Sharon Jones and The Dap-Kings at BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn! Festival

Sharon Jones, RIP

Sharon Jones
Sharon Jones in Prospect Park in June (more by David Andrako & Ryan Muir)

The great soul singer Sharon Jones had been battling cancer and today the Dap-Kings Facebook page has posted the horrible news that Sharon passed away:

We are deeply saddened to announce Sharon Jones passed away today after a heroic battle against pancreatic cancer. She was surrounded by her loved ones, including the Dap-Kings.
Thank you for your prayers and thoughts during this difficult time.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the following organizations:

Cure Pancreatic Cancer – The Lustgarten Foundation

James Brown Family Foundation

Little Kids Rock

Additional memorial details will follow soon.

Daptone Records and Sharon’s publicist meanwhile sent out the same tragic announcement.

UPDATE: Sharon suffered a stroke on Election Day and never came out of the hospital where she was surrounded by her band until the end. She spent her final days singing.

Sharon, who was 60, was billed to play a James Brown tribute in NJ tonight (11/18). She also had holiday shows scheduled for Brooklyn’s Kings Theatre on December 9 and Jersey City’s Loews Jersey Theatre on December 10, though she cancelled her appearance as part of South by South Law in October.

Sharon had been active since the ’90s, and her most recent release was last year’s holiday album. She was also subject of the Miss Sharon Jones! documentary that came out last year. She was still amazing live when we saw her just 5 months ago in Prospect Park.

Rest in peace, Sharon. We’ll miss you a lot.

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