On November 18, legendary soul-funk singer Sharon Jones passed away after battling pancreatic cancer with her head held high. For a woman with such spunk, a voice so incredibly bold, and a born-for-the-stage personality, she kicked off her career fairly late: her first album was recorded in the mid-90s, when she was 40 years old. Her vocal career began with singing gospel in church, a background that tends to bode well for a singer’s future. She was born too late for the soul wave of Otis Redding, Aretha Franklin, and Etta James, from whom she clearly drew influence.
Jones not only preserved the deep female vocal soul sound, but picked up on more underlying, less-clear aspects of the genre. For example, Jones’ “Money” clearly has a blues-waltz beat parallel to that in Etta James’ “I’d Rather Go Blind.” She carried that generation’s legacy well, keeping the genre alive. She’s also been known as the female James Brown for her role as a leader in soul-funk, and, of course, her stage personality, always proving ownership of her music in her dancing. She combined this old-school soul with James Brown’s funk, and then added some Tina Turner–like notes of pop, creating an undeniably original sound.
Last year, a documentary entitled Miss Sharon Jones! premiered, beautifully illustrating her confrontation of her pancreatic cancer, from which over 90 percent of patients die within five years of diagnosis. The documentary didn’t ignore Jones’ human reactions to her condition, but overwhelmingly it showed a woman of great strength, high spirits, and compassion—a lover of life. In the documentary, Jones describes her breakthrough, how she had been shut down time and again by the industry; a producer explicitly told her she was “too fat, too black, too short, and too old,” which briefly deterred her, but shortly thereafter she rose as a star, bringing back a sound that the nation needed.
It’s heartbreaking that Jones was so ignored for so long, only to be taken by cancer after a few short decades of stardom. But even in her illness, the stage was her safe place. The documentary includes footage of Jones performing at the Beacon Theater in New York during a short period of relative health in the midst of chemotherapy treatment. With not a hair on her head, she looks as sharp as ever in a sequined gold dress. It was as if she were free from illness, dancing like never before, joking with the audience, owning the stage.
Miss Sharon Jones was a gem. She was persistent, she was selfless. She had a gift, and she gifted it upon us all.
Sharon Jones
4 May 1956 – 18 November 2016
For the upcoming holiday season, check out Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings’ 2015 album It’s a Holiday Soul Party, and for every day of the year, their cover of “This Land is Your Land.”