Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings

Even without a boost from Amy Winehouse, 2007 was a major turning point in the career of Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings. The jubilant 100 Days, 100 Nights brought the soul revivalists a worldwide audience and led to multiple festival appearances and television gigs.

"I knew I was going someplace 14 years ago when I took a chance with these guys," acknowledges the 53-year-old Jones from her home in Queens. "I knew we had something different. We had a goal to keep the old soul and funk alive, and that's what we've done. But one of the biggest things for the Dap-Kings was winning that Grammy with Amy Winehouse. That was a very big deal. It opened the door a little bit in the mainstream."

Since then, Jones has kicked that door wide open, tossing off her shoes and even performing her trademark rain dance on Austin City Limits. In April the group releases its fourth album, I Learned the Hard Way. It expands the Dap-Kings' sound but stays gutbucket, which audiences crave. "One of the songs, 'The Game Gets Old,' has more of a Philadelphia sound," Jones explains. "We have a more orchestrated sound, with strings. There are different guys in the band writing. I even wrote a song. It didn't make the album, but you may have heard it for Christmas – 'Ain't No Chimneys in the Projects.'"

Most recently, Jones shared the mic with Canadian pop star Michael Bublé on Saturday Night Live. They made an odd couple for sure, but after previously working with artists as varied as David Byrne, They Might Be Giants, Rufus Wainwright, and Lou Reed, Jones has proven that she thrives in a collaborative setting.

"Yes I do," she affirms. "It catches people off guard, because I want them to know I do a lot of stuff. I love doing my funk stuff with the Dap-Kings, but there's room for something different."