James Cotton
James Cotton ( born July 1, 1935 in Tunica, Mississippi) is an American blues harmonica player.
- 3.1 solo albums and with other artists
- 3.2 Guest appearances
Life
James Cotton grew up as the youngest of eight children in Tunica. By playing the harmonica he started after he had Sonny Boy Williamson II heard in the radio program King Biscuit Time. At age nine, he attended Williamson, who took him under his wing. He reported long that he told that he was an orphan. It was only in later years James Cotton admitted that this story was invented. With fifteen years, he has performed with local blues greats and had a 15-minute broadcast on Blue KWEM, a radio station in West Memphis, Arkansas. During the week, but he had to work as a truck driver to earn his livelihood. Sam Phillips, owner of Sun Records invited him to take up for him, and so in 1953 and 1954, the first recordings were made under his name.
He was since 1954, he replaced Little Walter until 1966/67, a permanent member of the Muddy Waters band and later played again with Waters LP recordings - even in the late 70s under the production of Johnny Winter. Although he was a member of the band of Waters, in 1958 he was first heard on recordings, as the record label Chess Records insisted on Little Walter as a harmonica player. In 1965 he formed the Jimmy Cotton Blues Quartet, playing at the Otis Spann piano. In 1966 he toured with Janis Joplin, but he was also the opener for various other bands of the late 1960s such as The Grateful Dead and Led Zeppelin, but also for other bluesmen like Freddie King and BB King.
By Throat Cancer OP Cotton is forced since the mid- 1990s only as a harmonica player and no longer occur as a singer in appearance. By James Cotton Trio ( James Cotton harmonica, piano David Maxwell, Rico McFarland guitar, alternating Mojo Buford or Darrell Nulisch vocals) he is still regularly on tour.
Awards
Grammy
- Grammy Award, 1996 - "Deep in the Blues" - Traditional Blues Album
- Grammy Nomination: High Compression 1984
- Grammy nomination: Live From Chicago: Mr. Superharp Himself!
- Grammy Nomination: Take Me Back 1987
- Grammy Nomination: Living the Blues 1994
Recording in. ..
- Blues Hall of Fame 2006
- Smithsonian Institution 1991
W. C. Handy Award
- Handy Award, 2003 " 35th Anniversary Jam" - Traditional Blues Album
- Handy Award, 2001, 1997 - Traditional Male Artist of the Year
- Handy Award, 1997 - Acoustic Album of the Year - " Deep In The Blues"
- Handy Award, 1991, 1987 - Instrumentalist of the Year - Harmonica
- Handy Award, 1991 - Contemporary Album of the Year - " Harp Attack"
Other
- Premier Harmonica Player Award, 2000, 1999 Memphis Chapter of the National Academy of Record Arts and Sciences
- Downbeat 45th Annual Critics Poll, 1997 "Deep in the Blues" - Blues Album of the Year
- Downbeat 62nd Annual Readers Poll, 1997 "Deep in the Blues" - Blues Album of the Year
- Lifetime Achievement Award, 2000 - The Pocono Blues Festival
- Blues Legend Award, 2002 - The New England Blues Society
- Howlin 'Wolf Award, 2002 - The Blues Foundation
- Theresa Needham Blues Award in 1994 for outstanding service to the Blues community
- Honorary and Lifetime Member, 1993 - Sonny Boy Blues Society