It's safe to assume that Sharon Jones is cooler than you. The current queen of neo-funk/soul grew up in Macon, Georgia and Brooklyn, singing in church before ending up doing session work in the '70s as the anonymous vocals on dance and disco records. Without a solo contract of her own, she left the industry and took odd jobs like corrections officer at Rikers Island and Wells Fargo armored car guard.
Fate intervened in the late '90s, when she was called in to sing back-up at a studio session for '70s soul legend Lee Fields. That recording session got her back in the game, and ultimately resulted in the formation of Jones' horn-heavy backing band, the Dap-Kings, born from the ashes of a couple defunct soul groups. So far, Ms. Jones and the Dap-Kings have put out three albums on Daptone Records, all of which have gotten rave reviews. Lately, the Dap-Kings have played with Amy Winehouse (that's them on "Rehab"), Lily Allen, and Ghostface Killah, while Sharon has lent her voice to projects for Lou Reed, Rufus Wainwright, and They Might Be Giants (natch). Plus, she's got a part in the upcoming Denzel Washington film The Master Great Debaters. Mama's got pipes, acting chops, and dance moves to spare.
Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings play Neumo's on Saturday night. The 21+ show is beyond sold out (not even Craigslist can help you), so we can't get you in either. However, Seattlest does have two copies of the band's latest album, 100 Days, 100 Nights, to give away. Just fill out the form below for your chance to win. No worries: Your info is safe with us and will not be shared with advertisers and/or the government, yadda yadda yadda. We'll be drawing two winners Monday at 10am.
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