Sharon Jones was surrounded by loved ones at a Cooperstown, NY hospital for most of the last week of her life.
In a new interview with the Los Angeles Times, Dap-Kings member Gabriel Roth said that fourteen members of the group and their crew spent most of the last week with Jones and were there when she passed on Friday
While Jones had been battling pancreatic cancer, her health took a turn for the worst on election night when she has a stroke while watching the returns. Roth said “She told the people that were there that Trump gave her the stroke.”
The stroke left her unable to walk and, the next day, Jones had a second stroke which stopped her from being able to talk or respond; however, she was still aware of her surroundings and hummed along when the band played.
Binky [Griptite, a Dap-Kings member] started to play the guitar and she started humming along. It was kind of remarkable. She was just moaning at first, and then she was moaning in tune and then she started following chord changes and pretty soon she was humming “His Eye on the Sparrow” with him.
We all just kept playing and singing with her, and little by little over the next couple of days she actually started moving her mouth and started singing lyrics. She just wanted to sing these gospel songs.
Every time we’d stop, she’d just keep singing — “Amazing Grace” and “Go Tell It On the Mountain,” “This Little Light of Mine.” We just stayed with her and sang with her and played music with her.
She still couldn’t talk, and couldn’t answer questions, but that part of her that’s singing, that part of her that made music and that loved music and that was musical just didn’t want to go. It was just so strong.
