Sharon Jones and The Dap-Kings

Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings
Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings pictured in 2015
Background information
Origin	Brooklyn, New York, United States
Genres	Funk, soul, R&B
Years active	1996–2016
Labels	Daptone
Associated acts	Mark Ronson & The Business INTL, Antibalas, The Budos Band, Amy Winehouse
Website	SharonJonesAndTheDapKings.com
Members	Binky Griptite David Guy Bosco Mann Neal Sugarman Joe Crispiano Fernando Velez Homer Steinweiss Cochemea Gastelum Saundra Williams Starr Duncan-Lowe
Past members	Sharon Jones (deceased) Leon Michels Earl Maxton Anda Szilagyi Todd M. Simon Thomas Brenneck Ian Hendrickson-Smith

Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings were an American funk and soul band signed to Daptone Records. They are spearheads of a revivalist movement that aims to capture the essence of funk and soul music as it was at its height in the mid-1960s to mid-1970s. In December 2014, the band was nominated for their first Grammy, in the category Best R&B Album of the Year for Give the People What They Want.

The original incarnation of the band, the Soul Providers, were formed in the mid-1990s by Philip Lehman and Gabriel Roth, AKA Bosco Mann. The Soul Providers began recording an album consisting of James Brown inspired instrumentals and vocal collaborations with Deep Funk recording artist Lee Fields. During these sessions Roth and Lehman discovered vocalist Sharon Jones after she recorded backing vocals for a Fields track. They were impressed enough to record a solo track with Jones entitled "Switchblade", a track that had originally been intended for a man to record. This track along with another Jones solo, "The Landlord", were included on the Soul Providers debut release Soul Tequila, released circa 1996 on the French label Pure Records (defunct). Lehman and Roth then started a new label in Brooklyn, New York. Desco Records was born taking its name from Desco Vacuum, a vacuum cleaner store in West 41st Street underneath which they utilized the basement as studio space and an office to administer and distribute the label. Sugarman 3 organist Adam Scone just happened to live upstairs in the same building. The Soul Tequila album was then reissued as a vinyl only LP renamed Gimme The Paw. The record, which featured Lehman's pet dog Spike on the cover, only kept one of the Sharon Jones collaborations, "Switchblade", omitting "The Landlord".

Having established a scene in New York of performers, Desco aimed to showcase a stable of artists with revue style shows and concentrated on releasing vinyl 45-rpm records by a number of artists, including Sugarman 3, the Daktaris, the Mighty Imperials, Naomi Davis & the Knights of 41st Street, Lee Fields, Joseph Henry and Sharon Jones, backed by the Soul Providers who had become the Desco house band, released three 45s for the label. Desco Records were gaining intrigue and reputation for quality amongst soul/funk collectors and enthusiasts. Many people who bought the early records were unsure that they were modern recordings as recording dates were deliberately omitted from the labels and were often marketed as being released in the 1970s. Two other Soul Providers albums were released, an instrumental soundtrack to a mysterious Sam Lung kung-fu film, The Revenge of Mr Mopoji, credited to Mike Jackson and the Soul Providers, and a solo album by Lee Fields, Let's Get a Groove On, for which the Soul Providers provided the backing.