July 1: The Late Great James Cotton was born in 1935

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_message message_box_color=”mulled_wine” icon_fontawesome=”fa fa-quote-left”]Distinctive wail…fat-toned style. Sheer propulsive power…Cotton can drive a song with his harp, squeezing out a flurry of notes. His true genius is his ability to select the perfect note. Cotton is a virtuoso of the blues.
– Blues Revue

Cotton is a key link on the chain of great blues harmonica players – Sonny Boy Williamson, Little Walter, Junior Wells. Sometimes he out-rocks the Rolling Stones.
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James Cotton – Slow Blues (Angel Of Mercy / Blues in my sleep):

Birth name	James Henry Cotton
Born	July 1, 1935 Tunica, Mississippi, U.S.
Died	March 16, 2017 (aged 81) Austin, Texas, U.S.
Genres	Blues, Chicago blues, Delta blues, electric blues, jazz, Memphis blues, rock]
Occupation(s)	Musician
Instruments	Vocals, harmonica, drums
Years active	1953–2017
Associated acts	Muddy Waters Howlin’ Wolf Matt Murphy Pat Hare

 

Wikipedia:

James Henry Cotton (July 1, 1935 – March 16, 2017) was an American blues harmonica player, singer and songwriter, who performed and recorded with many of the great blues artists of his time and with his own band. He played drums early in his career but is famous for his harmonica playing.

Cotton began his professional career playing the blues harp in Howlin’ Wolf‘s band in the early 1950s.^[3] He made his first recordings in Memphis for Sun Records, under the direction of Sam Phillips. In 1955, he was recruited by Muddy Waters to come to Chicago and join his band. Cotton became Waters’s bandleader and stayed with the group until 1965.^[4] In 1965 he formed the Jimmy Cotton Blues Quartet, with Otis Spann on piano, to record between gigs with the Muddy Waters band. He eventually left to form his own full-time touring group. His first full album, on Verve Records, was produced by the guitarist Mike Bloomfield and the singer and songwriter Nick Gravenites, who later were members of the band Electric Flag.

In the 1970s, Cotton played harmonica on Muddy Waters’ Grammy Award–winning 1977 album Hard Again, produced by Johnny Winter.

Rocket 88:

This is a gem: Keith Richards & James Cotton – Little Red Rooster (Rehearsing):

High Compression ( Full Album):

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Check out:

• James Cotton @ allmusic
• James Cotton @ wikipedia
• James Cotton Superharp

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-Egil