Cotton’s first gig dates back to his childhood on the Bonnie Blue plantation, where he sang and played to entertain workers on their water breaks. Indeed, his life was the blues. He was mentored by Sonny Boy Williamson II, a.k.a. Rice Miller, a.k.a. many other names, but he really came to prominence as a member of Muddy Waters band.
Cotton’s career really took off during the Blus revival. As his fellow musicians explain, his hard-charging style made him the harpist who most appealed young white fans who were initially attracted by classic blues guitarists. Unfortunately, he had bad management, who often just bundled him into package deals for much less compensation than their headliners. (Cram and company name names, in this case Albert Grossman, who also handled Dylan, Joplin, and Peter, Paul, and Mary.)
Eventually, Cotton signed with better people and had quite a good run—especially by blues standards. Nevertheless, time always has the last word. Still, Cotton went out on a creative high, with the help of his friends and blues songwriter Tom Hambridge.
