James Cotton

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.

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.
While he played a few instruments, Cotton was famous for his great work on the harmonica.
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", 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.
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.

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.

Cotton is truly a living blues legend, with a career spanning 63 years. Some of his many accomplishments include:
A Grammy in 1996 (and nominated for 3 other's); 7 WC Handy Awards/Blues Music Awards; induction into the Smithsonian Institution and the Blues Hall of Fame; The Blues Foundation's Howlin' Wolf Award; Honorary and Lifetime member of the Sonny Boy Blues Society; and the Premier Harmonica Player Awards for 1999 and 2000 awarded by the Memphis Chapter of the National Academy
of Record Arts and Sciences. "Superharp", as he has been known, had his first radio show in 1952 and has recorded more than 20 of his own albums/cd's, in addition to countless others in which he has appeared.
He played and toured with his surrogate father, Sonny Boy Williamson, was Muddy Waters' harp player from 1954 through 1966, and also played with Howlin' Wolf. His live shows are legendary, to this day.