Jones was born in Augusta, Georgia,[7] the daughter of Ella Mae Price Jones[8] and Charlie Jones,[9] living in adjacent North Augusta, South Carolina.[10][11] Jones was the youngest of six children; her siblings are Dora, Charles, Ike, Willa and Henry.[12] Jones's mother raised her deceased sister's four children as well as her own. She moved the family to New York City when Sharon was a young child. As children, she and her brothers would often imitate the singing and dancing of James Brown.[13] Her mother happened to know Brown, who was also from Augusta.[13]
A regular gospel singer in church, during the early 1970s Jones often entered talent shows backed by local funk bands. Session work then continued with backing vocals, often credited to Lafaye Jones, but in the absence of any recording contract as a solo singer, she spent many years working as a corrections officer at Rikers Island and as an armored car guard for Wells Fargo, until receiving a mid-life career break in 1996 after she appeared on a session backing the soul and deep funk legend Lee Fields.[16]
The session was organized by Gabriel Roth and Philippe Lehman, then the owner of the now-defunct French record label Pure Records. Jones was the only one of three singers called to the session to show up. Having completed all the backing parts herself, Roth and Lehman were suitably impressed with her performance and recorded "Switchblade", a solo track with Jones. This track and "The Landlord" were included on the Soul Providers' album Soul Tequila, released by Lehman on Pure circa 1996. The Soul Providers—with members of the Brooklyn bands Antibalas and the Mighty Imperials—later formed the Dap-Kings, who became Jones's regular backing band.[17]
Lehman and Roth started a new label based in Brooklyn, Desco Records, now also defunct. Soul Tequila was re-released as Gimme the Paw, which omitted "The Landlord" but kept "Switchblade". Jones recorded and released three 45-rpm singles for Desco: "Damn It's Hot" part 1 backed by part 2, "Bump N Touch" part 1 backed by "Hook and Sling Meets the Funky Superfly" (a medley cover of tracks by Eddie Bo and Bobby Williams), and "You Better Think Twice" backed by "I Got the Feeling" (a James Brown cover). The singles gained some notice among 45 soul and funk collectors, particularly because in the early days of Desco Records some collectors may have believed them to be originals from the early seventies, as they were not dated. These singles were also released on a compilation CD, the Desco Funk 45' Collection, with tracks by various other artists in the Desco stable. Desco had established a firm reputation among enthusiasts. Desco continued to release 45-rpm singles and also released LPs by Lee Fields, the Sugarman 3, the Daktaris and the Mighty Imperials as well as a further compilation of funk 45s. The Mighty Imperials album was the last release on the Desco label, and Lehman and Roth parted ways in 2000. Lehman started another independent label, Soul Fire Records, now also defunct. Roth went on to start Daptone Records with the saxophonist Neal Sugarman of Sugarman 3.[18]
Daptone Records
Launched on the back of the popularity of Desco Records, Daptone Records' first release was a full-length album by Sharon Jones. A new band, the Dap-Kings, was formed from the former members of the Soul Providers and the Mighty Imperials. Some of the musicians went on to record for Lehman's Soul Fire label, while some formed the Budos Band, an Afro-beat band. From the original Soul Providers, Roth (also known as Bosco Mann) on bass, guitarist and emcee Binky Griptite, percussionist Fernando Velez, trumpet player Anda Szilagyi and organist Earl Maxton were joined by original Mighty Imperials saxophonist Leon Michels and drummer Homer Steinweiss, plus Neal Sugarman from Sugarman 3, to form The Dap-Kings.[19]
In 2015, during an interview with Billboard about her Grammy nomination, Jones discussed her commitment to the Daptone Label, an independent company. She cited artistic freedom and the commitment to the band.[22]
2007: She performed on tour with Lou Reed, although her appearance in The Great Debaters caused Jones to turn down a stint as back-up singer for Reed's fall 2007 live show built around his Berlin album.[17] She performed one song on the David Byrne–Fatboy Slim collaboration, Here Lies Love.[25]
2016: Jones performed "100 Days, 100 Nights" in the closing scenes of the Marvel Netflix TV series Luke Cage. Jones and her band were shown performing live in a Harlem night club central to one of the main story arcs of the series.[30]
Influences
Jones has sometimes been called, especially early in her late renaissance of a career, the Female James Brown.[13]
It was announced on June 3, 2013, that Jones had been diagnosed with bile duct cancer[32] and had undergone surgery, which forced her to postpone the release of the group's fifth album, Give the People What They Want.[33] The diagnosis was later changed to stage II pancreatic cancer, for which Jones had surgery on her liver and underwent chemotherapy.[34] The chemotherapy caused hair loss, and for a time she performed bald, refusing to wear wigs.[35][36]
During the screening of her documentary at the 2015 Toronto International Film Festival,[37] Jones revealed that her cancer had returned,[38] and that she would be undergoing chemotherapy again.[39] She suffered a stroke while watching the 2016 United States presidential election results and another the following day.[40] Jones remained alert and lucid during the initial period of her hospital stay, claiming light-heartedly that the news of Donald Trump's victory was responsible for her stroke.[41][42]