This past spring, Daptone Records had just announced the August release of Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings’ Give the People What They Want when Sharon Jones was diagnosed with cancer. The scheduled release and supporting tours were immediately put on hold and all efforts were quickly shifted to her treatment and recovery. It brings great joy and relief to announce that after a successful operation, ongoing treatment, and the continued support and love of friends, family, and fans, Sharon Jones is back.
Give the People What They Want is scheduled to drop January 14th, 2014, followed by Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings’ triumphant return to the stage on February 6th at the Beacon Theater in New York City, their first show in nearly a year.
For over a decade, the band has traveled the world, blowing minds with their explosive live performances and their raw, hand-crafted studio recordings. While other artists have ridden the crests and troughs of passing fads, Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings have bypassed the hype-and-hit superhighway and taken a detour straight to the hearts and bodies of their listeners, transcending fleeting trends and demographics and delivering a visceral rhythm and soul sound to an ever-expanding base of deeply loyal fans. Give the People What They Want is poised to become not only an iconic album from a prolific band, but a fixture in the canon of Soul Music.
The album lifts off with “Retreat!," an up-tempo stomper with ominous, thundering arrangements, and marches directly into the pulsing Detroit-flavored soul of "Stranger To My Happiness" before easing back down into the mellow feel-good anthem “We Get Along”. Track after track, Give the People What They Want delivers every bit of the unbridled soul and studio acumen that defines this bands’ universally loved sound.
“The entire Daptone Family is overjoyed and inspired to see Sharon’s recovery,” says the band’s bassist and bandleader Bosco Mann. “Without a doubt, this album is the greatest thing we’ve ever recorded and I’ve been anxious for the world to hear it. Everything will culminate in February at the Beacon. That moment when Sharon walks out to join us on stage again is going to be insane.”