Sharon Jones

Known for ActingBorn 1956-05-04Died 2016-11-18Augusta, Georgia, USA

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 Dap-Kings, 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 R&B 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 NYC's 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 bands.From "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 Imperials"s 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 "That's What My Baby Likes". Additioanlly, in the film's 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 Limits"(2008), as well as appearances on "Late Night With David Letterman" (2010) and "The Conan O'Brien Show" on TBS (2010).Read more

Movies & web series

The Wolf of Wall Street

The Chi

Cold Case

Damages

Entourage

How to Make It in America

Tavis Smiley

The Great Debaters

Miss Sharon Jones!

Conan

Late Night with Conan O'Brien

Marvel's Luke Cage

Mavis!

Up in the Air

Buffaloed

So You Think You Can Dance

We Are Many

The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson

Waitress

Saturday Night Live

Men in Trees

Hung

Independent Lens

Radioman

Late Show with David Letterman

Fireflies in the Garden

The Late Show with Stephen Colbert

Living on Soul

Stand Up Guys

Mission: Impossible II

Lucky Them

Queen City

Staten Island

Austin City Limits

The Big Easy

Baby Mama

Ghosts of Girlfriends Past

Late Night with Jimmy Fallon

Good Luck Chuck

The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon

Henry's Crime

Different from Whom?

Young People Fucking

Our Family Wedding

The Cake Eaters

The Ellen DeGeneres Show

Bickford Shmeckler's Cool Ideas

The Queen Latifah Show