back". which aired on NBC.
During Sharon's years as a Harlette, she made contributions to several hit records, as a session singer. Some of the albums that she sang backup for were: Bonnie Raitt - "Streetlights" (1974), Boz Scaggs - "Silk Degrees" (1976), Carol Douglas - "Full Bloom" (1977), Gwen McCrae - "Love Insurance", Norman Connors - "Saturday Night Special" & "You Are My Starship" (1977) & "Tea Dance" (1977) by D.C. LaRue of "Cathedrals" fame.
In June of 1977, Sharon was again featured with The Harlettes, on Bette's "Live At Last" LP. This would prove to be The Ladies last LP recorded with Bette. In November of 1977, Bette went on the road with her "An Intimate Evening With Bette" Tour. This tour would prove to be Sharon's final tour as one of Bette's Harlettes.
In 1977, Sharon, along with Charlotte Crossley & Ula Hedwig released a 12 ", "Now (Sweet Lover Man)"/"Can't Dance (Dance, Dance, Dance)", which made a little noise in the Disco circles, but that was about it.
In January of 1978, while still on tour with Bette, The Harlettes were featured prominently during a show at Boston's Paradise Theatre. The girls were preparing to spread their wings & performed a 30 minute opening act on the show, in support of their lone LP, "Formerly Of The Harlettes, which had recently been released.
At this point, Sharon & The Harlettes were now on their own. They were now officially, Redd, Hedwig & Crossley - "Formerly Of The Harlettes".
NEXT - "FORMERLY OF THE HARLETTES"
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