a Gallery of Cool Posters for
JAMES COTTON
"SUPERHARP"
By the Sixties, blues harpist James Cotton was an established musician with a strong band. Older than the predominant popular musical groups, he was still a powerful force on the concert circuit. His band was pivotal in playing traditional blues alongside the premiere rock, psychedelic, and white blues performers of the era including Janis Joplin, Cream (with Eric Clapton), Steve Miller, The Doors, and the Grateful Dead.
Here are some of the cool James Cotton posters we've come across.
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1960's |
Nov 18 - 20, 19, 1966
Performers: Grateful Dead; James Cotton Blues Band; Lothar & The Hand People
Artist:
Date: Nov 18 - 20, 19, 1966
Venue: Fillmore Auditorium
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Nov 20, 1966
Date: Nov 20, 1966
Venue: Fillmore Auditorium (San Francisco, CA)
Size: 8 1/2" x 11"Performers: Stokely Carmichael and the Staff , James Cotton Blues Band , Grateful Dead , Quicksilver Messenger Service , Johnny Talbot and De Thangs
Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) fundraiser at the Fillmore with the James Cotton Chicago Blues Band. Stokely Carmichael and his staff were there. Jon Hendricks was master of ceremonies. The concert ran 8 hours.
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Nov 25-27, 1966
Performers: Jefferson Airplane; James Cotton Blues Band; Moby Grape
Artist: Wes Wilson
Date: Nov 25, 1966 - Nov 27, 1966
Venue: Fillmore Auditorium (San Francisco, CA)
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Jun 30, 1967
Tour/Show: 10th Annual Berkeley Folk Festival
Date: Jun 30, 1967
Venue: Unknown
Size: 12 1/4" x 19"
Performers: Kaleidoscope , The Red Krayola , Crome Syrcus , James Cotton Blues Band
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July 18-23 1967
Perfomers: Sam & Dave; James Cotton Blues Band; Country Joe & The Fish; Loading Zome
Artist: Bonnie MacLean
Date: July 18-23 1967
Venue: Fillmore, San Francisco
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July 5, 1967
Performers: Yardbirds; James Cotton Blues Band
Artist: Bonnie MacLean
Date: Fri. July 5th, 1967
Venue: Fillmore Auditorium - San Francisco (4th of 5 weekends)
This is an uncertain poster and may have been a dry run for the next poster shown. It is possible that the Yardbirds performance was delayed to a later date. Needs research. |
July 28-30, 1967
Performers: Yardbirds; The Doors; James Cotton Blues Band; Richie Havens
Artist: Bonnie MacLean
Date: Fri. July 28th - Sun. 30th, 1967
Venue: Fillmore Auditorium - San Francisco (4th of 5 weekends)
Prior to this evenings event Jim presents promoter Bill Graham with a helmet adorned with bright psychedelic colors and written across the front is "The Morrison Special". This is of course an apology for drilling him in the head with his twirling microphone during their last performance on June 9th and 10th. The Doors play marvellously and as good as ever with an extended 10-minute version of "Light My Fire" that totally erupts the packed auditorium. Also performing: Richie Havens; James Cotton
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Aug 4, 1967
Performers: James Cotton Blues Band; Quicksilver Messenger Service; Congress of Wonders; Ace of Cups
Date: Aug 4, 1967
Venue: Continental Auditorium (Santa Clara, CA)
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Feb 15-17, 1968
Performers: The Paul Butterfield Blues Band; James Cotton Blues Band; Albert King; Holy See
Artist: Lee Conklin
Date: Feb 15, 1968 - Feb 17, 1968
Venue: Fillmore Auditorium (San Francisco, CA)
BG #107-2
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Nov 10, 1968
1967 Grande Ballroom, Detroit
James Cotton, MC 5,
"Vanessa" 14 & 1/16” x 24 & 9/32 “
Artist Carl Lundgren
Carl Lundgren
created this poster that advertises a pair of November 1967 concerts at the Grande, featuring blues harp legend James Cotton. This psychedelic masterpiece uses a stunning central image of the controversial actress Vanessa Redgrave, taken by celebrity photographer Victor Skebnewski. Lundgrens’ use of the opposing colors of Magenta and Neon Green create an incredibly vibrant effect that leaves the viewer mesmerized. The “Vanessa” is viewed by discerning collectors as not only being the most attractive and desirable of the Grande series, but of the entire genre of psychedelic concert art. This poster is highly coveted by top collectors and is next to impossible to find in top condition.
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Feb 24, 1968
Performers: Cream; Taj Mahal; James Cotton Blues Band
Artist: Frank Bettencourt
Date: Feb 24, 1968
Venue: Earl Warren Showgrounds (Santa Barbara, CA)
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Mar 7-10, 1968
Performers: Cream; James Cotton Blues Band; Jeremy Steig & the Satyrs; Blood, Sweat and Tears; Glenn McKay's Head Lights
Artist: Stanley Mouse (signed)
Date: Mar 7, 1968 - Mar 10, 1968
Venue: Fillmore Auditorium (San Francisco, CA)
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Mar 3-15, 1968
CREAM / JAMES COTTON / MINT TATTOO
SHRINE EXHIBITION HALL L.A. 3-15-68
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Mar 19, 1968
Artist: San Andreas Fault
Date: Mar 19, 1968
Venue: Straight Theatre (San Francisco, CA)
Size: 14 1/4" x 20 1/4"
Performers: Kaleidoscope , James Cotton Blues Band , Mint Tattoo , It's a Beautiful Day , Brotherhood Of Light
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Apr. 12-14, 1968
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Apr. 19-20, 1968
Performers: Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention; The James Cotton Blues Band
Artist:
Date: 4/19 & 20/68
Venue: Filmore East
This is a great vintage concert poster produced for the Frank Zappa and the Mothers concert on 4/19 & 20/68. Also featured is The James Cotton Blues Band. The poster is titled, "Last NY Appearance ‘Til Peace" and is a Bill Graham Presents Fillmore East poster, BG FE #4.
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May 10, 1968
Performers: James Cotton Blues Band; MC5; The Up; Children; East Side Orphans; Buffey Road Phenomena
Artist: Gary Grimshaw
Date: May 10, 1968
Venue: Grande Ballroom (Detroit, MI)
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May 11, 1968
Performers: The Doors; Crazy World of Arthur Brown; James Cotton Blues Band; Jagged Edge
Artist: Gary Grimshaw
Date: May 11, 1968
Venue: Cobo Hall
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Jun 14, 1968
Date: Jun 14, 1968
Venue: Fillmore East (New York, NY)
Size: 4 1/8" x 6 1/2"
Artist: David Byrd
Performers: Grateful Dead , Jeff Beck , Seventh Sons , Vanilla Fudge , James Cotton Blues Band , The Loading Zone , Georgie Fame , Joshua Light Show
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June 28-July 7, 1968 Blood Sweat and Tears/James Cotton (28th>29th only)
Cafe Au Go Go Rock Performers List
At this point, Al Kooper had left the group, and singer David Clayton-Thomas appears to have already joined. However, they would have still mainly been performing Kooper’s material.
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Jul 23-28, 1968
Artist: Lee Conklin
Date: Jul 23, 1968 - Jul 28, 1968
Venue: Fillmore West (San Francisco, CA)
Size: 14 1/16" x 21 1/8"
Performers: Moby Grape , Jeff Beck Group , Mint Tattoo , Charles Lloyd Quartet , The Herd , James Cotton Blues Band , Holy See
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Aug 13-25, 1968
Performers: The Who; James Cotton; Magic Sam; Creedence Clearwater Revival; It's A Beautiful Day; Grateful Dead; Kaleidoscope; Albert Collins; Quicksilver Messenger service; Spooky Tooth; Cold Blood
Artist: Alton Kelley and Rick Griffin
Date:: Aug 13-25, 1968
Venue: The Fillmore West - BG-133 in the Bill Graham Presents series
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Aug. 3-4, 1968
Orange County Fairgrounds 8/3-4/68
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This round handbill was used to promote the all-star lineup at the First Annual Newport Pop Festival. This was certainly one of the largest shows of the era and included the top acts of the day. Any items from this event are very scarce and seldom seen. A few handbills surfaced a few years ago, but other than that small group, you are unlikely to find any posters or other items from this show.
Artist:
Unknown
Performers:
Grateful Dead
Jefferson Airplane
Tiny Tim
Sonny & Cher
Eric Burdon & the Animals
Country Joe & the Fish
Byrds
Chambers Brothers
Quicksilver Messenger Service
Butterfield Blues Band
Blue Cheer
James Cotton Blues Band
Electric Flag
Canned Heat
Iron Butterfly
Steppenwolf
Things to Come
Illinois Speed Press |
Aug 28, 1968
THE WHO/JAMES COTTON/THE CARETAKERS
SANTA MONICA CIVIC AUD. 8-28-68 |
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Sep. 6-8, 1968
Performers: James Cotton Blues Band; The Sir Douglas Quintet + 2; Pulse; Womb; Electroluminescense
Artist: Roger Weil
Date: Sep 6, 1968 - Sep 8, 1968
Venue: Avalon Ballroom (San Francisco, CA)
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Dec. 13, 1968
Artist: Donnie Dope
Date: Dec 13, 1968
Venue: Grande Ballroom (Detroit, MI)
Size: 5 1/4" x 7 1/16"
Performers: Deep Purple , Lee Michaels , James Cotton
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Dec. 28, 1968
Tour/Show: Miami Pop Festival
Date: Dec 28, 1968
Venue: Gulfstream Park (Hallendale, FL)
Size: 12" x 21 1/2"
Performers: Jose Feliciano , Procol Harum , Buffy Sainte-Marie , Country Joe & the Fish , Three
Dog Night , Chuck Berry , The Infinite McCoys , Booker T. & the MG's , Fleetwood Mac ,
Pacific Gas & Electric , Blues Image , Steppenwolf , Marvin Gaye , Grateful Dead , Hugh
Masekela , Flatt and Scruggs , The Paul Butterfield Blues Band , Joni Mitchell , James Cotton
Blues Band , Richie Havens , Box Tops , Iron Butterfly , The Turtles , Canned Heat , The Grass
Roots , Junior Walker & the All-Stars , Ian & Sylvia , Charles Lloyd Quartet , The Sweet
Inspirations , Sweetwater , The Joe Tex Revue
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Jan. 23-26, 1969
Venue: Fillmore
Date: January 23-26, 1969
Artist: Lee Conklin
Size: 12 1/4" x 19"
Performers: Iron Butterfly
, James Cotton Blues Band , AB Skhy
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Jan. 31, 1969
Title: James Cotton Pacific Gas & Electric 1969 Blues Concert Poster Ad
Performers: James Cotton, Pacific Gas and Electric, Charles Lloyd
Venue: Shrine Hall, Los Angeles California
Artist: Bill Merkens
Category: Original Newspaper / Magazine Ads
Year: 1969
Size: 11x17
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March 1, 1969
Artists: Janis Joplin and Band, The James Cotton Blues Band
Venue: Duke University in Durham, NC |
March 15, 1969
Artists: Janis Joplin and Band plus The James Cotton Blues Band
Venue: Ann Arbor University Of Michigan, University Events Building (Canterbury House Presents)
Artist: Allan Reid
Student Caruy Gordon '1969 remembers that "Janis Joplin followed James Cotton with an off-balance off-key set."
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Apr. 5, 1969
Performers: Spirit, Nazz, James Cotton Blues Band
Date: 4/5/69
Venue: State Fair Music Hall, Dallas Texas
Notes: concert handbill . This handbill measures 8 x 11 inches and is printed on white paper with a black ink.
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Aug. 1-3, 1969
Artist: Arthur “Big Boy” Crudup, B.B. King, Big Joe Williams, Big Mama Thornton, Big Mojo Elem, Clifton Chenier, Freddie King, Howlin’ Wolf, J.B. Hutto & The Hawks, James Cotton Blues Band, Jimmy 'Fast Fingers' Dawkins, Junior Wells, Lightnin’ Hopkins, Luther Allison, Magic Sam, Mississippi Fred McDowell, Muddy Waters, Otis Rush, Roosevelt Sykes, Sleepy John Estes & Yank Rachell, Son House, T Bone Walker
Dates: Friday, August 1, 1969 - Sunday, August 3, 1969
Venue: Ann Arbor Blues Festival
Michael Erlewine, a guitarist who played in a local blues band, helped out behind the scenes at the festival and had a chance to interview many of the performers. He recalls that James Cotton told him, “I’ve never seen nothin’ like this in my life. This is the beautifulest thing I ever seen in my life. This is so beautiful.” |
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Aug. 30-31 & Sept. 1, 1969
Performers: B.B. King, Canned Heat, Chicago Transit Authority, Freddie King, James Cotton, Janis Joplin, Johnny Winter, Led Zeppelin, Nazz, Sam and Dave, Santana, Slay and the Family Stone, Spirit, Ten Years After and Tony Joe White.
Artist: Lance Bragg (this is version 2 of poster)
Date: Labor Day Weekend; Aug. 30-31 & Sept. 1, 1969
Venue: Texas International Pop Festival, Lewisville, Texas
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September ?, 1969: James Cotton
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Sept. 11-14, 1969
Performers: Steve Miller Band;
James Cotton Blues Band;
Keef Hartley
Artist: Randy Tuten
BG #191-1
Date: 9/11-14/1969
Venue: Fillmore West
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Oct. 3-4, 1969
Performers: Poco;
James Cotton;
Mance Lipscomb;
New Atlantis;
Onion Creek
Artist: Jim Harter
Date: 10/3 & 4/1969
Venue:
Vulcan Gas Co.
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Oct. 24, 1969
Performers: Janis Joplin and Her Band; James Cotton Blues Band
Tour/Show: Johnny Dark Productions
Artist: R. McIntosh, B.G. Vesper
Date: Oct 24, 1969
Venue: Henry Levitt Arena, W.S.U. (Wichita, KS)
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Blue Version...
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December 31st, 1969
Jimi Hendrix
Fillmore East, New York
Two Shows
After the show, Ian Dove of Record Mirror interviewed Jimi Hendrix for the January 10, 1970 edition of the British paper. Later that night, Hendrix retreated to The Café Caliph (previously known as The Café Au Go Go) in Greenwich Village where he joined The James Cotton Blues Band on stage for a jam. |
1970's
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Jan. 15, 1970
Date: Jan 15, 1970
Venue: Boston Tea Party (Boston, MA)
Size: 11" x 17"
Performers: James Cotton Blues Band , Kaleidoscope
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Mar. 26-29, 1970
 
Artist: David Singer
Date: Mar 26, 1970 - Mar 29, 1970
Venue: Fillmore West (San Francisco, CA)
Size: 13 7/8" x 21 3/4"
Performers: Chicago , James Cotton Blues Band , Family , Fritz , Brotherhood Of Light
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Jul. 19-24, 1971
Date: July 19, 1971 - July 24, 1971
Venue: Le Hibou Coffee House (Ottawa, Ontario, Canada)
Performers: The James Cotton Blues Band
The venue (in English: The Owl) moved to this storefront at 521 Sussex Drive 1965 and remined there for the remainer of its run. This is were Cotton's band played. |
MORE on Cotton and Le Hibou Coffee House (1960-1975)
The James Cotton Blues Band was a regular at this popular Ottawa, Ontario venue. The band played there a number to times during its heyday. Cotton is often mentioned in reminiscences of the venue, including something about him doing somersaults across the stage.
May 6-11, 1969, James Cotton Blues Band
Dec. 9-14, 1969, James Cotton Blues Band plus Bill Stevenson
June 2-7, 1970, James Cotton Blues Band
And after hours (a late night local band concert)
Jan. 19-24, 1971, James Cotton Blues Band
May 18-23, 1971, James Cotton Blues Band
And after hours
Nov. 23-28, 1971, James Cotton Blues Band
And after hours
May 30 - June 4, 1972, James Cotton Blues Band
And after hour
June 24-29, 1974, James Cotton Blues Band |
Nov. 14, 1971
Artist: Bob Masse
P
romoter: White Dove Productions
Date: Nov 14, 1971
Venue: Jubilee Auditorium, Calgary, Canada
Performers : It's A Beautiful Day , James Cotton Blues Band
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Jul. 8, 1977
Artist: Cliff Carter
Date: Jul 8, 1977
Venue: Armadillo World Headquarters (Austin, TX)
Size: 11 1/2" x 17 1/2"
Performers: James Cotton Blues Band , The Fabulous Thunderbirds
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Apr. 4, 1975
On Fri 4-Apr-1975 Johnny Winter played the Kitchener (Ontario) Memorial Auditorium, an arena really. The line-up was Radford, Hobbs, and Hughes. Very rock too. The support was The James Cotton Blues Band ( with Little Bo on sax and Matt Murphy ). |
Mar. 19, 1977
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1980's |
June 1981 Soap Creek Calander
Albert Collins, James Cotton, Room Full of Blues, Marcia Ball, Alvin Crow, Leroi Brothers and more…
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Oct. 9, 1987
Performers: Robert Lockwood Jr.; James Cotton; Johnny Copeland; Anson Funderburgh & the Rockets; Sam Myers; Isiah Ross; Levon Helm and The RCO All Stars
Date: Oct 9, 1987
Venue: King Biscuit Blues Festival, Cherry Street (Helena, AR)
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Jan. 29, 1988
Performers: Albert Collins; James Cotton; Buddy Guy; Jimmy Rogers; Angela Strehli; Joe Louis Walker; Kim Wilson; The Antones Tour/Show:Antone's West Blues Review
Date: Jan 29, 1988
Venue :Galleria (San Francisco, CA)
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1990's |
July, 1991
Antone's 16th Anniversary July 1991
12 x 18 glossy print poster
Zydeco blues memorial gig poster featuring fine art by Danny Garrett showing Clifton & Cleveland Chenier.
Performers included C. J. Chenier, James Cotton,
Luther "Guitar Jr." Johnson, Calvin Jones,
Darrell Nulisch, Pinetop Perkins, Snooky Pryor,
Jimmy Rogers, Willie Smith, Marcia Ball,
Doyle Bramhall Sr., Doyle Bramhall Jr.,
Lou Ann Barton, Sarah Brown, Wilfred Chevis,
Sue Foley, Alan Haynes, Mark Kazanoff,
Miss Lavelle White, Chris Layton, Johnny Nicholas,
Derek O'Brien, George Rains, Tommy Shannon,
Angela Strehli, Brian Terry and Reese Wynans
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Jul. 5, 2001
Tour/Show: Summer Sounds of the World
Date: Jul 5, 2001
Venue: Bridgeport (Bridgeport, CT)
Size: 16" x 22"
Performers: Sherry Winston Jazz Fusion , Galvanized Jazz Band , Urban Youth Explosion ,
Washboard Slim , James Cotton Blues Band , Fiesta Mexicana , Paradigm Shift , Anonymous 4 ,
Klez Generation , Los Pleneros Del Coco , Sunrise Steel Band
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| Week of May 17, 1968 - James Cotton Blues Band at the Electric Circus |
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