Sharon Jones: Biography

• Overview
• Discography
• Biography
• Related Artists

• Spanky Wilson
• The Budos Band
• Orgone
• Black Joe Lewis
• The Bamboos
• Poets of Rhythm
• Eli "Paperboy" Reed

• Gabriel Roth
• The Baby Loves Jazz Band
• Nouvellas

• The Baby Loves Jazz Band

Born:

Jan 1, 1958 in Augusta, GA

Genres:

R&B and Soul Music, Contemporary R&B Music, Funk Music, Rock Music, Soul Music

Decades Active:

1990's|2000's

Artistic Quality

Low

Cultural Impact

Low

Ratings Guide

Although singer Sharon Jones first began attracting attention during the late '90s, her smoky, soulful voice and blistering grooves harked back three decades earlier to the heyday of funk, evoking the music of James Brown protégés like Marva Whitney and Lynn Collins with uncanny precision; not surprising, given that the veteran Jones was well into her 40s by the time she began earning wide recognition. Born in 1956 in Brown's own hometown of Augusta, GA, Jones spent her childhood shuttling between the South and New York City, where she attended school. She honed her talents singing in the church choir, and from the age of 14 onward played the organ at Queens' Universal Church of God each Sunday, a tradition she continued even after her recording career took off years later.

For years a sought-after session vocalist who headlined a number of dance records under the alias Miss Lafaye, Jones finally garnered notice from the dusties crowd upon signing to New York retro-funk label Desco, issuing a series of underground funk favorites including "Damn It's Hot," "Switchblade," "The Landlord," "You Better Think Twice" and a version of the J.B.'s "I Got the Feelin'." After Desco dissolved in 2001, Jones christened the new Daptone label with the single "Got a Thing on My Mind"; backed by the company's house band, the Dap-Kings -- bassist/bandleader Bosco "Bass" Mann, drummer Homer "Funky-Foot" Jenkins, guitarist Binky Griptite, conga player Bugaloo Velez, trumpeter Anda "Goodfoot" Watkins, organist Earl Maxton, tenor saxophonist Otis Youngblood, and baritone saxophonist Jack Zapata -- she released her full-length debut, Dap-Dappin' With Sharon Jones the Dap-Tones, in the spring of 2002.

- Jason Ankeny, All Music Guide