Blues Harmonica Legend James Cotton Dies at 81

Blues harmonica legend James Cotton died on Thursday at age 81. The news was reported by his record label, Alligator Records.

Cotton had been battling pneumonia, according to the press release. He died in Austin, Texas at St. David’s Medical Center.

Cotton, who was born on a cotton plantation in Tunica, Mississippi in 1935, learned harmonica directly from Sonny Boy Williamson and became a working musician at age nine. He recorded for Sun Records in 1953 and spent 12 years touring and playing with Muddy Waters.

Cotton signed with Alligator Records in 1984. He won a Grammy Award in 1996 for his Verve album, Deep In The Blues, and recorded four albums for Telarc Records before returning to Alligator in 2010. His most recent recording was 2013’s Grammy-nominated Cotton Mouth Man.

Cotton is survived by his wife Jacklyn Hairston Cotton, daughters Teresa Hampton of Seattle, Washington, and Marshall Ann Cotton of Peoria, Illinios and son James Patrick Cotton of Chicago, Illinois, as well as numerous grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Funeral arrangements are pending.