The term legendary is thrown around, but the man performing this Sunday at the Sid Williams Theatre qualifies for that adjective.
An electrifying showman, James (Superharp) Cotton is a Grammy winner and six-time nominee, a Blues Hall of Famer, an inductee in the Smithsonian Institute and a recipient of countless W.C. Handy Blues Awards.
He has shared the stage with B.B. King, Santana, Steve Miller, Johnny Winter, the Allman Brothers, Bonnie Raitt, Led Zeppelin, Janis Joplin, Sam and Dave, the Grateful Dead and many more. Superharp is the only musician alive who has played with blues greats Sonny Boy Williamson, Howlin’ Wolf and Muddy Waters.
Cotton’s early history reads like a fictional account of a bluesman’s youth, but it’s true.
Born the youngest of eight children in Tunica, Miss. in 1935, Cotton got a harmonica one Christmas and was inspired by the radio broadcasts of Rice Miller, one of two bluesmen to go under the name Sonny Boy Williamson.
After his parents died, the nine-year-old prodigy was taken to Williamson, who was impressed when the youngster played Sonny Boy’s theme song note for note.
The two harp players were like father and son from then on.
Too young to get into the countless juke joints that booked Williamson, Cotton would “open” for his mentor outside.
Later, he introduced himself to Chester (Howlin’ Wolf) Burnett at a juke joint in Black Fish, Ark. They began to play juke joints together, with the still-underage Cotton doing most of the driving up and down storied Highway 61.
At 19, Cotton was asked by Waters to replace Junior Wells in his band. Superharp blew in Muddy’s band for 12 years before striking out on his own in 1966.
Legendarily, Cotton’s harp fell apart during a frenzied version of the Waters classic Got My Mojo Working at the 1961 Newport Jazz Festival. Cotton had arranged the tune for his bandleader.
Comox Valley blues fans won’t see 75-year-old Cotton do any of his celebrated onstage backflips Sunday, but he promises to deliver the music. Throat cancer and 1994 treatment have left his voice gravelly, but he’s still on the road in his 67th year in the entertainment business.
One of the dates on the current tour is a gig on the legendary Austin City Limits TV program.
“It’s a very, very big deal,” Cotton said in an interview with the Record last week.
The other members of the current James Cotton Blues Band are singer Darrell Nulisch, guitarists Harry Hmura and Mike Williams, bassist Noel Neal and drummer Jerry Porter.
Bill Johnson will open for Cotton on Sunday, likely not outside the Sid. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. and the show starts an hour later.
Tickets are sold at the Sid ticket centre, by phone at 250-338-2430 or online at www.sidwilliamstheatre.com.
For more about the headliner, visit www.jamescottonsuperharp.com.
editor@comoxvalleyrecord.com
