Scott Sharrard
American music courses through Scott Sharrard’s heart and soul. From the farm to the
church and the back porch to the roadhouse, Sharrard makes music that is rooted in the soil.
All of the styles that he cherishes -- rock & roll, rhythm & blues, country, folk, gospel, country, jazz --whisper in one voice, like a sweet-talking lover.
Playing, collaborating, telling stories, connecting with fans: this is what he calls “my happy place.”
“I love being a mentor, a shepherd, a music director,” Sharrard says at his studio on Harlem’s West Side. “The concept of community is magical to me. The rest is just noise.”
“I think of myself as a facilitator, the way Quincy Jones served every artistic situation. He was intuitively guided by the music and that enabled him to capture each artist’s singular vision.”
Since 2019, Sharrard has been the lead singer and guitarist for Little Feat, preserving the magic of the group’s beloved guiding light, the late Lowell George, and reimagining that energy with his own mojo. As a co producer and singer/guitarist/songwriter, Scott has worked on two Little Feat recordings to date. Live at The Ryman (2022) was a riveting, Grammy-nominated PBS special, with star turns from Eric Church, Jamey Johnson, Tommy Emmanuel and Marcus King. and Sam’s Place(2024) received a Grammy nomination for Blues Album of the Year.
Sharrard is also guided by the angels who surround Gregg Allman. Sharrard served as Allman’s music director, band leader and producer for many years; their partnership culminated in the Grammy-nominated Southern Blood in 2017. “My Only True Friend,” an indelible song which Sharrard and Allman wrote for the album, also received a Grammy nomination for Americana Song of the Year.
But Sharrard and Allman were more than collaborators. They were also confidants and best friends.
“Gregg’s spirit is always near to me,” he says.
On Substack, Sharrard celebrates his boundless love for music in “Scott Sharrard’s Endless Road.” The column, which has generated thousands of followers, has helped him to further define his voice as a writer and music historian.
As a guitarist, Sharrard has shared the stage with gurus and gunslingers like Derek Trucks, Warren Haynes, Tommy Emmanuel and Hubert Sumlin. Relix put it this way: “From Manhattan to Memphis to Muscle Shoals and back again, Sharrard has stamped his ticket and his mark on the past, present, and future of record-making in rock&roll.”
Sharrard is extremely passionate about social and political causes; he has the Rolodex and the repertoire to make philanthropic music lovers rejoice. He’s a frequent musical director for charity events organized by Justice Aid, Live Nation and impresario Peter Shapiro.
“Music is the ultimate celebration of community,” he says.
Sharrard is working with a number of artists on their new album projects, which he expects to complete for his Theo Productions company in 2025. His partner in the creative process is longtime collaborator and recording engineer, Charlie Martinez. Their partnership has been flourishing for more than 20 years. Martinez has also worked with such artists as Steely Dan, the Rolling Stones and Little Feat.
“Today’s artists have puzzles to figure out,” Sharrard notes. “They want to write great songs and create great arrangements. They don’t want to make AI music. And that’s my job, to help them chart a path without losing the magic of the tactile, authentic creative process that made all the timeless records we love.”
Sharrard is also turning his attention to film and TV scoring and composition. He points to Robbie Robertson’s collaboration with director Martin Scorsese as a template for his own musical imagination and collaborations in the visual medium. Sharrard scored the third season of the CBS-TV show Walker, Texas Ranger, and he’s excited about a new show in development with reality show pioneer and director C. Russel Muth which explores the connections between food and regional music.
Sharrard enjoys teaching guitar through the intimate Truefire platform, now the world’s largest resource for online guitar instruction. Additionally, he hosts individualized sessions for guitar, songwriting, vocals and record production on Zoom.
Back in the day, Sharrard made three albums as the leader of the Chesterfields, a boundary-busting rock-and-soul band formed in Milwaukee and later based in New York City.
Since then, he’s made six solo albums, including Saving Grace, which was recorded at FAME Studios in Muscle Shoals and climbed the Billboard Blues chart in 2018. The album featured the Swampers and the HI Records Rhythm Section, and Taj Mahal’s standout vocal on “Everything A Good Man Needs,’ which Sharrard composed with Gregg Allman. The music on Saving Grace will always be close to his heart.
“It’s like the old timers say, ‘Take care of the music and the music will take care of you.’”
Sharrard’s most recent solo album, Rustbelt, was released in 2021 and may be his most intimate and personal collection of originals. Backed by Scott’s live band, the project also features his good friends Bill Payne, Charlie Drayton, Catherine Russell and Amy Helm.
“The creative process is my one true obsession,” he reflects. “In my heart of hearts, I’m a collaborator. My favorite day is when I never have to look at the clock in the studio.”
Once upon a time, Sharrard was touted by visionaries like Atlantic Records’ founder Ahmet Ertegun who promised him rock stardom. Older and wiser now, he puts a premium on musical teamwork. His pal and legendary booking agent, Johnny Podell calls him “the Questlove of rock&roll.”
“Johnny’s teasing, of course. But in the service of my life’s goal, he’s not entirely wrong.”
BIO written by Leo Sacks-2025
“One of the best guitarists in the country.”
