![\"M-33-sharon-jones\"](\"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/M-33-sharon-jones.jpg\")
<\/h1>\n<\/h1>\n\u201cI thought I was going to die,\u201d Sharon Jones declares bluntly. The \u00a057-year-old soul dynamo was diagnosed with bile duct cancer just weeks before the release of Give the People What They Want<\/i>, her new album with longtime backing band the Dap-Kings. Everything was put on hold as Jones, who was still mourning the loss of her mother from cancer, underwent a seven-hour surgery and months of chemotherapy for what was subsequently discovered to be stage-two pancreatic cancer.<\/p>\n
Jones is exhausted but perks up when discussing her music, which recalls the golden age of Stax and Motown. Though the album was recorded before her diagnosis, many of the songs now hold new meaning. \u201cWhen I recorded \u2018Retreat!\u2019, I was singing to a man,\u201d she\u00a0says. \u201cNow it\u2019s like I\u2019m telling my sickness to retreat. I\u2019m telling the world\u00a0that I\u2019m back.\u201d\u00a0She struggled when filming a music video for \u201cStranger to My Happiness.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAt first I thought we should have waited until I had my hair back and my chemotherapy port wasn\u2019t sticking out of my dress,\u201d she says. \u201cI felt like a stranger to happiness during the shoot because I didn\u2019t like the way I looked and my body was so weak, but you\u2019ve got to get out there, smile and do your job. I\u2019m glad I did it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jones\u2019 attitude exemplifies her continued dedication to authenticity. \u201cSoul music is about telling stories,\u201d she says. \u201cI\u2019ve got to be able to tell that story, make it sound real, or I won\u2019t sing it. Each time I sing, the song comes more to life for me. I want to get out there and sing these songs, because I didn\u2019t think I\u2019d ever get to\u00a0perform them onstage.\u201d<\/p>\n
While she readies her tour with the Dap-Kings, she refuses to \u201csit at home and hide,\u201d instead watching clips of old performances as inspiration to get back on the road. The hectic schedule of travel and live shows while maintaining a careful diet, medication and exercise regimen is daunting, but as a former corrections officer at New York\u2019s Rikers Island, she\u2019s no stranger to hard work. \u201cI\u2019ve got a lot to do, but everything will be all right,\u201d she says. \u201cIn church, I sing \u2018I don\u2019t believe He brought me this far to leave me,\u2019 and\u00a0I really believe that.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2013Juli Thanki<\/p>\n