Todd Sharp

Todd Sharp

Sharp began playing guitar when he was eleven years old back in Cleveland Ohio. A son of musical parents, he started gigging just a few years later. In 1975 Daryl Hall & John Oates hired him to play lead guitar. Over the course of the next forty years he has played with Rod Stewart, Fleetwood Mac’s Christine McVie,  Mick Fleetwood and Bob Welch, Danny Douma, Carlene Carter, David Crosby, Richard Marx, Randy Meisner, Billy Burnette, Delbert McClinton, Aussie icon Jimmy Barnes and French legend Eddy Mitchell.

In addition to the bands Todd has been with, he has also worked alongside greats such as Bonnie Raitt, Eric Clapton, Glen Clark, Al Stewart, Rick Braun, Eric Carmen, and Steve Winwood. 

Todd has two solo records to his credit; “Who AM I” (MCA, 1986, prod. Don Gehman), and “Walking All the Way” (WannaPlay, 2002, prod. Sharp, & Stephen Bruton).

Todd’s songwriting achievements include co-writing the top ten hit; “Got a Hold On Me” with Christine McVie (1983), Juice Newton’s “A Little Love” (1984), along with other notable covers by McVie, Mick Fleetwood, Bob Welch, Jeff Healey, Rick Braun and others

Sharp has not only lived a full musician’s life – he has also been into electronics and amplifiers since 1963. Sharp’s Nashville Amplifier Service opened in 1994, providing tone polish for an equally impressive clientele.

 “My approach to guitar amplifiers is primarily as a player first, and manipulator of electrons second. I have been playing rock & roll guitar for more than 40 years. I started playing music when I was about 11 but a few years prior to that I was interested in electronics – ham radio”.  I got my Radio Amateur Operators novice license and built my first transmitter in 1963, when I was seven years old. My father, Fred Sharp was not only a really great jazz player but a man of many other interests including ham radio so I had a great mentor as a young lad and we had a rockin’ radio shack in our basement”. 

I lost interest in electronics when I started playing music but I always tinkered here and there. It was probably that first AC 30 lured me back. Damn thing blew up so often I had to fix it every third time I turned it on”.  Needless to say I have been playing, studying, messing with, in, about, around and all up into guitar amps for a long time and eventually founded Nashville Amplifier Service in 1994. Myself and my expert team have had the pleasure of providing amplifier repairs, restoration and other technical services along with occasional psychological counseling for a great many of the many greats .”

A partial client list:
Jack White/Third Man, Brad Paisley, Steve Wariner, Keith Urban, Vince Gill, Marty Stuart, Kenny Vaughn,  Brad Whitford/Aerosmith, Kings of Leon, Peter Frampton, Willie Nelson, One Republic, Paramour, Dierks Bentley, Black Keys, Rick Vito, My Morning Jacket, Mississippi All Stars, David Rawlings, Phil Keaggy, Gary Talent, Tom Bukovac, Ryan Wariner, Rob McNelley, Ilya Toshinsky, Dan Huff, Mike Campbell/Tom Petty, Shovels and Rope, Sugarland, Hanson, Rich Robinson/Black Crowes, Guthrie Trapp, Joe Don Rooney/Rascall Flatts, Keith Howland/Chicago, 3 Doors Down, Rodney Crowell, Pat Buchanan/Faith Hill, Jimmy Hering/Allman Bros., Hank Williams III, Pat McGlaughlin, Kevin McKendree, Jason Isbell, Danny Flowers, Bob Britt, Bobby Vogel, Reggie Young, Harold Bradley, Tom Britt, James Pennebaker, Billy Burnette, David Grissom, Jeff Senn, Joe Glaser, Steuart Smith/ Eagles, Paul Kennerly, Bobby Bare Jr., Train, Rick Trace, Roy Vogt, Michael Rhodes, Trisha Yearwood, Jim Mayer/Jimmy Buffett, Jedd Hughes, Tommy Malone, Dave Malone, Gordon Kennedy, Angelo Petraglia, Mickey Raphaello, Andy Reiss, Gary Nicholson, Gary Burr, Jim Oblon, JD Simo.
Todd is also an occasional guest author for The Tone Quest Report and Audio Xpress Magazine