Country Update

BILLBOARD COUNTRY UPDATE JANUARY 9, 2017 | PAGE 19 OF 19
CODA
20 Years Ago
Everybody
Knew
Kevin Sharp
The Tony Rich Project’s take on
“Nobody Knows” pushed it to
become Sharp’s sole No. 1 hit
On Jan. 11, 1997, Kevin Sharp
began a four-week reign on
Billboard’s Hot Country Songs
chart with “Nobody Knows.” Prior
to Sharp’s country version, the ballad
had become a No. 2 Billboard
Hot 100 pop/R&B hit a year earlier
for The Tony Rich Project.
Sharp also collected two more top
10s — “She’s Sure Taking It Well”
(No. 3) and “If You Love Somebody”
(No. 4) — in 1997. All three
songs were from his debut LP, Measure
of a Man, which peaked at No. 4
on Top Country Albums. It has sold
762,000 copies in the United States
to date, according to Nielsen Music.
In the 1980s, while Sharp was in
high school, he was diagnosed with
Ewing’s sarcoma, a rare form of bone
cancer. He entered remission after
receiving two years of chemotherapy
and radiation. Producer David Foster
later became a friend and mentor
to Sharp after they met through
the Make-a-Wish Foundation; Sharp
eventually served as a spokesman
for the charity and wrote the inspirational
book Tragedy’s Gift (2004).
Sharp died on April 19, 2014, at age
43, due to complications from past
surgeries and other issues stemming
from his aggressive cancer treatment.
—JIM ASKER
REWINDING
THE
COUNTRY
CHARTS
Sharp poses during an
interview in Nashville,
Sept. 25, 1996.
AP PHOTO/ MARK HUMPHREY