Ken Sharp

Ken Sharp

Ken Sharp is a New York Times Best Selling writer who has authored or co-authored over eighteen music books, contributes to a variety of national music magazines, works on music documentaries and has done liner notes for releases by Elvis Presley, Sly & the Family Stone, Janis Joplin, Small Faces, Santana, Cheap Trick, Raspberries, Eric Carmen, KISS, Hall & Oates, Rick Springfield, The Babys, John Waite, The Guess Who, Jellyfish, Jefferson Airplane and others. He releases power pop albums under his own name and lives in Los Angeles. 

Articles by: Ken Sharp

Bryan Adams studio portrait, 1984

"Monday was Heaven, Tuesday was Run To You, Wednesday was Somebody": Bryan Adams looks back on the miraculous creation of his breakthrough album

By Ken Sharp published

Having paid his dues – and then some – 1984 found Bryan Adams entering a creative purple patch, writing a timeless hit of the future seemingly every single day

Segments of cover art from five essential power pop albums

A beginner's guide to power pop in five essential albums

By Ken Sharp published

Power pop albums for the connoisseur

Cheap Trick in 1979

"We were in debt by about a million dollars. That album saved us from probable obscurity": The story of the Cheap Trick album that transformed their fortunes

By Ken Sharp published

Cheap Trick’s At Budokan is widely hailed as one of rock’s greatest live albums: It was a story of big dreams, hard work and plain dumb luck

The Beatles

"What was really exciting for me was watching Paul's total respect for his band members": Giles Martin tells the inside story of the final Beatles song, Now And Then

By Ken Sharp published

You probably didn’t have a new (and final) song from The Beatles on your 2023 bingo card, but that’s what we got, surprising everybody

Gene Simmons backstage before the final show of KISS: End of the Road World Tour at Madison Square Garden on December 02, 2023 in New York City.

"If you think it’s just about putting make-up on your face and you can have a fifty-year career, boy, are you dreaming": Gene Simmons reflects on 50 years of Kiss

By Ken Sharp published

The Demon reflects on Kiss's 50-year journey from New York City punks to global superstars

Kiss in 1974

“Gene looked like a transvestite, Paul looked like some whore and Ace looked like Shirley Maclaine”: the outrageous story of Kiss’s first 12 months

By Ken Sharp published

Kiss’s farewell tour is fast approaching its end – but this is how it all started, way back in 1973

Kiss in Phantom Of The Park

"We had broads in our trailer. The refrigerator was loaded with beer. We were into coke. We were animals": Why Kiss Meets The Phantom Of The Park was destined to be rock'n'roll's worst movie

By Ken Sharp published

Kiss wanted to be stars of the silver screen as well as the concert stage but they couldn’t act, they had no budget, and Phantom Of The Park went horribly wrong

Angus Young, Malcolm Young, Brian Johnson and Bon Scott onstage

The 50 best AC/DC songs ever

By Fraser Lewry published

From Sydney streets to world domination, AC/DC have never strayed from the path during five decades of unwavering commitment to the cause of righteous rock'n'roll

Tom Scholz headshot with the background of the cover of Boston's first album

"I've spent six months making a recording of a song that I've thrown out" - Tom Scholz on the secrets of Boston's first album

By Ken Sharp published

Driven on by one man’s perfectionism, Boston’s debut took seven painstaking years to complete, yet its creation was inspired by just 20 seconds of music

Kiss in 1976

20 things only Kiss fanatics know about Destroyer

By Ken Sharp last updated

Kiss's most ambitious and celebrated album, Destroyer, celebrated the band as near-immortal, comic book super heroes. Think you know all there is to know? Think again

Gene Simmons in make-up, with a towel over his head

Gene Simmons interview: "How do I say this without sounding inhuman? I don’t have friends"

By Ken Sharp published

We delve deeper into the psyche of The Demon, touching on his teenage years, Kiss’s farewell tour, and mortality

Wicked Lester

Wicked Lester: how Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons failed before the success of Kiss

By Ken Sharp published

Celebrating the "west coast hippy" sound of Wicked Lester, Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons' first attempt at rock'n'roll stardom

George Harrison looking out of a window

How George Harrison made the album that banished The Beatles

By Ken Sharp published

In 1970, George Harrison brought together a Who’s Who of rock to record his masterpiece, All Things Must Pass. This is the story, told by those who were there

The Who in 1967

Songs about body odour and a bath full of beans: The story of The Who Sell Out

By Neil Griffith, Ken Sharp published

The Who Sell Out is A Pop Art album of dazzling music interspersed with radio-style ads and jingles and released in an iconic sleeve: Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey spill the beans

Down To Earth: How Angel Fell From Grace

By Ken Sharp last updated

Onstage illusion! Playboy Bunnies! White spandex! It's been over 40 years since Angel's debut, but whatever happened to the Kiss stable-mates who Gene Simmons refused to share a stage with?

Jimi Hendrix

Jimi Hendrix: the life and times of a genius

By Max Bell, Johnny Black, Rob Hughes, Hugh Fielder, Ken Sharp, Mick Wall, Henry Yates published

Classic Rock talks to Jimi Hendrix's friends, admirers and other musicians about his life and importance

Bob Seger live in Atlanta in 1976

How Bob Seger changed the face of American Music

By Ken Sharp published

Bob Seger spent 50 years chronicling the minutia of the blue collar working man, America's heartlands, and the vagaries of love and in doing so created a world-beating musical legacy

Steven Tyler having his hair and close attended to by two female stylists

Steven Tyler: a little bit country, a little bit rock'n'roll

By Ken Sharp published

Aerosmith’s frontman Steven Tyler is the latest rock star to head to Nashville with new album We're All Someobody From Somewhere