Jones and her band the Dap-Kings makefine ’60s/’70s-rooted soul music, blending the sounds of Motown, Stax andPhilly soul into an irresistible, timeless mix. For some that makes Jonesretro.
“People keep saying that,” she says.“I’m telling you what I keep telling everyone. There’s nothing retro aboutSharon Jones. I was born in 1956. If I was 20 years old, I might be retro. I’ma soul singer. That’s it. You don’t see me trying to be Beyoncé or someone likethat. But I can go out and hang with them. I can throw some soul at them.”
And Jones does plenty of throwing downon her new album, I Learned the Hard Way,a solid follow-up to her superb 2007 album, 100Days, 100 Nights.
Jones hooked up with her backing band,the Dap-Kings, more than a decade ago, but she’d been waiting even longer thanthat for her current breakthrough.
The Georgia-born Jones learned soulmusic growing up in Brooklyn’sBedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood, listening to the radio throughout the ’60s andearly ’70s.
“We only had a couple radio stations;they were AM,” she says. “They played everythingStax, Motown, The Beatles,Johnny Cash. They didn’t have all these soft rock, modern rock, house, all ofthat. For me, it all boils down to R&B, soul, gospel, jazz and blues.That’s all the categories you need, those and pop.”
After graduating from high school, Jonesformed a funky party band called Inner Spectrum, but couldn’t get anythinggoing in the disco and rap eras. To make ends meet, she even worked at New York’s notorious Rikers Islandjail for more than a year.
By the early ’90s, Jones was singingdance music, but her heart was still in the soul she’d embraced 20 yearsearlier.
A musician boyfriend took her along toa session he was doing with The Soul Providers, a funk-soul band. She wassupposed to be a background singer, but she made an impression on Gabriel Roth,the band’s young bassist.
The Soul Providers became theDap-Kings. In 2000, Roth founded Daptone Records and began releasing classicsoul albums, including four with Jones leading the band.
“I’m just so glad I made that decisionto stay with Gabe,” Jones says. “Sometimes you just know. My ex took me thereand introduced me to those guys. Everything in life plays a part. Even thoughhe’s one of those men I may sing about, I did get something out of the deal. Ican sing about him and smile.”
Jones has nothing but praise for theDap-Kings, who she loaned to Amy Winehouse for her Grammy-winning Back to Black album and subsequent tour.
“If we wanted to go into the ’80s, wecould,” she says. “But the main thing is analog and going for that late-’60s,’70s sound. Why do you think Daptone’s records are lasting? We do what we doand don’t change.”
She says her albums work because theband is making records the way they should be made, with analog recording andthe right frame of mind.
“We go in and we have fun,” Jones says.“We write music, stuff we like. We know our fans like what we do. That’s theattitude you should have. Why are you trying to outdo your damned self? Go outand make good music.”
Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings return toMilwaukee for an 8 p.m. show Saturday, May 22, at the Pabst Theater.
