About Dee Dee Sharp
Dione LaRue (born September 9, 1945), known professionally as Dee Dee Sharp, is an American R&B singer. She was one of the first Black female teenage pop stars to achieve mainstream national success in the early 1960s. At the age of 16, Sharp achieved her breakthrough with the duet "Slow Twistin'" alongside Chubby Checker in 1962. Her debut single "Mashed Potato Time" (1962) reached No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 and sold more than one million copies. She followed it with several additional top 10 hits, including "Gravy (For My Mashed Potatoes)" (1962), "Ride!" (1962), and "Do the Bird" (1963). A frequent performer on American Bandstand, Sharp also appeared on Dick Clark's Caravan of Stars tours. She later had dance hits with the songs "Share My Love" (1975) and "Breaking and Entering" (1981). According to Sharp, Chubby Checker discovered her. Both "Mashed Potato Time" and "Ride!" each sold over one million copies, and were awarded gold discs. "Do the Bird" provided her only entry in the UK Singles Chart, where it peaked at No. 46 in April 1963.
Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.