Country music singer Kevin Sharp, who had a string of hits throughout the ’90s, passed away on Saturday evening at the age of 43. Sharp had survived a well-publicized battle with cancer, but was recently hospitalized for 10 weeks until returning home to Northern California last Friday. He died at his mom’s home in Fair Oaks, California due to complications from past stomach surgeries and digestive problems due to his aggressive cancer treatment.
“He had a strong heart, that’s what kept him alive, (but) I’m so happy for him, that there’s no more suffering,” said his sister Mary Huston, who’d been caring for her brother since he returned from the hospital.
Sharp gained fame when his 1996 RIAA Gold Certified album Measure of a Man produced three Top 5 singles on the country chart. “Nobody Knows”, a cover of Tony Rich’s R&B song, reached #1 on the Billboard Country Charts while his follow-up singles “She’s Sure Taking It Well” and “If You Love Somebody” peaked at #3 and #4, respectively. Sharp would release two more albums, 1998’s Love Is and 2005’s Make a Wish, but neither would reach the notoriety of his first.
In addition to music, Sharp became a spokesperson for the Make-A-Wish Foundation to give back to the organization he credits with helping jump-start his career. After being diagnosed with Ewing’s sarcoma, a rare form of bone cancer, in high school, the Make-A-Wish Foundation granted Sharp’s wish to meet Grammy Award-winning music producer David Foster, who gave the aspiring artist valuable advice on the music industry. When not performing on stage, Sharp toured the country as a motivational speaker to talk to audiences about the struggles he faced and how he overcame them. In 2004 he wrote the book “Tragedy’s Gift” about his fight with cancer.
“His dream came true through music, and he touched thousands of lives,” his sister told the press. “He helped heal the soul of people dealing with cancer.”
