Mike Cotton (musician)

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Mike Cotton
Birth nameMichael Edward Cotton
Born (1939-08-12) 12 August 1939 (age 84)
Tottenham, North London
Origin Hackney, London
Genres Jazz, R&B, rock
Instrument(s) Trumpet, flugelhorn, harmonica, vocalist
Labels Columbia Records

Michael Edward Cotton (born 12 August 1939) is an English jazz and R&B trumpeter, flugelhornist, harmonicist, vocalist and bandleader born in Tottenham, North London. [1] He is best known for leading his band under the names The Mike Cotton Jazzmen and The Mike Cotton Sound. [1] Cotton currently plays with the Stars of British Jazz. [2]

Contents

Career

Mike Cotton formed The Mike Cotton Jazzmen in the early 1950s during the "Trad jazz" boom. [1] From 1962 he changed the group's name to The Mike Cotton Sound, and their musical direction to a more pop-based style, [1] achieving a UK chart hit single "Swing That Hammer" that year. [1] They appeared in a performance in the 1962 film The Wild and the Willing. [3]

Member Dave Rowberry left the band in 1965 to join The Animals, [4] and among those who auditioned to take his place were Elton John and Joe Cocker. [3] Ultimately the position went to Steve Gray who went on to play in The Eric Delaney Band and Sky. In 1966 Cotton changed the band's style again to a more soul-based sound and brought in a second vocalist, a former American airman named Bruce McPherson Lucas, known by his surname. He had been working with bands in the Norwich area. [1] The band backed a number of artists in live and studio work at various times during the 1960s, including Sugar Pie DeSanto, Gene Pitney, Stevie Wonder, Doris Troy, The Four Tops and Solomon Burke. [3]

When their bass player, Jim Rodford, joined his cousin Rod Argent in his new band Argent [1] in 1969, Cotton changed the band's name to the more modern-sounding Satisfaction, and the band recorded one album under that name in 1970 before splitting up. [1] He retained the brass section, and this line-up, working again under the name Mike Cotton Sound, joined The Kinks, [1] first on their 1971 album Muswell Hillbillies , and then appearing with them both in the studio and in concert until the mid-1970s, after which Cotton returned to playing jazz. [2]

Select discography

Albums

With Andy Cooper

Singles

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Larkin, C. Virgin Encyclopedia of Sixties Music (Muze UK Ltd, 1997), p. 128. ISBN   0-7535-0149-X
  2. 1 2 "The Band" . Retrieved 13 December 2015.
  3. 1 2 3 Eder, Gene. "The Mike Cotton Sound". AllMusic. Retrieved 13 December 2015.
  4. Tobler, John (1992). NME Rock 'N' Roll Years (1st ed.). London: Reed International Books Ltd. p. 146. CN 5585.
  5. Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 123. ISBN   1-904994-10-5.