The youngest of six children, Sharon Jones was an American soul singer from Brooklyn. Throughout her life she spent a lot of time in the gospel choir at church and did some session work for various artists but never gained any real traction in her music career, leading her to jobs like serving as a corrections officer on Rikers Island as well as an armored car guard for Wells Fargo. Her first big break came in 1996 at the age of 40 years old when was hired as a backing singer for soul legend Lee Fields. From there her career took off, leading her to release seven albums with the Dap-Kings and serving as a pioneer in the 1970’s soul revival movement that took place in the early aughts. Coincidentally her backing band the Dap-Kings were frequent contributors with producer Mark Ranson, and the band supported a large portion of the recording of Amy Winehouse’s magnum opus Back To Black.
Jones unfortunately passed away in 2016 after suffering two strokes following the 2016 Presidential Election, which hastened her demise after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer three years prior. She was only 60 years old. In describing her final days, Dap-Kings primary songwriter described how Jones’ love for gospel music carried her through her final days.
She didn’t seem anxious or scared or anything. She just wanted to sing, you know, and every time there was a lull in the room she would start moaning some kind of gospel song or something and we’d very quietly come in behind her and play guitar.
Even in that state—if you asked her if she was in pain, she couldn’t respond. She couldn’t say one word, or say somebody’s name or anything. But she could find harmony notes with Saun and Starr, and sing three-part harmony and improvise these gospel moans. It was really remarkable, and it was beautiful. I’ve never seen anything like it.
– AV Club
The aptly-titled Soul of a Woman is her final studio album, released posthumously a year to the date following her death. Jones’ soulful croon and strength are omnipresent throughout the record, made even more impressive considering she was growing weaker by the day during these recordings following her cancer diagnosis. Soul music is beloved for its internal strength. And Soul of a Woman is a perfect representation of those traits.
Standout Songs: “Just Give Me Your Time”, “These Tears (No Longer for You)”, “Come and Be a Winner”
