Sharon Jones

Sharon Lafaye Jones May 4 1956 November 18 2016 was an American soul and funk singer She was the lead singer of Sharon Jones The DapKings a soul and funk band based in Brooklyn New York Jones experienced breakthrough success relatively late in life releasing her first record when she was 40 years old In 2014 Jones was nominated for her first Grammy in the category Best RB Album for Give the People What They Want Born Sharon Lafaye Jones in Augusta Georgia she moved to New York City at an early age With a gifted voice performing gospel songs in Church since childhood she has only recently received acclaim by the public and her peers in the areas of Soul Funk and Rhythm and Blues Until the late 90s she was still employed at her day Job as a Correction Officer at NYCs Rikers Island Initially a backup session singer she impressed Record Executives and Producers Gabriel Roth and Philip Lehman when she was the only one to show up for a recording session and demonstrated her ability to sing on several different backup tracks Sharon Jones and The Dap Kings were formed In 2002 They were comprised of Sharon Jones backed by members from three bandsFrom The Soul Providers Bosco Mann on bass guitarist Binky Griptite percussionist Fernando Velez trumpet player Anda Szilagyi and organist Earl Maxton They were joined by The Mighty Imperialss saxophonist Leon Michels and drummer Homer Steinweiss plus Neal Sugarman from Sugarman 3 As Sharon Jones and The Dap Kings the band has released several critically acclaimed albums including Naturally 2005 and I Learned the Hard Way 2010 A milestone in her career occurred in 2007 when she appeared in the film The Great Debaters where she played Lila and sang Thats What My Baby Likes Additioanlly in the films soundtrack Sharon performs the Gospel classics Up Above My Head and Two Wings This film appearance along with the soundtrack music introduced Sharon to a much larger audience Her subsequent TV appearances with The Dap Kings include a spirited mini concert on Austin City Limits2008 as well as appearances on Late Night With David Letterman 2010 and The Conan OBrien Show on TBS 2010