James "Jimmy" Cotton (born July 1, 1935 in Tunica, Mississippi), is an American blues harmonica player, singer, and songwriter who is the bandleader for the James Cotton Blues Band. He also writes songs alone, and his solo career continues to this day. His work includes the following genres: Blues, Delta Blues, Harmonica Blues, Electric Harmonica Blues. July 1 is the 182nd day of the year (183rd in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 183 days remaining. ... 1935 (MCMXXXV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar). ... Tunica is a town in Tunica County, Mississippi, United States, located on the Mississippi River. ... The blues is a vocal and instrumental form of music based on the use of the blue notes and a repetitive pattern that typically follows a twelve-bar structure. ... This article does not cite its references or sources. ... Ercole de Roberti: Concert, c. ... A songwriter is someone who writes the lyrics to songs, the musical composition or melody to songs, or both. ... A bandleader is the director of a band of musicians. ... The blues is a vocal and instrumental form of music based on the use of the blue notes and a repetitive pattern that typically follows a twelve-bar structure. ... Delta blues are named for the Mississippi Delta. ... This article does not cite its references or sources. ...

Career

Cotton became interested in music when he first heard Sonny Boy Williamson on the radio. He left home to find Sonny Boy in West Helena, Arkansas. When Cotton explained to Williamson that he was an orphan, Sonny Boy took him in and raised him. Cotton would begin his career playing the blues harp in Howlin Wolf's band. After one gig, Sonny Boy quit the band to live with his estranged wife in Milwaukee. He left the band in Cotton's hands. Cotton was quoted as saying, ""He just gave it to me. But I couldn't hold it together 'cause I was too young and crazy in those days an' everybody in the band was grown men, so much older than me." Williamson had a lot of faith in Cotton, and his faith would ultimately be proved sound. There were 2 popular blues harmonica players that went by the name Sonny Boy Williamson Sonny Boy Williamson I, also known as John Lee Williamson was an American blues harmonica player, born in Jackson, Tennessee, whose first record Good Morning, School Girl was a hit in 1937. ... West Helena is a city located in Phillips County, Arkansas. ... Harp Attack! blues harp album cover Blues harp or cross harp is a technique of playing an ordinary harmonica which originated in the blues, not a type of harp or harmonica. ... Howlin Wolf ( b. ... This article is about Milwaukee in Wisconsin. ...

While he played a few instruments, Cotton was famous for his great work on the harmonica. This article does not cite its references or sources. ...

Cotton began to work with the Muddy Waters Band in 1955. He performed songs such as "I Got My Mojo Working" and "She's Nineteen Years Old". Muddy would often compare young Cotton to Little Walter. In 1965 he formed the Jimmy Cotton Blues Quartet with Otis Spann on piano to record between gigs with Water's band. Their performances were captured by producer Samuel Charters on volume two of the classic Vanguard recording Chicago/The Blues/Today!. After leaving Muddy's band in 1966, Cotton toured with Janis Joplin while pursuing a solo career. Alone, Cotton wrote many classic songs. Some of the most famous include "Cotton Crop Blues", "Rocket 88" (the Wikipedia entry for this song credits it to Ike Turner, not Cotton), and "Hold Me In Your Arms". He formed the James Cotton Blues Band in 1967. They performed all of Cotton's classics and more. Two albums were recorded live in Montreal that year, and Cotton was on his way to becoming a legend. Cotton would become known as the ultimate showman. This article includes a list of works cited but its sources remain unclear because it lacks in-text citations. ... See also: 1954 in music, other events of 1955, 1956 in music, 1950s in music and the list of years in music // January 1 - RCA victor announces a marketing plan called Operation TNT. The label drops the list price on LPs from $5. ... Shes Nineteen Years Old is a blues song by Muddy Waters. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Otis Spann (March 21, 1930 – April 24, 1970) was an American blues musician. ... Samuel Charters (born Samuel Barclay Charters in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, August 1, 1929; his name also appears as Sam Charters) is an American music historian, writer, record producer, musician, and poet. ... Vanguard Records was a record label set up in 1950 by brothers Maynard and Seymour Solomon in New York. ... Janis Lyn Joplin (January 19, 1943 – October 4, 1970) was an American blues-influenced rock singer and occasional songwriter with a highly distinctive voice. ... See also: 1966 in music, other events of 1967, 1968 in music, 1960s in music and the list of years in music 1967 was an important year for psychedelic music, with releases from The Doors (The Doors, Strange Days), Jefferson Airplane (Surrealistic Pillow), the Beatles Sgt. ... Nickname: City of Mary (Ville-Marie) Motto: Concordia Salus (salvation through harmony) Coordinates: Country Canada Province Quebec Founded 1642 Established 1832 Government  - Mayor Gérald Tremblay Area [1] [2] [3]  - City 365. ...

In the 1970s, Cotton recorded many albums with Buddah Records. The James Cotton Blues Band would soon become The James Cotton Trio, and by 1987, he was up for his second Grammy Nomination. The first one was for his 1984 release, Live From Chicago: Mr. Superharp Himself!. His second for Take Me Back. Template:A year The 1970s decade refers to the years from 1970 to 1979, inclusive. ... 1987 (MCMLXXXVII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Grammy Award statuette The Grammy Awards, presented by the Recording Academy (an association of Americans professionally involved in the recorded music industry) for outstanding achievements in the recording industry, is one of four major music awards shows held annually in the United States (the Billboard Music Awards, the American Music... See also: 1983 in music, other events of 1984, 1985 in music, 1980s in music and the list of years in music // [edit] Events January 21 - Relax by Frankie Goes To Hollywood reaches number one in the UK singles chart: it spends a total of forty-two weeks in the...

A throat problem left Cotton with an extremely raspy voice in recent years, but he continues to tour infrequently. Cotton's latest release Baby Don't You Tare My Clothes was released in 2004. 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Musical company

Cotton has worked with a number of famous artists.

Janis Lyn Joplin (January 19, 1943 – October 4, 1970) was an American blues-influenced rock singer and occasional songwriter with a highly distinctive voice. ... There were 2 popular blues harmonica players that went by the name Sonny Boy Williamson Sonny Boy Williamson I, also known as John Lee Williamson was an American blues harmonica player, born in Jackson, Tennessee, whose first record Good Morning, School Girl was a hit in 1937. ... Chester Arthur Burnett (June 10, 1910 – January 10, 1976), better known as Howlin Wolf or sometimes, The Howlin Wolf, was an influential blues singer, songwriter, guitarist and harmonica player. ... This article includes a list of works cited but its sources remain unclear because it lacks in-text citations. ... For the bands 1969 self-titled debut album, see Led Zeppelin (album). ... Freddie King (September 3, 1934 – December 28, 1976) was an influential American blues guitarist and singer, best known for his recordings Hide Away, Have You Ever Loved A Woman and Going Down. // King was born Frederick Christian in Gilmer, Texas on September 3, 1934. ... Steve Miller (born October 5, 1943 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin) is an American blues and rock and roll guitarist and performer. ... Carlos Augusto Alves Santana (born July 20, 1947), known simply as Carlos Santana or Santana, is a Grammy Award-winning Mexican-born American Latin rock musician and guitarist. ... Riley B. King aka B. B. King (b. ... Jerry Garcia later in life The Grateful Dead was an American rock band, which was formed in 1965 in San Francisco from the remnants of another band, Mother McCrees Uptown Jug Champions. ... Johnny Winter (born John Dawson Winter III on 23 February 1944 in Beaumont, Texas) is an American blues guitarist and singer, well known for his albinism, as well as his musical skills. ... Jimmie Vaughan (born in March 21, 1951 in Dallas, Texas) is an American blues guitarist and singer. ... Todd Harry Rundgren (born June 22, 1948 in Upper Darby, Pennsylvania, USA) is an American musician, singer, songwriter and record producer. ...

Trivia

• 2004 was Cotton's 60th year in the entertainment industry
• At 17, he began hosting his own 15-minute radio show on KWEM in West Memphis, Arkansas
• Cotton was famous for doing backflips on stage in his younger days

2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Location of West Memphis, Arkansas Coordinates: County Crittenden Government  - Mayor William H. Johnson Area  - City 68. ...

Selected discography

• Chicago/The Blues/Today! vol. 2
• Take Me Back
• Live from Chicago Mr. Superharp Himself
• High Compression
• Live & On the Move
• Cut You Loose!

External links

• James Cotton Bio at Mp3.com
• James Cotton discography from Music City
• His official website