Last year Sharrie Williams and the Wise Guys dashed over from Holland to play at the Colne Festival, their first time in the UK. While they were waiting to check into their rooms at The Store Trough, singer Sharrie Williams graciously talked to Blues in Britain’s Fran Leslie about her roots and her album "Hard Drivin' Woman", The Great British R&B Festival at Colne. Photos: Ian Williams.

I was raised in the Church, for most singers, the music comes from the Gospel. My dad sang, my mother sang, my brother sang. My aunts, they liked jazz. My grandmother was a jazz lady. So it worked together, through the family.

I grew up in the Sunshine Band; the Purity Class and all of those little groups had bands. The Sunshine Band would be from zero through something like five or six. Then (I joined) the next group. The Purity Class was like, my teenage years from through sixteen. Then you'd go to the adult group. I was the youngest kid in the adult choir because my voice was so developed. I was a child touring with the adult choir at sixteen.

My husband and I have a barbecue grill, blues club and catering service, in Saginaw, 100 miles from Detroit, Michigan. It's a little bitty town surrounded by a bunch of water. It's a little chilly there but we have some great country there. It has beautiful hills. So I do have a catering business. I do the music because I love it. You have to love it to not have sleep and not get paid what you should. My husband is a chef. I'm a chef. When I'm home, and I feel like it, I cook. But if I don't feel like it I don't

I pray, I fast. Recently I lost 40lbs. I eat half, try to stay away from junk foods. It's really hard, on the road, because the guys really love the burgers and it's a quick fix. I've Pietro who is my piano player, who’s my “food police”. He’s always watching my food. It’s hard but I’ve been doing really good.

The album is called “Hard Drivin’ Woman” on CrossCut Records (2004). It’s a great CD. I am excited about it. It’s my first “major” label. I have three other CD’s but this one is on a “Major” label. I did fourteen tracks (with collaborators). One track is not mine, “I’d Rather Go Blind” (attributed to Billy foster & Ellington Jordan). Etta James, that’s my favourite girl! My mum loved that song. I lost my mother three years ago. I did “My Best Friend’s Gone” on my CD. That’s about my mum. I lost my sister nine months ago now. So on the next CD I’m doing a song called “Warrior Child”. She fought so hard to live. I took care of her for eleven months, every day. Now she’s in heaven with my mum. Then my career just started moving so fast. I guess my angels are upstairs watching me.

The title song just came up. I wrote it with Noel Leaman, a guy from Saginaw, and, for me it has a double meaning. Hard driving on the stage or the car; lots of energy, just pumping all the time. Then I kind of have a lift from when I’m driving. I got road rage.

Then we have “Crazy For You”; 'Travellin' “ which is about touring all over the world. I’m blessed to go to different countries. So I’m shaking trees and chasin' dreams. “Blues Lover” is about another blues artist. We had this strong attraction for one another. We know that we can’t, because we are both married and so we won’t do that but we’ll be in love through the blues. The songs are real! “I’ll Give You Me” is not a real traditional blues song. It’s more like a ballad. It’s about giving yourself. A lot of times, I find people to be bitter, some people are looking for something and I’ve been through depression. I’ve been physically abused and all those things that don’t make you feel great about yourself, so to come out of it is like joy for me and I want to make sure somebody else feels that same joy. So I wrote the song: “I’ll Give You Me”, my joy, peace, my smile is free. It won’t cost you a dime to just put a smile on your face. You might change somebody’s spirit you know. Yesterday, I saw that the crowd was just so (moved). God was there, you could feel the presence. People were crying. It was really good just to give. A lot of times people just don’t want to give themselves, because we are selfish. “Selfish” is on here too. I choose to be selfless. A lot of times I’m tired because I give everything.

I call my girlfriend when the show is over, “OK deposit something in me! Deposit something!” She’s a minister, so she prays with me. She talks to me. “Just You And Me”, that’s about you and me, I tell the people that there are two things in this world that’s for sure, God created you and me, and together we can make the world go round. (Sings a bar or two) And you know the people really want to dance. Then there’s “The Glory Train” and “Gospel Blues”. There you have it.

In the band, this is Pietro Toucher, he’s the keyboard player. The musical director is James Owens the guitarist. Marco Franco is the bass player. Sterling Brooks is the drummer. Everybody is from the Detroit area except Pietro; he is from Italy. He comes over to the States when we work on the album. He speaks Italian, French and understands Spanish a little. We’ve just been in Holland, France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Sweden, Switzerland. I’m going to Norway and Denmark, I think, in October and some other countries. And I think Franck is working on a tour of Japan and Hawaii. I like Sushi. Frank is my manager. Frank is beautiful. I met him in Utrecht. He was retired from working with bands. He says “You know, there’s only one band in this world that can make me come out of retirement. I looked at him and I batted my eyes, and I said, (putting on the sweetest voice) “Would that be me?” and he said, “Yes!” (laughing). I said, “Well, tell me what you can do for me!” He named lots of countries and I said, “Tell you what, write them down!” He’s a great, great guy. He goes above and beyond the call of duty. It makes it easier for us. He wants to make sure we are happy. Lots of time you find agents and managers, they work for the money. We work for the love of the music and to bring something to the stage for somebody’s soul. Our souls need healing.

By Fran Leslie in Blues in Britain Vol. 1 Issue 34 (Summer 2005)

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