James Cotton— aka “Mr. Superharp”— passed away this week. He played with Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, B.B. King, Gregg Allman, Santana and Grateful Dead, among many others.
Cotton, who was born on a cotton farm in Tunica, Mississippi on July 1st, 1935, came to prominence in the Fifties when he cut two singles for the fledging label Sun Records and performed gigs with Waters. As a child, he'd become obsessed with harmonica player Sonny Boy Williamson II's King Biscuit Time broadcasts and, at age nine, moved in with the elder harpist to learn the instrument.
He launched his own career as a teenager and toured with both Williamson and Howlin' Wolf. In 1953, he recorded his first Sun single, "Straighten Up Baby," which he followed up with "Cotton Crop Blues." At age 20, he began touring and recording with Waters and is featured on that artist's At Newport LP (1960), most notably "Got My Mojo Working." He later recorded a number of tracks for the Vanguard label's Chicago/The Blues/Today! compilation series and played on Otis Spann's 1969 album The Blues Never Die!
