Interview: Radio Royalty Sharpe Dunaway talks about ROCKSTARS and brushes with Greatness

Arkansas is saturated with an abundance of talent, whether it be on a theatrical stage, a concert hall, or on the radio. Quite often the talent overlaps from one avenue to the next. This can be said about Radio Royalty Sharpe Dunaway. Though he has switched from radio to videography (you know....video killed the radio star- Trevor Horn, Geoff Downes and Bruce Woolley ca. 1979), Sharpe has a lot of history when it comes to Arkansas entertainment. Broadway World’s favorite MC Blake Woodson sat down with Sharpe to reminisce about all of the Rockstars he has met over the years, but first we wanted to know how he got into videography.  

“I got into videography, because I saw too many potential clients get turned away from radio due to budget. I wanted to be the answer to that,” Sharpe said. “What started out as mainly a small business marketing thing, quickly grew into music videos, wedding films, aerial photos and videos and more. I’ve always said that being your own boss is truly the only way to realize how much you are worth. If you’re not hustling, you ain’t worth nothin’.” To check out what Sharpe Video Productions can do for you, visit his website at https://sharpevideoproductions.com. 

When not shooting videos, Sharpe can be found keeping the beat with several equally talented musicians. Broadway World has had the privilege to catch Sharpe in action behind the drums at previous engagements, and he is definitely worth the cover charge and more. To catch a glimpse of this amazing talent, there are three chances coming up shortly:

•  August 25-Dirty Lindsey at TC’s Midtown Grill in Conway 
• September 2-Ryan Harmon Band opening for Royale Lynn at Brookstock Events in Dover  
• September 29- Ryan & Sharpe duo show before the fireworks in Guy  

Broadway World would like to thank Blake Woodson for entertaining us and for his contribution to keeping music venues filled.  

The following interview was submitted by Blake Woodson

Have you ever met a real rock star? There are some who have met several and their stories about those encounters are sometimes wild and sometimes crazy but almost always very interesting. I love hearing those stories. Who better to hear those stories from than one of the best radio personalities and band members in Central Arkansas? I am sitting down with Sharpe Dunaway, former Magic 105 Radio Personality, to have him share some of his favorite memories of his encounters with those that most of us will never have the opportunity to even be in the same room with.

 Originally from St. Louis, Missouri, Sharpe Dunaway was hired to be a Radio Personality at Magic 105 by the Arkansas Radio Legend Tom Wood in 1988. He spent over 25 years  on the air, and became a huge name in Arkansas Radio during hie time with Magic 105 and The Point 94.1. You can still hear people telling Sharpe all the time that they listen to him every day on Magic 105, even though he has been off the air since 2014.  

When not on the radio, Sharpe can be found being a DJ and drummer. He has been in bands starting in 1985 in St. Louis, with The Frustrated and then 3 Dude. After moving to Arkansas, Sharpe was in many more bands including 2 Much TV, Screaming Santas, Red Light District, Captain Mindjive, The Blue Meanies, Sharpe Dunaway and The SP (Super Pimp) Allstars w/Darren Barry and Forrest Williams, Sharpe Dunaway and the Blue Meanies, Dirty Lindsey, and The Ryan Harmon Band. As a drummer, Sharpe’s bands have opened for some of the greats like Alice Cooper, Peter Frampton, Blue Oyster Cult, Bret Michaels, Tommy Shaw/Jack Blades, Great White, Eddie Money, Warrrant, Blackfoot, Blackstone Cherry, and more. Sharpe has even turned down opening for some great bands, most notably, Lynyard Skynyrd. In his defense, the gig was in Popular Bluff, Missouri, and while he was extremely honored to have been asked, he felt his band at the time was just the local DJ’s band and would not have gone over well outside of Central Arkansas.

 With this Rock Industry resume, it is safe to say that Sharpe has had more than his share of encounters with Rockstars. Let’s see if my begging and bribes for Sharpe to share his stories has paid off. 

Blake: Ok Sharpe, first question: Which rock star was the nicest that you have ever met?  

Sharpe: That's a trick question. It's funny how famous people can be just a little friendly and people think they are the coolest person on the planet, because we prepared ourselves for them to be a d**k! The absolute nicest rock star I ever met is a tie between Bret Michaels (frontman of rock band Poison) and Rudy Sarzo (bassist for several bands including Quiet Riot, Ozzy Osbourne, Whitesnake, Manic Eden, Dio, Blue Öyster Cult, Geoff Tate's Queensrÿche, Devil City Angels, and the Guess Who). I've met Bret several times and he's so outgoing and grateful for what he has. He’s not taking anything for granted and genuinely appreciates and respects his fans. Rudy Sarzo was being interviewed by Carole Kramer on the afternoon of a Whitesnake concert at Barton. I bibbity bopped into the studio to grab the Magic 105 van keys. Carole filled me in that I didn't get the promotion I wanted. All the air and happiness left me for a moment. Rudy came over and put his hand on my shoulder, said "I'm sorry man." You know, he didn't have to do that. It was so simple, but I won't ever forget it.  

Blake: For me the nicest was Loretta Lynn. I so wanted her to be my grandmother.  

Blake: Who was the worst?  

Sharpe: I've only kicked one band out of the studio for being jerks- Steve Gorman and Audley Freed from the Black Crowes. I had been with my pregnant wife at the hospital since 3am that day and then came in and did my afternoon drive show. I found out two members of The Black Crowes were coming in for an interview. I was exhausted, and I accidentally called Steve, Scott. I'll be nice and just say he didn't forgive me, and the interview sucked. I asked them to leave.  

Blake: Ouch, the worst for me was a tie between Gretchen Wilson's mom and David Draiman of Disturbed. They both thought they were better than everyone and were totally disrespectful.  

Blake: Any surprise meetings?  

Sharpe: What do you mean by that? Surprise meetings?  

Blake: Like for me, I met Jason Alexander at the movie theater where I worked. I would have never imagined him being there, so I thought he was just a look-a-like until someone asked what it was like to wait on him. I know he is not a rockstar, but have you had any unexpected run-ins?  

Sharpe: My friend Ty Sims and I were in Las Vegas in 1997 walking through the mall at Caesars Palace, and we randomly stopped and talked with Kevin DuBrow from Quiet Riot. You can meet these people when they are in "Rock Star Mode" but catching them in the wild is quite different. I also met Tim Conway at Doe's Eat Place at the Isle of Capri Casino. Yep, I was that guy that came over to his dinner table. But I followed the BIG rule...NEVER do this when they are actually eating. 

 Blake: That's so cool. Any meetings that just absolutely blew your mind. Those you can't stop telling the story about?  

Sharpe: EDWARD VAN HALEN!  Blake: Tell me about that encounter. 

 Blake: And does that mean you were on real first name basis with EVH? (Everyone calls him "Eddie" except for Sharpe Dunaway who has the privilege of calling him "Edward". Lol)  

Sharpe: HAHA! 

 Sharpe: The year was 1991, Van Halen was touring in support of For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge. Carole Ferrer, Gary Bunn, and I took Magic 105 listeners back to meet Van Halen at the Pyramid in Memphis. It would be the only time I got to meet them. The moment the band walked out, I fangirled like crazy. Thinking everybody was going to bumrush Sammy and Eddie, I decided to walk over to Alex and struck up a short conversation. During this quick convo, I got tapped on my shoulder. Since I was talking to Alex I said hang on a sec. Alex peeked over my shoulder with a puzzled look on his face. Turns out Eddie tapped me on the shoulder. I froze, turned around and there was Eddie...waiting his turn. lol I know that sounds horrible, but it gets better. I started fumbling for words and finally shook his hand and said... DO YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE? Did you tap me on the shoulder? Turns out Eddie was wanting to say hi to everybody in the short time we had. The thrill of shaking his hand was so great that I gripped his hand tighter than normal. Eddie grimaced like he was in pain. I FREAKED! I said to myself...there are over 15,000 at the Pyramid Arena about to kill me because I just broke Eddie Van Halen's hand. Eddie shook it off and reached out for another handshake. He proceeded to give me his best grip. All that went through my mind was... I'm trading grips with Eddie Van Halen! This is the greatest day of my life!   

Blake: Do you have any treasured memorabilia from any rock stars that you would never part with? 

 Sharpe: Yes! I've never been much of an autograph guy but this one is special. All five members of Aerosmith plus John Kolodner. Any rock fan that doesn't know who John Kolodner is might wanna Google it. This hangs in the stairway leading up to my studio. It's framed and I have no idea how I collected so many guitar pics. It wasn't a planned collection. I've got pics from KISS, Van Halen, Zack Wylde, Ted Nugent and others. Also, some concert tickets were stuffed into that frame, including two tickets to the ill-fated Lynyrd Skynyrd show at Barton as the plane crashed two days earlier. I have the advanced ticket and the "Day Of Show" that obviously was never released to the general public.

Blake: And the Gold Record from Trans Siberian Orchestra, Jeff Allen would be proud.  

Sharpe: Yes, Jeff is quite a super fan of theirs for sure.  

Blake: What Rock stars phone numbers do you have in your phone? I know you have some.

  Sharpe: Besides yours, I have Jim Dandy, The late great Sweet Connie, Terry Glaze (Singer for Lord Tracy and original singer for Pantera), and KISS' manager Doc McGhee to name a few.  

Blake: LOL!!! Mine? Now that is funny. I would LOVE to have Doc McGhee's number. To Name a few? Lucky man. I hope you don't get any calls from Sweet Connie. If you do, don't answer.  

Sharpe: She was such a sweet lady until ya p***ed her off.  

Blake: Did you ever p*** her off?  

Sharpe: I did an impersonation of her voice on the air quite often. She told me she doesn't sound anything like that. I said I was over-animating it. It had a very Gilbert Gottfried sound to it. She had a great sense of humor about it. 

 Blake: Yes she did. 

 Blake: Did any Rock Stars make you star struck?  

Sharpe: Besides Eddie...it had to be meeting KISS in full makeup with my daughters. I swear that was so surreal to me. Like walking into a cartoon.

  Sharpe: OK...and getting to have a nice in-person conversation with Chuck Berry was awesome. I was cool on the outside, but on the inside, I knew I was speaking to rock royalty...and his hooker. 

 Blake: Tell everyone the Chuck Berry story. You've told me once and it's a really cool story. Do you mind sharing it?  

Sharpe: In short..  I was standing outside of his trailer chatting with the security guard. I mentioned growing up in the Central West End of St. Louis just a couple of blocks from where Chuck owned a house on Windermere. Next thing I know I hear a voice come out of the trailer..."I want to talk to that guy"! 

 Blake: Who would be on your bucket list to meet that you have not yet met?  Wait, before you answer that, what did you two talk about?  

Sharpe: Mostly St. Louis and the beautiful homes found in the Central West End. Chuck's house burned to the ground, so it's no longer there.  

Blake: That's so cool. Ok, now, who would be on your bucket list to meet that you have not yet met? 

 Sharpe: The only member of Van Halen I haven't met is David Lee Roth. Other than him, Ringo Starr.  

Blake: Ringo Starr is coming to Simmons Bank Arena on October 12th. Maybe someone reading this can make that meeting happen....not me, but maybe someone can. 

 Sharpe: That would be nice! Ringo looks great for his age, but with Covid restrictions, I'm not going to hold my breath on that happening.  

Sharpe: Bands I regret never seeing...RUSH, The Cars, The Police, and The RAMONES. OH ...and Triumph.  

Blake: I know you are currently working on the book, "Chance Meetings with Greatness by Greatness" but are there any other experiences you would like to share with everyone to get them excited about the book's release? Lol, any other moments you think would be cool to share? 

 Sharpe: Wait...I'm writing a book? Wonder what else I do in my sleep. Cpaps are awesome!  

Blake: LOL! Ok, if there are not any other moments that you would like to share....  

Sharpe: Tons I’d love to share. Few I want to type.  

Blake: Thank you for taking the time out of your busy day to share some of the stories about your brushes with Rock Stars. I'm sure Jeff Allen will be calling you or texting you to "Jeff Allen" you on this interview. You know he will. We will be watching for the release date of your book.  

Sharpe: Me too. 

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