New York, N.Y.
The Sharon Jones of Gospel
www.daptonerecords.com/naomishelton.html

Naomi Davis Shelton has recently received praise everywhere – from indie blogs to The New York Times – but perhaps her biggest honor is officiating Daptone patriarch Gabe Roth‘s wedding. It was a fitting way to celebrate her success. Though Naomi Davis Shelton first relocated from Alabama to New York in the late 1950s, the small-framed, gospel singer spent most of her early days playing odd gigs, working as a nanny and, of course, singing in church. On occasion she even left the city for family reasons, but stayed determined to make music – somehow, some way. During her journeys, she also befriended Cliff Driver, a keyboardist who eventually assumed the role of Shelton’s musical director. But it wasn’t until she met Roth at a downtown Manhattan club in the late 1990s that Shelton was able to turn her passion into a career. Roth signed the singer twice: first to his fledging Desco label and later to Daptone Records, which released What Have You Done my Brother. Now, she is poised to be the Sharon Jones of gospel – introducing a new, young, multi-cultural audience to a timeless, retro-sound. “I never gave up,” she says with a smile. “I knew that when it was my time, it would be my time.”