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Jeff Cotton | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Jeffrey Ralph Cotton |
| Born | 31 May 1948 Porterville, Tulare County, California, United States |
| Genres | Fusion, experimental |
| Occupation(s) | Musician |
| Instrument(s) | Electric guitar |
| Years active | 1964–1975 |
Jeffrey Ralph Cotton (born May 31, 1948) is an American rock guitarist, known for his work as a member of Captain Beefheart's Magic Band. [1]
Cotton first came to attention as guitarist with Merrell and the Exiles, who had a few local hits in 1964 in the Los Angeles area. He subsequently joined Blues in a Bottle, which also featured future Magic Band members Mark Boston, Bill Harkleroad and John French. He was recruited into the Magic Band in 1967 as a replacement for Ry Cooder.
Cotton contributed unique and challenging slide guitar to live performances, Strictly Personal , Mirror Man and Trout Mask Replica ; for which he was renamed Antennae Jimmy Semens. He left the Magic Band in 1970 after being attacked by temporary drummer Jeff Burchell during a group "talk" and having ribs broken, and having experienced the reclusive 8 months of rehearsals for Trout Mask Replica during which Beefheart experimented on the group members with sleep deprivation, food deprivation, and physical violence in an attempt to break their mental state down.
He renewed his professional relationship with Merrell Fankhauser (of The Exiles) in a band called MU. [2] Despite a critically acclaimed album there was no commercial success, and he retired from the music business in 1975 to study the Christian Ministry. In 1981, long after the group had disbanded, a second LP of unreleased MU [3] material was issued.
In 2022 a 50 year recording hiatus ended with his first solo album, The Fantasy of Reality. [4]
He has three children. [5]
| Year | Title | Notes | Magic Band personnel |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1968 | Strictly Personal |
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| 1969 | Trout Mask Replica |
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| 1971 | Mirror Man |
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Don Van Vliet was an American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and visual artist best known by the stage name Captain Beefheart. Conducting a rotating ensemble known as The Magic Band, he recorded 13 studio albums between 1967 and 1982. His music blended elements of blues, free jazz, rock, and avant-garde composition with idiosyncratic rhythms, absurdist wordplay, a loud, gravelly voice, and his claimed wide vocal range, though reports of it have varied from three octaves to seven and a half. Known for his enigmatic persona, Beefheart frequently constructed myths about his life and was known to exercise an almost dictatorial control over his supporting musicians. Although he achieved little commercial success, he sustained a cult following as an influence on an array of experimental rock and punk-era artists.
Trout Mask Replica is the third studio album by the American band Captain Beefheart and his Magic Band, released as a double album on June 16, 1969, by Straight Records. The music was composed by Captain Beefheart and arranged by drummer John "Drumbo" French. Combining elements of R&B, garage rock, and blues with free jazz and avant-garde composition, the album is regarded as an important work of experimental rock. Its unconventional musical style, which includes polyrhythm, multi-octave vocals, and polytonality, has given the album a reputation as one of the most challenging recordings in the 20th century musical canon.
John Stephen French is an American drummer and former member of Captain Beefheart's Magic Band, where he was known by the nickname Drumbo. He was the principal drummer on several of Beefheart's albums, including 1969's Trout Mask Replica, for which he also acted as arranger. He later released several albums as a solo artist as well as with the collaborative group French Frith Kaiser Thompson.
Aynsley Thomas Dunbar is an English drummer. He has worked with John Mayall, Frank Zappa, Jeff Beck, Journey, Jefferson Starship, Nils Lofgren, Eric Burdon, Shuggie Otis, Ian Hunter, Lou Reed, David Bowie, Mick Ronson, Whitesnake, Pat Travers, Sammy Hagar, Michael Schenker, UFO, Michael Chapman, Jake E. Lee, Leslie West, Kathi McDonald, Keith Emerson, Mike Onesko, Herbie Mann and Flo & Eddie. Dunbar was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Journey in 2017.
Lick My Decals Off, Baby is the fourth studio album by American band Captain Beefheart and the Magic Band, released in December 1970 by Straight and Reprise Records. The follow-up to Trout Mask Replica (1969), it is regarded by some critics and listeners as superior, and was Van Vliet's favorite. Van Vliet said that the title was an encouragement to "get rid of the labels", and to evaluate things according to their merits rather than according to superficial labels.
Bluejeans & Moonbeams is the ninth LP by Captain Beefheart and the Magic Band, originally released in 1974. Despite its uncharacteristically mainstream sound the album failed to chart.
The Spotlight Kid is the sixth studio album by Captain Beefheart. Released in 1972, it is the only album credited solely to Captain Beefheart rather than Captain Beefheart and his Magic Band, although every member is featured, and its material is considered part of the band's repertoire. Often cited as one of the most accessible of Beefheart's albums, it is solidly founded in the blues but also uses instruments such as marimba and jingle bells that are not typical of that genre. The incarnation of the Magic Band on this album was Bill Harkleroad and Elliot Ingber, guitars; Mark Boston, bass; John French, drums; and Art Tripp, marimba. Session drummer Rhys Clark substituted for French on one track, "Glider".
Strictly Personal is the second album by Captain Beefheart and his Magic Band. It was originally released in October 1968 as the first album on the Blue Thumb Records label. It was released nearly a year after the band had taken to the studio to record the follow-up to 1967's Safe as Milk.
Safe as Milk is the debut studio album by American music group Captain Beefheart and his Magic Band, released in June 1967 by Buddah Records. A heavily blues-influenced work, the album features a 20-year-old Ry Cooder, who played guitar and wrote some of the arrangements.
The Magic Band was the backing band of American singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Captain Beefheart between 1967 and 1982. The rotating lineup featured dozens of performers, many of whom became known by nicknames given to them by Beefheart. Ex-members of the Magic Band formed the short-lived group Mallard in 1974. The Magic Band reformed in 2003, without Beefheart.
Rockette Morton is an American musician, best known as a bassist and guitarist for Captain Beefheart and the Magic Band in the 1960s and 1970s.
Bill Harkleroad, known professionally as Zoot Horn Rollo, is an American guitarist. He is best known for his work with Captain Beefheart and The Magic Band. In 2003, he was ranked No. 62 in a Rolling Stone magazine list of "the 100 greatest guitarists of all time".
Christopher Walenty Dreja is an English musician, best known as the rhythm guitarist and bassist for rock band the Yardbirds for which he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992.
Bat Chain Puller is the 13th studio album by Captain Beefheart, released on February 22, 2012. It was recorded in 1976 by DiscReet Records, who had intended to release it with Virgin Records as Captain Beefheart's tenth studio album. It was co-produced by Beefheart and Kerry McNab.
"Moonlight on Vermont" is a song by Captain Beefheart. It was released on his 1969 album Trout Mask Replica.
Merrell Wayne Fankhauser is an American singer, songwriter and guitarist, who was most active in the 1960s and 1970s with bands including the Impacts, Merrell & the Exiles, HMS Bounty, Fankhauser-Cassidy Band, and Mu. In addition, 12 songs recorded by Merrell & the Exiles were later released under the group name Fapardokly, even though that group never actually existed.
Gary "Magic" Marker was an American bass guitarist and recording engineer, best known for his involvement in various psychedelic rock bands of the 1960s.
Moris Tepper, sometimes credited as Jeff Moris Tepper, is an American singer-songwriter, guitarist and artist.
Grow Fins: Rarities 1965–1982 is a 5-HDCD box set compiled from previously unreleased recordings by Captain Beefheart & the Magic Band. The featured material spans the band's entire career, but focuses mainly on their work up to the late 1960s and the sessions for Beefheart's best-known album, Trout Mask Replica (1969).
"Electricity" is a song by Captain Beefheart and his Magic Band on the 1967 album Safe as Milk. Beefheart claimed the label he and his band were signed to, A&M Records, dropped them after co-owner Jerry Moss heard the song and declared it "too negative" for his teenage daughter to listen to. Beefheart's vocals, while recording the final version for the album, shattered the microphone.
Captain Beefheart and the Magic Band (1964–1982)
The Magic Band (2003–2017)
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