James Cotton Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids James Cotton
Cotton in 1981
Background information
Birth name	James Henry Cotton
Born	(1935-07-01)July 1, 1935 Tunica, Mississippi, U.S.
Died	March 16, 2017(2017-03-16) (aged 81) Austin, Texas, U.S.
Genres	Blues Chicago blues Delta blues electric blues jazz Memphis blues rock
Occupation(s)	Musician singer songwriter
Instruments	Harmonica vocals drums
Years active	1953–2017
Labels	Buddah Alligator Telarc International
Associated acts	Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, Matt "Guitar" Murphy, Pat Hare

Cotton in Delray Beach, Florida

James Henry Cotton (born July 1, 1935 – died March 16, 2017) was an American blues musician. He was famous for playing the harmonica, singing, and writing songs. James Cotton played with many other blues artists and led his own band. Early in his career, he also played the drums.

Cotton started his music career playing the blues harp in Howlin' Wolf's band in the early 1950s. He made his first recordings in Memphis for Sun Records. In 1955, Muddy Waters asked him to join his band in Chicago. Cotton became Muddy's bandleader and stayed with the group until 1965. He later formed his own touring band. His first full album was produced by guitarist Mike Bloomfield.

In the 1970s, Cotton played harmonica on Muddy Waters' album Hard Again. This album won a Grammy Award.

James Cotton's Musical Journey
James Cotton's Passing
Musical Friends and Collaborations
James Cotton's Albums
See also

James Cotton's Musical Journey

Cotton was born in Tunica, Mississippi. He became interested in music after hearing Sonny Boy Williamson II on the radio. He moved to West Helena, Arkansas, and met Williamson there. Williamson taught Cotton a lot about music in his early years. When Williamson left the South, he left his band to Cotton. Cotton said he was too young to keep the band together back then.

Cotton performing in 2008

Cotton played drums when he was younger. But he is best known for his amazing harmonica playing. He started his professional career playing the blues harp in Howlin' Wolf's band in the early 1950s. He made his first solo recordings for Sun Records in Memphis in 1953. In 1954, he recorded a song called "Cotton Crop Blues." This song featured a cool, distorted electric guitar solo by Pat Hare.

Cotton began working with the Muddy Waters Band around 1955. He performed songs like "Got My Mojo Working" with them. He recorded with Waters from 1957, sometimes playing alongside Little Walter.

In 1965, he formed the Jimmy Cotton Blues Quartet. Otis Spann played piano in this group. They recorded music when they weren't playing with Waters's band. After leaving Waters's band in 1966, Cotton toured with Janis Joplin. He also started his own solo career. He formed the James Cotton Blues Band in 1967. This band often played their own versions of popular blues and R&B songs.

Cotton at Jeff Healey's blues nightclub in Toronto

In the 1970s, Cotton recorded several albums for Buddah Records. He played harmonica on Muddy Waters' Grammy-winning 1977 album Hard Again. In the 1980s, he recorded for Alligator Records. The James Cotton Blues Band was nominated for a Grammy in 1984. They were nominated again in 1987. Cotton won a Grammy for Best Traditional Blues Album in 1996 for Deep in the Blues.

In 2006, Cotton was added to the Blues Hall of Fame. This is a special honor for blues musicians. He also won or shared ten Blues Music Awards.

Cotton had throat cancer in the mid-1990s. But he kept touring and performing. Other singers or band members helped him with vocals. In 2008, he performed with Ben Harper at the induction of Little Walter into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. They played "Juke" and "My Babe" together.

Cotton's album Giant was nominated for a Grammy Award in 2010. His album Cotton Mouth Man was also nominated for a Grammy in 2013. This album featured guest artists like Gregg Allman and Joe Bonamassa. In 2014, Cotton won a Blues Music Award for Traditional Male Blues Artist. He was also nominated for Best Instrumentalist – Harmonica.

Cotton's touring band included guitarist Tom Holland and vocalist Darrell Nulisch.

James Cotton's Passing

James Cotton died from pneumonia on March 16, 2017. He was 81 years old. He passed away at a medical center in Austin, Texas. He was buried in the Texas State Cemetery in Austin.

Musical Friends and Collaborations

Cotton worked with many famous artists, including:

James Cotton's Albums

1965: Chris Barber Presents Jimmy Cotton, and
1965: Chris Barber Presents Jimmy Cotton – #2 (two short albums recorded with Chris Barber's band)
1966: Chicago/The Blues/Today!, Vol. 2 (Vanguard) (shared album with Otis Rush, and Homesick James)
1967: Seems Like Yesterday (Live at the New Penelope Café, Montreal, Canada) (released 1998)
1967: Late Night Blues: Live at the New Penelope Café 1967 (released 1998)
1967: The James Cotton Blues Band (Verve)
1968: Cut You Loose! (Vanguard)
1968: Pure Cotton (Verve)
1968: Cotton in Your Ears (Verve) (released 1969)
1970: Taking Care of Business (Capitol)
1974: 100% Cotton, with Matt "Guitar" Murphy (Buddah)
1975: High Energy, with Matt "Guitar" Murphy (Buddah)
1976: Live & On the Move, with Matt "Guitar" Murphy (Buddah)
1977: Breakin' It Up, Breakin' It Down, with Muddy Waters, and Johnny Winter (released 2007)
1982: Two Sides of the Blues (Quicksilver)
1984: High Compression (Alligator)
1986: Live from Chicago: Mr. Superharp Himself (Alligator)
1987: Take Me Back (Blind Pig)
1988: Recorded Live at Antone's Night Club (Antone's)
1990: Harp Attack!, with Junior Wells, Carey Bell, and Billy Branch (Alligator)
1990: Mystery Train (Rounder) (shared album with Junior Parker, and Pat Hare)
1991: Mighty Long Time (Antone's)
1993: 3 Harp Boogie (Tomato) (a new release of Two Sides of the Blues)
1994: Living the Blues (Verve)
1995: Best of the Verve Years (Verve) (a collection of his earlier Verve albums)
1996: Deep in the Blues (Verve)
1999: Best of the Vanguard Years (Vanguard) (a collection of his earlier Vanguard albums)
1999: Superharps, with Billy Branch, Charlie Musselwhite, and Sugar Ray Norcia (Telarc)
2000: Fire Down Under the Hill (Telarc)
2002: 35th Anniversary Jam of the James Cotton Blues Band (Telarc)
2004: Baby, Don't You Tear My Clothes (Telarc)
2010: Giant (Alligator)
2013: Cotton Mouth Man (Alligator)