King Cotton is the stage name of Dicky Sony, an American Texas blues singer born in 1945 in Navasota, Texas, United States. [1] He was the lead vocalist and founding member of the blues/rock band Navasota in 1969. [Expand on band members & history with Steely Dan and ABC Records. See Talkpage.] [2]
King Cotton achieved particular notoriety in the past two decades due to his appearance with John Cusack and Tim Robbins in the 1988 film Tapeheads . [3] Most notable about his role as Roscoe (the "Chicken and waffles" king) is his end-titles song "Roscoe's Rap", which has become a cult favorite on YouTube.com. [4] He also appeared in the 1989 film Blaze starring Paul Newman as Louisiana Governor Earl Long.
Navasota is a city primarily in Grimes County, Texas, United States. The population was 7,643 at the 2020 census. In 2005, the Texas Legislature designated Navasota as the "Blues Capital of Texas" in honor of the late Mance Lipscomb, a Navasota native and blues musician. Technically, a sliver of Navasota is in Brazos County, which is part of the Bryan-College Station Metropolitan area.
Riley B. King, known professionally as B. B. King, was an American blues guitarist, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He introduced a sophisticated style of soloing based on fluid string bending, shimmering vibrato, and staccato picking that influenced many later blues electric guitar players. AllMusic recognized King as "the single most important electric guitarist of the last half of the 20th century".
The Fabulous Thunderbirds is an American blues band formed in 1974. Singer Kim Wilson is the only constant member through the band's entire history. Their 1986 album Tuff Enuff sold over a million copies, and spawned two minor hit singles: the title track and "Wrap It Up".
Steven Haworth Miller is an American musician. He is the founder and only remaining original member of the Steve Miller Band, which he founded in 1966, and is the principal songwriter, lead singer, harmonicist, keyboardist, and one of the guitarists. He began his career in blues and blues rock and evolved to a more pop-oriented arena rock genre during the mid-1970s through the early 1980s, releasing popular singles and albums. Miller was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2016.
Steven John Bator, known professionally as Stiv Bator and later as Stiv Bators, was an American punk rock vocalist and guitarist from Youngstown, Ohio. He is best remembered for his bands Dead Boys and The Lords of the New Church.
A Battle of the Bands is a music contest or competition in which a number of bands compete for the title of "best band". The winner is determined by a voice vote of the audience or the band who brings the most people to support them. Traditionally, battles of bands are held at live music events and forums. Popular examples include the yearly Live and Unsigned contest in the United Kingdom and the annual SoundWave Music Competition.
David William Sanborn was an American alto saxophonist. Sanborn worked in many musical genres; his solo recordings typically blended jazz with instrumental pop and R&B. He began playing the saxophone at the age of 11 and released his first solo album, Taking Off, in 1975. He was active as a session musician, and played on numerous albums by artists including Stevie Wonder, Bruce Springsteen, Aretha Franklin, Sting, the Eagles, Rickie Lee Jones, James Brown, George Benson, Carly Simon, Elton John, Bryan Ferry and the Rolling Stones. He released more than 20 albums and won six Grammy awards.
Tapeheads is a 1988 comedy film directed by Bill Fishman and starring John Cusack, Tim Robbins, Sam Moore and Junior Walker. The film was produced by Michael Nesmith, who briefly appears as a bottled water delivery man.
Elvin Richard Bishop is an American blues and rock music singer, guitarist, bandleader, and songwriter. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the Paul Butterfield Blues Band in 2015, and in the Blues Hall of Fame as a solo artist in 2016.
Kim Wilson is an American blues singer and harmonica player. He is best known as the lead vocalist and frontman for The Fabulous Thunderbirds on two hit songs of the 1980s, "Tuff Enuff" and "Wrap It Up."
James Henry Cotton was an American blues harmonica player, singer and songwriter, who performed and recorded with many fellow blues artists and with his own band. He also played drums early in his career.
Jimmie Lawrence Vaughan Jr. is an American blues rock guitarist and singer based in Austin, Texas. He is the older brother of the late Texas blues guitarist Stevie Ray Vaughan.
Sonic Boom Six are an English five-piece band from Manchester, United Kingdom. Their eclectic sound combines different elements of several genres and has been described by Kerrang! as "taking ska, pop, grime, dubstep, punk and metal apart, then rebuilding them as a hyperactive hybrid". Their lyrics tend to focus on social commentary with a live show known for "clashing activism and good times". The band's influences include Bad Brains, Public Enemy, The Fugees, The Specials, The Streets, and The Clash.
Samuel David Moore is an American singer who was best known as a member of the soul and R&B duo Sam & Dave from 1961 to 1981. He is a member of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, the Grammy Hall of Fame, and the Vocal Group Hall of Fame.
Samuel Lawrence "Larry" Taylor was an American bass guitarist, best known for his work as a member of Canned Heat. Before joining Canned Heat he had been a session bassist for The Monkees and Jerry Lee Lewis. He was the younger brother of Mel Taylor, long-time drummer of The Ventures.
Punkcast.com was an online video site that covered the NYC underground music scene. The site, though not active, remains with an archive of videos from 1997 to 2011. Newer videos are now on the Punkcast YouTube channel.
"Galveston" is a song written by Jimmy Webb and popularized by American country music singer Glen Campbell who recorded it with the instrumental backing of members of The Wrecking Crew. In 2003, this song ranked number 8 in CMT's 100 Greatest Songs in Country Music. Campbell's version of the song also went to number 1 on the country music charts. On other charts, "Galveston" went to number 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number one on the "Easy Listening" charts. It was certified gold by the RIAA in October 1969.
Roscoe's House of Chicken 'N Waffles is an American soul food restaurant chain that operates seven locations in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. It was founded by Herb Hudson in 1975. The Los Angeles Times has referred to Roscoe's as "such an L.A. institution that people don't even question the strange combo anymore." The New York Times refers to it as a "beloved soul food chain." The original location in Long Beach, California, remains open.
Mark Hummel is an American blues harmonica player, vocalist, songwriter, and long-time bandleader of the Blues Survivors. Since 1991, Hummel has produced the Blues Harmonica Blowout tour, of which he is also a featured performer. The shows have featured blues harmonica players such as James Cotton, Carey Bell, John Mayall and Charlie Musselwhite. Although he is typically identified as performing West Coast blues, Hummel is also proficient in Delta blues, Chicago blues, swing and jazz styles. Hummel also played with the Golden State Lone Star Revue, a rock blues side group the FlashBacks, as well as the current edition of the Blues Survivors. Since 2021, Hummel and documentary film maker Jeff Vargen have collaborated on a video podcast, 'Mark Hummel's Harmonica Party' with both interviews and live performances of 50 blues and rock musicians including Charlie Musselwhite, Elvin Bishop, Barbara Dane, Nick Gravenites, Duke Robillard, Country Joe MacDonald, Barry Goldberg, Magic Dick, Lee Oskar, Willie Chambers, Anson Funderburgh, Angela Strehli, Chris Cain and others.
Ralph E. White III is a musician from Austin, Texas who has drawn inspiration from traditional blues, old-time country, rock, African and Cajun music, among other traditions. He principally plays banjo, fiddle, accordion, guitar, kalimba and mbira. He was a founding member of the innovative and influential Austin trio the Bad Livers, formed in 1990 with banjoist and singer/songwriter Danny Barnes and bass and tuba player Mark Rubin. During the early 1990s, "White's sizzling dexterity on fiddle and accordion" was a "cornerstone of their buzz."