Sharon Paige Wadsworth was born into a Canadian Air Force family, middle of five children and, as is true of most RCAF families, they moved around a lot, eight times in her case, including Trenton, Ottawa and finally Courtenay BC. Her parents listened mostly to country music, such as Jim Reeves, Patsy Cline, Loretta Lynn and Hank Williams. Her mother played piano and grandfather played fiddle. Sharon's older sister, Vicki, was an influence on her listening as a teen, Beatles, Everly Brothers, Hollies, harmony rock and Sharon also liked Suzi Quatro as a strong female lead who played bass. Her Dad gave her a guitar and she taught herself folk oriented songs. After graduating from UVIC, Sharon and a friend spent a summer travelling in Europe and on her return she moved to Victoria. In the mid 70s, she met John Fisher and they became a couple. John was teaching himself guitar, having long experience on bass and Sharon started playing bass. She said, "I really wanted to be involved in music. If my partner was playing, I knew I wanted to be playing with him." Soon they formed Honey Bee, an excellent blues band that also featured Derek Walsh on vocals and harp. New at the time, Sharon said, "I knew nothing about playing with a drummer." Bass players Sharon was influenced by included John (obviously), Jack Bruce, Rolling Stones, Muddy Waters, Hound Dog Taylor, Brewer Phillips, Willie Dixon and Duck Dunn. "I liked the old raw authentic blues". Over time, Honey Bee morphed into Off The Wall and finally Elmore's Bar & Grill. In Elmore's, Sharon started singing some songs too. Her preference ran towards more girly voiced singers than belters, as suited her voice, twangy country, Memphis Minnie, Marcia Ball, Lou Ann Barton and Sue Foley. The band gigged constantly, even though Sharon and John both had full-time jobs and two children! They were busy!! Some of their gigs included UVIC, the Barbary Coast, The Fernwood Inn (where they hosted what became a very long running and popular jam), Hermann's, Steamers, Bartholomew's, JBI, Central Bar & Grill and lots on gulf islands and around the island. Sharon was very involved in the booking and organisation of the band, jams and notably the 16 year run of R&B Festivals which were hugely successful, raising money for charity, notably the NEED Crisis Line. After John passed in 2017, Sharon fronted her own band called SP & Johnny's Rhumba Kings with Dave Harris and Charles Gates, in memory of John. She was also involved in the very successful run of gigs as The Hip Shake Collective at Cup of Joe, McDonald Park and Ross Bay Pub. She often played washboard in those gigs, or sang and played bass. Elmore's Bar & Grill carried the torch for the blues throughout their career, notably in the '90s and 2000s. She is "The First Lady of Victoria Blues"!!
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