Sharrie Williams (born January 3, 1965) is an American

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...

/soul/

gospel Gospel originally meant the Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words an ...

singer-songwriter.

History

Sharrie Williams grew up in the Daniel Heights Projects of

Saginaw Saginaw () is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the seat of Saginaw County. The city of Saginaw and Saginaw County are both in the area known as Mid-Michigan. Saginaw is adjacent to Saginaw Charter Township and considered part of Greater ...

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. She began singing in the church choir at the age of six, and by the time she was 12, she had begun touring and recording with the Greater Williams Temple church choir. Under the choir directorship of Hubert J. Williams, Williams performed and recorded with

Shirley Caesar Shirley Ann Caesar-Williams (born October 13, 1938), known professionally as Shirley Caesar, is an American gospel singer whose career has spanned seven decades. She has won 11 Grammys in addition to Dove Awards and Stellar Awards; Caesar is kno ...

The Winans The Winans are an American gospel quartet from Detroit, Michigan consisting of brothers Marvin, Carvin, Michael and Ronald Winans. Members ''Please refer to the Winans family page for more detail on the individual members.'' About: Origins & Mus ...

, Dr.

Mattie Moss Clark Mattie Moss Clark (born Mattie Juliet Moss; March 26, 1925 – September 22, 1994) was an American gospel choir director and the mother of The Clark Sisters, a gospel vocal group. She was the longest-serving International Minister of Music for th ...

, and the Reverend

James Cleveland James Edward Cleveland (December 5, 1931 – February 9, 1991) was an American gospel singer, musician, and composer. Known as the King of Gospel, Cleveland was a driving force behind the creation of the modern gospel sound by incorporating trad ...

. In 1993, she toured with Snap Productions in a presentation of Michael Matthews’ gospel stage production, ''I Need A Man''. In 1996, she began singing with the house band at a club in Saginaw named Wise Guys. That house band quickly evolved into Sharrie Williams & The Wiseguys, and she met and later married the owner of Wise Guys, Norman "Pops" Crawford in 1998. Sharrie Williams & The Wiseguys began appearing regularly at renowned

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

blues clubs The Kingston Mines and

Buddy Guy's Legends Buddy Guy's Legends is a blues club in Chicago, Illinois. It was opened in 1989 by blues musician Buddy Guy who still owns the club and who still makes regular appearances, performing a month of shows each January. Legends is one of the few bl ...

. 1998 saw Sharrie Williams & The Wiseguys on their way to Europe, starting with performances in Germany. Williams released her first CD in 2001 under her own Faith Records label, ''Sharrie Williams Live at Wise Guys''. The live recording caught the attention of the

Detroit Music Awards The Detroit Music Awards Foundation is a Michigan 501(c)(3) organization, whose mission is to recognize Detroit area musicians working on a national, regional, and local level. The Foundation supports and nurtures the musical community in Detro ...

Committee, which earned her a nomination for their Best Blues Album of the Year award. By the end of 2003, Sharrie Williams & The Wiseguys had successfully toured France, Italy, The Netherlands, Spain, Africa, Sweden, Switzerland, Canada, and Great Britain. In April 2004, Williams released ''Hard Drivin’ Woman'' on the German label, Crosscut Records. Williams followed up with ''Live at Bay-Car'' (2007), recorded live at the festival in Grande Synthe, France also on the Crosscut label. Studio albums ''I'm Here to Stay'' (2007), and ''Out of the Dark'' (2011), were released on the Canadian

Electro-Fi Records Electro-Fi Records is a Canadian award-winning independent record label founded in 1996, based in Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, which specializes in the release of blues records. History Electro-Fi Records was founded in 1996 by Andrew Gallowa ...

label. ''Out of the Dark'' went on to win Blues Album of the Year Award from the

Académie du Jazz The Académie du jazz (English: Jazz Academy) is a non-profit French association created in 1954, which annually awards the best artists and the best musical productions in the world of jazz. The founding president was violinist André Hodeir follo ...

. Williams was nominated for a

Blues Music Award The Blues Music Awards, formerly known as the W. C. Handy Awards (or "The Handys"), are awards presented by the Blues Foundation, a non-profit organization set up to foster blues heritage. The awards were originally named in honor of W. C. Handy, " ...

in the 'Soul Blues Female Artist of the Year' category in 2012 and in 2009, and was nominated for a Blues Music Award in the 'Traditional Blues Female Artist of the Year' category in 2008. ''JAZZed'' magazine named Sharrie Williams the top 'World Artist' for 2014. Williams has collaborated and appeared with

Buddy Guy George "Buddy" Guy (born July 30, 1936) is an American blues guitarist and singer. He is an exponent of Chicago blues who has influenced generations of guitarists including Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, Jimmy Page, Keith Richards, Stevie Ray V ...

Koko Taylor Koko Taylor (born Cora Anna Walton, September 28, 1928 – June 3, 2009) was an American singer whose style encompassed Chicago blues, electric blues, rhythm and blues and soul blues. Sometimes called "The Queen of the Blues", she was known for ...

Ruth Brown Ruth Alston Brown (; January 12, 1928 – November 17, 2006) was an American singer-songwriter and actress, sometimes referred to as the " Queen of R&B". She was noted for bringing a pop music style to R&B music in a series of hit songs for Atl ...

Mavis Staples Mavis Staples (born July 10, 1939) is an American rhythm and blues and gospel singer, actress, and civil rights activist. She rose to fame as a member of her family's band The Staple Singers (she is the last surviving member of that band). Durin ...

Van Morrison Sir George Ivan Morrison (born 31 August 1945), known professionally as Van Morrison, is a Northern Irish singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist whose recording career spans seven decades. He has won two Grammy Awards. As a teenager in t ...

Dizzy Gillespie John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie (; October 21, 1917 – January 6, 1993) was an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, composer, educator and singer. He was a trumpet virtuoso and improviser, building on the virtuosic style of Roy Eldridge but addi ...

Otis Clay Otis Lee Clay (February 11, 1942 – January 8, 2016) was an American Rhythm and blues, R&B and Soul music, soul singer, who started in gospel music. In 2013, Clay was inducted to the Blues Hall of Fame. Early life Clay was born in Waxhaw, Miss ...

Larry McCray Larry McCray (born April 5, 1960), is an American blues guitarist and singing, singer from Magnolia, Arkansas. Early life McCray, the second youngest of nine siblings, grew up living on a farm.

Sugar Blue Sugar Blue (born James Joshua "Jimmie" Whiting, December 16, 1949, Harlem, New York City) is an American blues harmonica player. He is probably best known for playing on the Rolling Stones' single " Miss You", and in partnering Louisiana Red. T ...

Bobby Bland Robert Calvin Bland (born Robert Calvin Brooks; January 27, 1930 – June 23, 2013), known professionally as Bobby "Blue" Bland, was an American blues singer. Bland developed a sound that mixed gospel with the blues and R&B. He was descr ...

Walter Trout Walter Trout (born March 6, 1951 in Ocean City, New Jersey, United States) is an American blues guitarist, singer and songwriter. Biography Trout's career began on the Jersey coast scene of the late 1960s and early 1970s. He then decided to relo ...

, and

Johnnie Taylor Johnnie Harrison Taylor (May 5, 1934 – May 31, 2000) was an American recording artist and songwriter who performed a wide variety of genres, from blues, rhythm and blues, soul, and gospel to pop, doo-wop, and disco. In 2022, Taylor was ...

. Her influences include

Etta James Jamesetta Hawkins (January 25, 1938 – January 20, 2012), known professionally as Etta James, was an American singer who performed in various genres, including gospel, blues, jazz, R&B, rock and roll, and soul. Starting her career in 1954, sh ...

Tina Turner Tina Turner (born Anna Mae Bullock; November 26, 1939) is an American-born Swiss retired singer and actress. Widely referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Rock 'n' Roll", she rose to prominence as the lead singer o ...

Patti LaBelle Patricia Louise Holte (born May 24, 1944), known professionally as Patti LaBelle, is an American R&B singer, actress and businesswoman. LaBelle is referred to as the " Godmother of Soul". She began her career in the early 1960s as lead singe ...

Aretha Franklin Aretha Louise Franklin ( ; March 25, 1942 – August 16, 2018) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Referred to as the " Queen of Soul", she has twice been placed ninth in ''Rolling Stone''s "100 Greatest Artists of All Time". With ...

, and

Billie Holiday Billie Holiday (born Eleanora Fagan; April 7, 1915 – July 17, 1959) was an American jazz and swing music singer. Nicknamed "Lady Day" by her friend and music partner, Lester Young, Holiday had an innovative influence on jazz music and pop si ...

Discography

As principal artist

*2001 ''Live at Wiseguys'' (Faith Records) *2004 ''Hard Drivin' Woman'' (Crosscut Records) *2007 ''Live at Bay-Car Blues Festival'' (Crosscut) *2007 ''I'm Here To Stay'' ( Electro-Fi) *2011 ''Out of The Dark'' (Electro-Fi)

Collaborations

*2005

''In The House - Live at Lucerne Vol.7'' (Crosscut)

References

External links

Sharrie Williams official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Sharrie American blues singer-songwriters 1965 births Gospel blues musicians Soul-blues musicians American blues singers American women singers Living people 21st-century American women