James Cotton
Wikimp3 information about the music of James Cotton. On our website we have 69 albums and 70 collections of artist James Cotton. You can find useful information and download songs of this artist. We also know that James Cotton represents Blues genres.
Biography
[Edit]At his high-energy, 1970s peak as a bandleader, James Cotton was a bouncing, sweaty, whirling dervish of a bluesman, roaring his vocals and all but sucking the reeds right out of his defenseless little harmonicas with his prodigious lung power. Due to throat problems, Cotton's vocals are no longer what they used to be, but he remains a masterful instrumentalist. Cotton had some gargantuan shoes to fill when he stepped into Little Walter's slot as Muddy Waters' harp ace in 1954, but for the next dozen years, the young Mississippian filled the integral role beside Chicago's blues king with power and precision. Of course, Cotton had been preparing for such a career move for a long time, having learned how to wail on harp from none other than Sonny Boy Williamson himself.
Cotton was only a child when he first heard Williamson's fabled radio broadcasts for King Biscuit Time over KFFA out of Helena, Arkansas. So sure was Cotton of his future that he ended up moving into Williamson's home at age nine, soaking up the intricacies of blues harpdom from one of its reigning masters. Six years later, Cotton was ready to unleash a sound of his own.
Gigging with area notables Joe Willie Wilkins and Willie Nix, Cotton built a sterling reputation around West Memphis, following in his mentor's footsteps by landing his own radio show in 1952 over KWEM. Sam Phillips, whose Sun label was still a fledgling operation, invited Cotton to record for him, and two singles commenced: "Straighten Up Baby" in 1953 and "Cotton Crop Blues" the next year. Legend has it Cotton played drums instead of harp on the first platter.
When Waters rolled through Memphis minus his latest harpist (Junior Wells), Cotton hired on with the legend and went to Chicago. Unfortunately for the youngster, Chess Records insisted on using Little Walter on the great majority of Waters' waxings until 1958, when Cotton blew behind Waters on "She's Nineteen Years Old" and "Close to You." At Cotton's suggestion, Waters had added an Ann Cole tune called "Got My Mojo Working" to his repertoire. Walter played on Muddy Waters' first studio crack at it, but that's Cotton wailing on the definitive 1960 reading (cut live at the Newport Jazz Festival).
By 1966, Cotton was primed to make it on his own. Waxings for Vanguard, Prestige, and Loma preceded his official full-length album debut for Verve Records in 1967. His own unit then included fleet-fingered guitarist Luther Tucker and hard-hitting drummer Sam Lay. Throwing a touch of soul into his eponymous debut set, Cotton ventured into the burgeoning blues-rock field as he remained with Verve through the end of the decade.
In 1974, Cotton signed with Buddah and released 100% Cotton, one of his most relentless LPs, with Matt "Guitar" Murphy sizzling on backup. A decade later, Alligator issued another stand-out Cotton LP, High Compression, which was split evenly between traditional-style Chicago blues and funkier, horn-driven material. Harp Attack!, a 1990 summit meeting on Alligator, paired Cotton with three exalted peers: Wells, Carey Bell, and comparative newcomer Billy Branch. Antone's Records was responsible for a pair of gems: a live 1988 set reuniting the harpist with Murphy and Tucker, and a stellar 1991 studio project, Mighty Long Time. Cotton moved into the 21st century as one of the last surviving originators of the Chicago blues sound, and never slowed his pace a bit, releasing a series of fine albums, including Fire Down Under the Hill (2000) and Baby, Don't You Tear My Clothes (2004), both for Telarc Records, and Giant (2010) and Cotton Mouth Man (2013), both on Alligator Records.
Title: Breakin' It Up, Breakin' It Down (Live)
Artist: Johnny Winter, Muddy Waters, James Cotton
Genre: Blues
Title: Midnight Creeper (The Complete 1967 Live Montreal James Cotton Sessions)
Artist: James Cotton
Genre: Blues
Title: James Cotton, Junior Wells, Carey Bell, Billy Branch Harp Attack!
Artist: James Cotton, Carey Bell, Junior Wells, Billy Branch
Genre: Blues
Title: Superharps
Artist: James Cotton, Charlie Musselwhite, Billy Branch, Sugar Ray Norcia
Genre: Blues
Title: King Biscuit Flower Hour 1977 (Live)
Artist: Johnny Winter, Muddy Waters, James Cotton
Genre: Blues
Title: WBCN-FM Boston Music Hall 26 Feb 1977 (CD1)
Artist: Johnny Winter, Muddy Waters, James Cotton
Genre: Blues, Blues Rock
Collections
Title: Sun Record's Jukebox - Blues
Genre: Blues
Title: Smash Blues Hits Vol 1
Genre: Blues
Title: Twelve Bar Blues
Genre: Blues
Title: The Greatest Blues All Stars
Genre: Blues
Title: Chicago Blues Anthems
Genre: Jazz
Title: Blues That Changed the World
Genre: Blues
Title: Blues in the Country, Blues in the City
Genre: Blues
Title: Gunslinger Blues
Genre: Blues
Title: Blues Songs of Freedom
Genre: Blues
Title: House Rockin' Southern Blues
Genre: Blues
Title: Electric Memphis Blues
Genre: Blues
Title: The Greatest Harmonica Blues
Genre: Blues
Title: The Greatest Memphis Blues
Genre: Blues
Title: Sun Record's Epic Blues Cuts pt. 2
Genre: Blues
Title: Cheating Blues
Genre: Blues
Title: American Blues Scene 1980s
Genre: Blues
Title: Blues: Soul Experimentalism
Genre: Blues
Title: Blues in the Heart
Genre: Blues
Title: Lonely Man Blues
Genre: Blues
Title: 6-Pack: Harmonica Blues
Genre: Blues
Title: Blues Novelty Songs
Genre: Blues
Title: The Blues Got Soul
Genre: Blues
Title: Blues Jukbebox
Genre: Blues
Title: Blues - Love Songs
Genre: Blues
Title: Blues Chill Out
Genre: Blues
Title: Workingman's Blues
Genre: Blues
Title: Whole Lotta Blues - Songs of Led Zeppelin
Genre: Blues
Title: Love Blues
Genre: Blues
Title: Sleazy Blues
Genre: Blues
Title: American Girls: Essential Blues
Genre: Blues
Title: Traveling Blues
Genre: Blues
Title: Essential Blues Classic´s
Genre: Blues
Title: Blues Club Sounds - 25 (Live)
Genre: Blues
Title: World Music of the 90s
Genre: World Music
Title: A Beginners Guide to: Memphis Blues
Genre: Blues
Title: Best of Boogie Woogie
Genre: Blues
Title: Best of Boogie
Genre: Blues
Title: Stuck Inside Memphis Blues Again
Genre: Blues
Title: Hits of Memphis Blues
Genre: Blues
Title: Blow'n the Blues
Genre: Blues
Title: Sun Records: The Blues Years, 1950-1958 (Disc 6)
Genre: Blues
Title: Essential Blues Classics
Genre: Blues
Title: Another Great Tomato Blues Package
Genre: Blues
Title: Blues - On the Mighty Mississippi
Genre: Blues
Title: The Greatest Jump Blues
Genre: Jazz
Title: Blues: Show Stoppers
Genre: Blues
Title: Blues: Traveling Riverside
Genre: Blues
Title: Blues: Funkytown!
Genre: Blues
Title: American Blues Today
Genre: Blues
Title: The Most Essential Electric Blues
Genre: Blues
Title: Golden Memphis Blues
Genre: Blues
Title: Hits of Harmonica Blues
Genre: Blues
Title: A Beginners Guide to: Chicago Blues
Genre: Blues
Title: Night Time is the Right Time - Essential Blues
Genre: Blues
Title: Blues: Cash Talkin'
Genre: Blues
Title: Best of Chicago Blues
Genre: Blues
Title: Blues - S**t My Dad Listened To
Genre: Blues
Title: Electric Blues Nuggets
Genre: Blues
Title: Rare Chicago Blues (1962-1968)
Genre: Blues
Title: Essential Chicago Blues Rarities Collection
Genre: Blues
Title: The Greatest Mississippi Blues
Genre: Blues
Title: Harmonica Blues Nuggets
Genre: Blues
Title: The Alligator Records 30th Anniversary Collection
Genre: Blues
Title: Rare Memphis Blues
Genre: Blues
Title: Sun Records - Essential Blues Anthems
Genre: Blues
Title: Home is Where the Heart Is: Mississippi Blues
Genre: Blues
Title: The Alligator Records 25th Anniversary Collection
Genre: Blues
Featuring albums
Title: The Complete Blues Anthology (Doxy Collection, Remastered)
Artist: Various Artists
Genre: Blues
Title: Breakin' It Up, Breakin' It Down
Artist: Johnny Winter, James Cotton Muddy Waters
Genre: Blues
Title: Chicago Blues: A Living History - The (R)evolution Continues
Artist: Various Artists
Genre: Blues
Title: From Mississippi To Chicago the Blues Road Classic Blues
Artist: Various Artists
Genre: Blues