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When Sharon Jones met Prince

Prince surprises Sharon Jones on stage
Prince surprises Sharon Jones on stageChaine de alphanaphtol/YouTube

by Lou Papineau

February 01, 2017

We lost two incredible legends in 2016, but as many reported after Sharon Jones passed in November, she and Prince had a couple of meetings back in 2011.

In March of 2011, Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings were invited to open for Prince at Madison Square Garden after he saw them in action at SXSW in Austin TX. Prince told her, " 'Girl, you took me to church,' " Jones recalled." That was my first 'I don't know what to do with myself' moment."

Three months later, in June of 2011, both the Dap-Kings and Prince were in Paris, Prince surprised the band onstage while Jones and the Dap-Kings were performing "When I Come Home." He appears at about 6 minutes and 45 seconds in.

"He caught me off guard. He would've played longer, but he dropped his pick."

"[He]... jumped back on his bike, and rode back to his own, purple dressing room," Jones told Entertainment Weekly.

This February, The Current is celebrating Black History Month by celebrating four artists chosen by our listeners. We'll be playing their music on the radio and sharing features online. For the first week, we're featuring the late Sharon Jones.