--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When I first played at the Apollo, the…" description: "\"When I first played at the Apollo, the owner didn't even know who Sharon Jones was. The Apollo had never seen so many white people coming uptown.\" — Sh..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/09e/sharon-jones-8033_apollo_when-i-first-played-at-the-apollo-the-ow_2674792.jpg" --- # When I first played at the Apollo, the owner didn't even… ![“When I first played at the Apollo, the owner didn't even know who Sharon Jones was. The Apollo had never seen so many white people coming uptown.” quote by Sharon Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/09e/sharon-jones-8033_apollo_when-i-first-played-at-the-apollo-the-ow_2674792.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/09e/sharon-jones-8033_apollo_when-i-first-played-at-the-apollo-the-ow_2674792.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/09e/sharon-jones-8033_apollo_when-i-first-played-at-the-apollo-the-ow_2674792.jpg) > “When I first played at the Apollo, the owner didn't even know who Sharon Jones was. The Apollo had never seen so many white people coming uptown.” [Sharon Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-jones/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. She felt overlooked despite her talent because the venue’s audience and staff were unfamiliar with her music. **In simple terms:** Talent can be ignored when audiences change. Key Takeaway Seek recognition beyond familiar circles. Themes recognition audience cultural shift Mood reflective hopeful Type observational inspirational When to use this quote - performing at historic venues - marketing to new demographics - building cross‑cultural fanbases Key Concepts music industry racial dynamics Questions to Reflect On - How can artists break through unfamiliar audiences? - What role does venue history play in artist acceptance? A Different Perspective Success may still be limited by entrenched biases. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Apollo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/apollo/) [Apollo Owner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/apollo-owner-2531650/) [Apollo Seen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/apollo-seen-2531651/) [Coming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/coming/) [Even](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/even/) [First](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/first/) [Had](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/had/) [Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jones/) [Jones Apollo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jones-apollo-2531649/) [Know](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/know/) [Many](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/many/) [Never](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/never/) [Owner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/owner/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Played](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/played/) [Played Apollo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/played-apollo-2531648/) [Seen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/seen/) [Sharon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sharon/) [Uptown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/uptown/) [White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/white/) [White people](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/white-people/) [Who](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/who/) ## Related quotes > [I played the Apollo Theatre as a novelty act when I was about eight-nine-10. I'd stand in the wings in case some other act…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/demond-wilson/i-played-the-apollo-theatre-as-a-novelty-act-when-i-was-about-eight/) [Demond Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/demond-wilson/) > [My first hip-hop performance was at Carnegie Hall with Wyclef, ... I got a little feature and he announced me as the 'hip-hop violinist.'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miri-ben-ari/my-first-hip-hop-performance-was-at-carnegie-hall-with-wyclef-i-got-a/) [Miri Ben-Ari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miri-ben-ari/) > [Everybody wanted to play the Apollo and have that on your resume. I played the Apollo up until I was 16 years old. Then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-uggams/everybody-wanted-to-play-the-apollo-and-have-that-on-your-resume-i/) [Leslie Uggams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-uggams/) > [I was very happy to say that I played the Apollo with some of the greats.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-uggams/i-was-very-happy-to-say-that-i-played-the-apollo-with-some-of-the/) [Leslie Uggams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-uggams/) > [My friend Megan Holken is a nutritionist. I have spent some time at her home upstate in Sharon Springs, where she told me how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-jones/my-friend-megan-holken-is-a-nutritionist-i-have-spent-some-time-at/) [Sharon Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-jones/) > [I'm sitting at home every time there's a Grammy. It's like, 'What is Sharon doing tonight?' I'm sitting home watching it. But it's OK.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-jones/i-m-sitting-at-home-every-time-there-s-a-grammy-it-s-like-what-is/) [Sharon Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-jones/) > [She looks uptown, but she ain't really. She's into football, she likes my chili.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-anderson/she-looks-uptown-but-she-ain-t-really-she-s-into-football-she-likes/) [John Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-anderson/) > [Look, did you ask me to come all the way uptown just so you could stare at me like I was something in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/look-did-you-ask-me-to-come-all-the-way-uptown-just-so-you-could/) [Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/) > [I was thinking of the Four Seasons, Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, and when I was thinking "Uptown Girl!" I was trying to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-joel/i-was-thinking-of-the-four-seasons-frankie-valli-and-the-four-seasons/) [Billy Joel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-joel/) > [No one expects a Broadway musical comedy to be in the vanguard of what is bohemian, raunchy, folkloric, academic or aggressively experimental. That is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margo-jefferson/no-one-expects-a-broadway-musical-comedy-to-be-in-the-vanguard-of/) [Margo Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margo-jefferson/) > [Im uptown, thoroughbred, a BX n-gga, ya heard?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cory-gunz/im-uptown-thoroughbred-a-bx-n-gga-ya-heard/) [Cory Gunz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cory-gunz/) > [I don't believe people die. They just go uptown. To Bloomingdales. They just take longer to get back.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-warhol/i-don-t-believe-people-die-they-just-go-uptown-to-bloomingdales-they/) [Andy Warhol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-warhol/) > [Ballin' till my last breath. Uptown, flashy life with my Smith & Wess.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/birdman/ballin-till-my-last-breath-uptown-flashy-life-with-my-smith-wess/) [Birdman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/birdman/) > [And the flavor of Pippa's kiss--bittersweet and strange--stayed with me all the way back uptown, swaying and sleepy as I sailed home on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-tartt/and-the-flavor-of-pippa-s-kiss-bittersweet-and-strange-stayed-with-me/) [Donna Tartt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-tartt/) > [It's a family affair, only the fam here. Whole Harlem, uptown we staying here. Chrome bottles bracelets and chandeliers. No Vado ain't rich, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vado/it-s-a-family-affair-only-the-fam-here-whole-harlem-uptown-we-staying/) [Vado](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vado/) ## More by Sharon Jones > [I'm telling the story, and if I can't tell the story, I'm not going to sing it. And if I don't agree with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-jones/i-m-telling-the-story-and-if-i-can-t-tell-the-story-i-m-not-going-to/) [Sharon Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-jones/) > [I miss my hair, but I feel like going out there with some fake braids wouldn't be right. I want to be the most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-jones/i-miss-my-hair-but-i-feel-like-going-out-there-with-some-fake-braids/) [Sharon Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-jones/) > [I'm blessed to be in an environment where people are sincere.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-jones/i-m-blessed-to-be-in-an-environment-where-people-are-sincere/) [Sharon Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-jones/) > [I'm singing, you know, because I'm happy and I'm free.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-jones/i-m-singing-you-know-because-i-m-happy-and-i-m-free/) [Sharon Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-jones/) > [ We chose it's name \[Give the People What They Want\] a while ago, long before the cancer. But I can't think of a more… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-jones/we-chose-it-s-name-give-the-people-what-they-want-a-while-ago-long/) [Sharon Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-jones/) > [I really can't wait to dance with Ellen DeGeneres!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-jones/i-really-can-t-wait-to-dance-with-ellen-degeneres/) [Sharon Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-jones/) > [Singing is my life. And when I can do that, that's when I'm free. That's when I'm at my happiest, I'm at my most.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-jones/singing-is-my-life-and-when-i-can-do-that-that-s-when-i-m-free-that-s/) [Sharon Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-jones/) > [At first, they told me it was just bile-duct cancer, but once they went in, they removed the gallbladder, the head of my pancreas,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-jones/at-first-they-told-me-it-was-just-bile-duct-cancer-but-once-they-went/) [Sharon Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-jones/) > [Me and the Dap-Kings, the whole band is playing a wedding band in 'The Wolf of Wall Street.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-jones/me-and-the-dap-kings-the-whole-band-is-playing-a-wedding-band-in-the/) [Sharon Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-jones/) > [People buy my albums, and I love my albums when I do them because we try to record live with that same energy, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-jones/people-buy-my-albums-and-i-love-my-albums-when-i-do-them-because-we/) [Sharon Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-jones/) > [In Rikers, you had the Italians over here, the Spanish over here, the Blacks here, then there would be your Christians here and your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-jones/in-rikers-you-had-the-italians-over-here-the-spanish-over-here-the/) [Sharon Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-jones/) > [I often call Daptone the Motown and Stax of today. But in some ways, it's different. At Motown, a lot of the musicians didn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-jones/i-often-call-daptone-the-motown-and-stax-of-today-but-in-some-ways-it/) [Sharon Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-jones/) > [I've got these five-pound weights and a treadmill in the living room. I work out the other parts that have affected my voice: my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-jones/i-ve-got-these-five-pound-weights-and-a-treadmill-in-the-living-room/) [Sharon Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-jones/) > [I chose not to put a wig on. The reason why I chose to come out with the cancer thing is because there's somebody…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-jones/i-chose-not-to-put-a-wig-on-the-reason-why-i-chose-to-come-out-with/) [Sharon Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-jones/) > [God's eye is on a sparrow. And I know - oh, yes, I know he watches over me...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-jones/god-s-eye-is-on-a-sparrow-and-i-know-oh-yes-i-know-he-watches-over-me/) [Sharon Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-jones/) [Explore all 85 Sharon Jones quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-jones/) ## More Apollo quotes > [“I have found it an amusing strategy, when asked whether I am an atheist, to point out that the questioner is also an atheist…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/i-have-found-it-an-amusing-strategy-when-asked-whether-i-am-an/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [Kennedy had made a mess in Cuba at the Bay of Pigs. He had to do something to look good. The Apollo program of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wally-schirra/kennedy-had-made-a-mess-in-cuba-at-the-bay-of-pigs-he-had-to-do/) [Wally Schirra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wally-schirra/) > [Apollo?” I guessed… He put a finger to his lips. “I’m incognito. Call me Fred.” A god named Fred?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-riordan/apollo-i-guessed-he-put-a-finger-to-his-lips-i-m-incognito-call-me/) [Rick Riordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-riordan/) > [As a former Apollo astronaut, I think it's safe to say that SpaceX and the other commercial developers embody the 21st century version of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rusty-schweickart/as-a-former-apollo-astronaut-i-think-it-s-safe-to-say-that-spacex-and/) [Rusty Schweickart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rusty-schweickart/) > [I think if you were between maybe 6 and 16, there was nothing like Apollo, and I wonder if there can be something like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-stern/i-think-if-you-were-between-maybe-6-and-16-there-was-nothing-like/) [Alan Stern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-stern/) > [Apollo was a big, unwieldy vehicle. I had a problem with the flight controllers over that. It would try to fare its way like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wally-schirra/apollo-was-a-big-unwieldy-vehicle-i-had-a-problem-with-the-flight/) [Wally Schirra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wally-schirra/) > [I used to be a street performer, and performances on Venice Beach, it's like playing the Apollo: They let you know if they don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cary-hiroyuki-tagawa/i-used-to-be-a-street-performer-and-performances-on-venice-beach-it-s/) [Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cary-hiroyuki-tagawa/) > [I owe much of my success to Seann Walsh. He kept recommending me for Live At The Apollo until eventually the producers offered me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/romesh-ranganathan/i-owe-much-of-my-success-to-seann-walsh-he-kept-recommending-me-for/) [Romesh Ranganathan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/romesh-ranganathan/) > [A typical smart phone has more computing power than Apollo 11 when it landed a man on the moon.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-gibbs/a-typical-smart-phone-has-more-computing-power-than-apollo-11-when-it/) [Nancy Gibbs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-gibbs/) > [Armstrong, sitting in the commander's seat, spacesuit on, helmet on, plugged into electrical and environmental umbilical's, is a man who is not only a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-mailer/armstrong-sitting-in-the-commander-s-seat-spacesuit-on-helmet-on/) [Norman Mailer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-mailer/) > [Have any of you taken a look out at Greece in the last, say, hour or so? (Hermes) What? Are they reacting to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherrilyn-kenyon/have-any-of-you-taken-a-look-out-at-greece-in-the-last-say-hour-or-so/) [Sherrilyn Kenyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherrilyn-kenyon/) > [“I couldn’t say I was surprised that Apollo hadn’t given me a lot to work on. The jerk was known for delivering little to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-l-armentrout/i-couldn-t-say-i-was-surprised-that-apollo-hadn-t-given-me-a-lot-to/) [Jennifer L. Armentrout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-l-armentrout/) > [“As additional precautions, Kranz requested that a two-hundred-foot radio antenna (called a deep-space dish) in Australia be added to the global network tracking and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-s-f-cooper-jr/as-additional-precautions-kranz-requested-that-a-two-hundred-foot/) [Henry S.F. Cooper Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-s-f-cooper-jr/) > [“He saw her eyes bright as stars; he saw her lips, and was not satisfied with only seeing them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/he-saw-her-eyes-bright-as-stars-he-saw-her-lips-and-was-not-satisfied/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Among the gods, there is a dispute as to which one of them originally thought of Christianity; or, as they call it, the Great…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-holt/among-the-gods-there-is-a-dispute-as-to-which-one-of-them-originally/) [Tom Holt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-holt/) [Browse all 382 Apollo quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/apollo/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "When I first played at the Apollo, the owner didn't even know who Sharon Jones was. 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