The Godmother of Soul

Sharon Jones was a force behind the mic and on stage. Jones recorded six albums with the Dap-Kings, but it was her exhilarating live shows, which functioned as equal parts Baptist church revival, Saturday night juke joint and raucous Las Vegas revue, that showcased the singer’s unparalleled energy.

Sadly, pancreatic cancer took Jones on this day back in 2016 at the age of 60. Today’s Throwback Thursday is a tribute to her.

Sharon Lafaye Jones was born May 4th, 1956 in Augusta, GA. The youngest of six kids, she discovered her love for the stage as a child. Her mother moved the family from North Augusta, SC to Brooklyn to escape her abusive husband, and it was there that Jones began singing in church with her sister Willa.

Jones started numerous funk groups in the 1970s, earning extra money by performing in wedding bands and singing gospel music. But for decades, she had trouble breaking in to the industry. She spent many years working as a corrections officer at Rikers Island and as an armored car guard for Wells Fargo. She was told by producers and others in the music industry that she was “too fat, too black, too short and too old” to find fame. But Jones dreams never went away.

In 1996, Gabriel Roth, current Dap-Kings bandleader and head of now-defunct funk label Desco Records, worked with Jones’ then-fiancé and needed a back-up singer for a few tracks. Jones would record numerous songs as a back-up singer for the label and release “Damn It’s Hot,” her first song as a frontwoman at the age of 40.

After the dissolution of Desco, Roth, alongside saxophonist Neal Sugarman, recruited Jones and the Dap-Kings to record their 2002 debut album Dap Dippin’ With Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings on what would become Daptone Records.

She recorded six stunning albums with the Dap-Kings – their sound was big and booming, mixing soul and gospel and at the center of it all was the voice. That gorgeous, fantastic, soulful voice of the gone too soon, Sharon Jones.