Kevin Grant Sharp was an American country music singer, author, and motivational speaker. Sharp came on the country music scene in 1996 with his first single "Nobody Knows", which topped the Billboardcountry chart for four weeks. The same year, Sharp released his first album, Measure of a Man. Having survived a rare form of bone cancer in his teenage years, Sharp became actively involved in the Make-A-Wish Foundation. He wrote an inspirational book about his life and his fight with cancer, and occasionally toured the United States as a motivational speaker.
Biography
Early years
Sharp was born in 1970 in Redding, California. When he was seven years old, his family moved to Weiser, Idaho, to open a restaurant. Sharp performed in local musicals in high school, and stayed active in music after his family moved to Sacramento, California, in 1985. Starting in 1989, he began to experience dizziness and fatigue. While still a high school senior, he was diagnosed with Ewing's sarcoma, a rare form of bone cancer. The cancer had already spread to his lungs and he was given little chance of recovery. Through the Make-A-Wish Foundation, which grants wishes to children with life-threatening illnesses, Sharp met the record producerDavid Foster, with whom he soon became friends. After two years of chemotherapy and radiation treatment, when still in his early 20s, the cancer went into remission by the early 1990s, although he permanently lost all of his hair as a result of the radiation treatment.
Musical career
After remission, Sharp worked at Great America in Santa Clara, California, while working on a demo tape, which he sent to various talent shows, and later to David Foster. Foster introduced him to A&R representatives and, by 1996, Sharp was signed to Asylum Records. His first album, Measure of a Man, was released in September 1996. The album's first single, a cover version of the R&B artist Tony Rich's "Nobody Knows", spent four weeks at number one on the BillboardHot Country Singles & Tracks chart. He became a spokesperson for the Make-A-Wish Foundation, and was awarded the foundation's Wish Granter of the Year award, in 1997. He was named New Touring Artist of the Year by the Country Music Association and nominated for Top New Male Vocalist award by the Academy of Country Music. In 1998, Sharp collapsed backstage at the TNNMusic City News Country Awards, and was rushed to the hospital for emergency surgery, due to problems with steel rods in his hip. As a result, he had to cancel several tour dates. Measure of a Man produced two more top 10 country singles, "She's Sure Taking It Well" and "If You Love Somebody". However, the album's fourth single, "There's Only You", only peaked at No. 43. His second album, Love Is, released in 1998 on Elektra/Asylum, failed to produce any successful singles, and Sharp was eventually dropped from Asylum's roster. Sharp continued to perform as a musician, as well as a motivational speaker, and was also a spokesperson for the Make-A-Wish Foundation. Sharp wrote a book, Tragedy's Gift, and published it in 2004. His third album, Make a Wish, was released on the independent Cupit Records label in 2005, although none of its four singles charted.
Death
Sharp died on April 19, 2014, at the age of 43, due to complications arising from past stomach surgeries and digestive issues.
