The Late Sharon Jones is Celebrated “Naturally”

Sharon Jones’s career is a testament to never giving up. Born in Augusta, Jones lived most of her life in the New York area, working as a corrections officer at Rikers Island and as an armored truck guard with Wells Fargo. Her passion, however, was always singing.

For years, Jones fed her love of music by entering in talent shows, singing background on recording sessions, and singing in her church until she found herself singing backup for a Brooklyn-based band called the Soul Providers. She was 40 years old. Eventually, that band would evolve and reconstruct itself around Sharon’s powerful voice and personality, becoming the funk and soul powerhouse Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings.

Over the next 20 years, Jones recorded eight albums, appeared in films, and lit up stages around the world. She also returned to her hometown, buying a house and settling in North Augusta.

She died November 18, 2016, of pancreatic cancer. She was 60.

“She would push the band, then the band would push her and that would lift the audience, creating this avalanche of energy,” said Gabriel Roth, also known as Bosco Mann, founder of the Soul Providers and co-founder of Daptone records. “It wasn’t just about singing. There was something electrifying about her as a person… she was like a superhero”

As her career took off in the mid-1990s, many fans believed her recordings were from the ‘70s, due to Sharon’s soulful sound and the fact that her first record label, Desco Records, did not include a date on its 45s. Like many soul singers and perhaps an homage to her hometown, Jones’s style was reminiscent of James Brown, whom she often cited as a hero and influence. The similarities probably helped fuel the misconception.

Desco Records would eventually fold and make way for Daptone Records, which would go on to produce eight Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings albums. Their sophomore release, “Naturally,” celebrates its 20^th anniversary this year. Daptone Records honoring the occasion with a remastered release - a new vinyl pressing of the original album and a second disc featuring instrumental versions of all ten tracks.

The remastered LPs will come in standard black as well as an indie-exclusive orange opaque and a Daptone-exclusive clear vinyl with orange spatter.

The remastered re-issue of “Naturally” will be available on May 2, just two days before what would have been Jones’s 69^th birthday.