Wed 3/27 @ 7PM
The story of soul singer Sharon Jones is both inspiring and heartbreaking. The New York-based vocalist performed around the area and did recording session backing vocals in the ’70s when she was in her late teens and early 20s but mostly had day jobs in corrections and security.
Then in the ’90s, when she was 40 she was “discovered,” and started to release records as a frontperson, backed by various local players. By the early ’00s, she had formed her own band, the Dap-Kings, with a committed label, Daptone Records, releasing her first album in 2002. Seven more, plus two compilations, followed, along with multiple tours and a Grammy nomination for 2014’s Give The People What They Want.
Alas, her final album, 2017’s Soul of a Woman, was released posthumously. Diagnosed with cancer in 2013, it returned in 2016 and she suffered a stroke on Election Day, dying ten days later (She was initially lucid enough to blame the election of Donald Trump for her stroke).
In 2015, documentary filmmaker Barbara Kopple debuted the film Miss Sharon Jones! at the Toronto International Film Festival, following her through her early battle with cancer and reflecting on her interrupted and later-blossoming career.
The film is screening at the Rock Hall as part of its spring film series. Tickets are $5.50.
rockhall-film-series-miss-sharon-jones
1100 Rock and Roll Blvd, Cleveland, OH 44114