Darryl Grant Cotton (4 September 1949 27 July 2012) was an Australian pop, rock singer-songwriter, television presenter and actor. He was a founding member of Australian rock group
Zoot in 1965, with
Beeb Birtles, and were later joined by Rick Brewer and
Rick Springfield
Richard Lewis Springthorpe (born 23 August 1949), known professionally as Rick Springfield, is an Australian-American musician and actor. He was a member of the pop rock group Zoot from 1969 to 1971, then started his solo career with his debut ...
. As a solo artist Cotton released the albums, ''Best Seat in the House'' (1980), ''It's Rock 'n' Good Fun'' (1984) and ''Let the Children Sing'' (1994). In April 1980 his biggest solo hit, "Same Old Girl", which was co-written by Cotton, peaked at No. 6 on the Australian
Kent Music Report
The Kent Music Report was a weekly record chart of Australian music singles and albums which was compiled by music historian David Kent from May 1974 through to January 1999. The chart was re-branded the Australian Music Report (AMR) in July 19 ...
Singles Chart. He acted in the TV
soap opera
A soap opera (also called a daytime drama or soap) is a genre of a long-running radio or television Serial (radio and television), serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term ''soap opera'' originat ...
, ''
The Young Doctors
''The Young Doctors'' is an Australian early-evening soap opera originally broadcast on the Nine Network and produced by the Reg Grundy Organisation, it aired from Monday 8 November 1976 until Wednesday 30 March 1983. The series is primarily s ...
'' (1979), and on stage as Joseph in the theatre production of ''
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat
''Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat'' is a sung-through musical with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by Tim Rice, based on the character of Joseph from the Bible's Book of Genesis. This was the first Lloyd Webber and Rice mu ...
'' (1983).
He presented TV shows, ''Summer Rock'' (1979 and 1980) and ''
The Early Bird Show'' (1985 to 1989). In 1996 he formed
Burns Cotton & Morris with fellow 1960s pop singers,
Ronnie Burns and
Russell Morris
Russell Norman Morris (born 31 July 1948) is an Australian singer-songwriter and guitarist who had five Australian Top 10 singles during the late 1960s and early 1970s. On 1 July 2008, the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) reco ...
. In 2000 Burns retired from the trio and, with
Jim Keays
James Keays (9 September 194613 June 2014) was a Scottish-born Australian musician who fronted the rock band The Masters Apprentices as singer-songwriter, guitarist and harmonica-player from 1965 to 1972 and subsequently had a solo career. He ...
, they became
Cotton Keays & Morris. In May 2012, Cotton was diagnosed with
liver cancer
Liver cancer, also known as hepatic cancer, primary hepatic cancer, or primary hepatic malignancy, is cancer that starts in the liver. Liver cancer can be primary in which the cancer starts in the liver, or it can be liver metastasis, or secondar ...
and died on 27 July 2012, aged 62.
Early life
Darryl Grant Cotton was born on 4 September 1949 in Adelaide and grew up in the suburb of
Christies Beach. His mother's name was Gloria.
Music career
1965-1971: Zoot
In 1965 Cotton was the lead vocalist for The Murmen, when he formed a pop rock
covers band, Down the Line, with local rivals, Times Unlimited's Gerard Bertelkamp (later known as
Beeb Birtles) on vocals and bass guitar, John D'Arcy on guitar and vocals, and Ted Higgins on drums.
In mid-1967 the group changed their name to
Zoot and increased the original content played.
They entered the South Australian heats of
Hoadley's Battle of the Sounds, finishing second in a tense contest to
The Masters Apprentices
The Masters Apprentices (or The Masters to fans) are an Australian rock band fronted by Jim Keays on lead vocals, which originally formed as The Mustangs in 1964 in Adelaide, South Australia, relocated to Melbourne, Victoria, in February 1967 ...
.
In mid-1968, Zoot relocated to Melbourne, where their management promoted them under the slogan "Think Pink – Think Zoot" – all band members wore pink costumes; Cotton's car was repainted pink; his pet dog, Monty, had its fur dyed pink; and the venue, Birties Disco, was pink-themed throughout.
In September Rick Brewer, Cotton's bandmate from The Murmen, joined on drums.
Cotton and Birtles co-wrote "Little Roland Lost" which was issued as the
B-side
The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph record, vinyl records and Compact cassette, cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a Single (music), single usually ...
on Zoot's June 1969 single, "Monty & Me".
The A-side was produced by ''
Go-Set
''Go-Set'' was the first Australian pop music newspaper, published weekly from 2 February 1966 to 24 August 1974, and was founded in Melbourne by Phillip Frazer, Peter Raphael and Tony Schauble. NOTE: This PDF is 282 pages. Widely described as ...
'' writer,
Ian Meldrum (later hosted TV pop music series, ''
Countdown
A countdown is a sequence of backward counting to indicate the time remaining before an event is scheduled to occur. NASA commonly employs the terms "L-minus" and "T-minus" during the preparation for and anticipation of a rocket launch, and eve ...
''), while the B-side was produced by
Terry Britten
Terence Ernest Britten (born 17 July 1947) is an English-Australian singer-songwriter and record producer, who has written songs for Tina Turner, Cliff Richard, Olivia Newton-John, Status Quo (band), Status Quo and Michael Jackson amongst many ot ...
.
"Monty & Me" – referenced Cotton's dog – which reached the ''Go-Set'' Top 40.
Zoot were voted Top Australian Group in ''Go-Sets
pop poll published in June 1969.
In July 1969 they undertook a tour through the eastern Australian states with
Ronnie Burns, The Sect and Jon Blanchfield on the bill.
In September
Rick Springfield
Richard Lewis Springthorpe (born 23 August 1949), known professionally as Rick Springfield, is an Australian-American musician and actor. He was a member of the pop rock group Zoot from 1969 to 1971, then started his solo career with his debut ...
(ex-Wickedy Wak) joined on lead guitar and vocals For Zoot, the national tour brought increased media ridicule, peer envy and scorn from detractors – much of the criticism was
homophobic
Homophobia encompasses a range of negative attitudes and feelings toward homosexuality or people who identify or are perceived as being lesbian, Gay men, gay or bisexual. It has been defined as contempt, prejudice, aversion, hatred, or ant ...
, for their continuing use of pink outfits, where they were described as "pretty pink pansies".
In December when the tour reached Brisbane, Cotton was injured in an assault by street toughs.
Early in 1970 Zoot finally discarded their pink outfits and attempted to shift their image and music towards heavier rock from the earlier teeny-bopper pop.
In December 1970, they released their most successful single, "
Eleanor Rigby
"Eleanor Rigby" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles from their 1966 album ''Revolver''. It was also issued on a double A-side single, paired with " Yellow Submarine". Credited to the Lennon–McCartney songwriting partnership, the s ...
", which was a
hard rock
Hard rock or heavy rock is a heavier subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and Distortion (music), distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the Garage rock, garage, Psychedelic rock, psychedelic and blues ...
cover version of
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...
' ballad and by March 1971 it had peaked in the top five.
On ''Go-Set''s Top Records for the Year of 1971 it finished at No. 12.
In May 1971 despite the top 30 charting of their next single, "Freak", the group disbanded.
1971-1972: Frieze
Cotton and Birtles formed Darryl and Beeb as a pop, soft rock duo but soon changed their name to Frieze when they were sponsored by Frieze Brothers (a clothing company).
In September 1971 they released a cover version of the
Mann
Mann may refer to:
Arts, entertainment and media
* ''Mann'' (film), a 1999 Indian Hindi-language romantic drama
* Mann (chess), a variant chess piece
* ''Mann'' (magazine), a Norwegian magazine
* Mann (rapper), Dijon Shariff Thames (born 19 ...
-
Weil track, "Feelings", on
Sparmac Records.
In March 1972, the Cotton-penned single, "Try Yourself",
was released under the name, Darryl and Beeb Frieze. In May they followed with their debut album, ''1972 B. C.'', on
Warner Brothers
Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (WBEI), commonly known as Warner Bros. (WB), is an American filmed entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California and the main namesake subsidiary of Warner Bro ...
, using session musicians.
By June 1972 Frieze had disbanded and Cotton issued "Why Do Little Kids Have to Die", from ''1972 B. C.'' as his debut solo single.
In July 1972 Cotton travelled to the United Kingdom while Birtles joined
Mississippi
Mississippi ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Alabama to the east, the Gulf of Mexico to the south, Louisiana to the s ...
which, in 1975, evolved into
Little River Band
Little River Band (LRB) are a rock band formed in Melbourne, Australia, in March 1975. The band achieved commercial success in both Australia and the United States. They have sold more than 30 million records; six studio albums reached the top ...
.
1973-1977: Friends & Cotton, Lloyd and Christian
Early in 1973 Cotton joined United States-based group, Friends, with
Michael Lloyd and Australian-raised singer-songwriter
Steve Kipner
Stephen Alan Kipner (born 1950) is an Australian songwriter and record producer. He has produced a number of international hit songs such as Olivia Newton-John's "Physical (Olivia Newton-John song), Physical", Natasha Bedingfield's "These Words ...
(ex-Steve and the Board,
Tin Tin).
They released a single, "Gonna Have a Good Time" (a cover of
The Easybeats
The Easybeats were an Australian Rock music, rock band which formed in Sydney in late 1964. They are best known for their 1966 hit single "Friday on My Mind", which is regarded as the first Australian rock song to achieve international success ...
's song "
Good Times
''Good Times'' is an American television sitcom that aired for six seasons on CBS, from February 8, 1974, to August 1, 1979. Created by Eric Monte and Mike Evans (actor), Mike Evans and developed by executive producer Norman Lear, it was televis ...
") backed by "Would You Laugh" which was co-written by Cotton with Lloyd and Kipner. Friends followed with a self-titled album before Cotton and Lloyd left to form a vocal trio,
Cotton, Lloyd and Christian with
Chris Christian
Chris Christian (born Lon Christian Smith on February 7, 1951) is an American songwriter, record producer, and a record label executive. His songs have been recorded by Elvis Presley, Olivia Newton-John, Hall and Oates, Natalie Cole, Sheena Ea ...
and released two studio albums between 1975 and 1976.
Cotton based himself in Los Angeles where he also worked as a singer and songwriter and performed with
Olivia Newton-John
Dame Olivia Newton-John (26 September 1948 – 8 August 2022) was a British and Australian singer and actress. With over 100 million records sold, Newton-John was one of the List of best-selling music artists#100 million to 119 million record ...
,
The Osmonds
The Osmonds were an American family music group who reached the height of their fame in the early to mid-1970s. The group had its best-known configurations as a quartet (billed the Osmond Brothers) and a quintet (the Osmonds). The group has c ...
,
Shaun Cassidy
Shaun Paul Cassidy (born September 27, 1958) is an American singer, actor, writer and producer. He has created and/or produced a number of television series including ''American Gothic (1995 TV series), American Gothic'', ''Roar (1997 TV series ...
and
Cliff Richard
Sir Cliff Richard (born Harry Rodger Webb; 14 October 1940) is a British singer and actor. He has total sales of over 21.5 million singles in the United Kingdom and, as of 2012, was the third-top-selling artist in UK Singles Chart histo ...
.
His songwriting credits include work for
Donny Osmond
Donald Clark Osmond (born December 9, 1957) is an American singer, dancer, actor, television host and former teen idol. He gained fame performing with four of his elder brothers as the Osmonds, earning several top ten hits and gold albums. In the ...
and
Marie Osmond
Olive Marie Osmond (born October 13, 1959) is an American singer, actress, television personality, author, and businesswoman. She is known for her girl next door, girl-next-door image and her decades-long career in many different areas. Her musi ...
,
Engelbert Humperdinck and
The New Seekers
The New Seekers were a British pop group, formed in London, in 1969, by Keith Potger, after the break-up of his group, the Seekers. The idea was that the New Seekers would appeal to the same market as the original Seekers, but their music wou ...
.
1978-1984: ''Best Seat in the House'' & ''It's Rock 'n' Good Fun''
In early 1978 Cotton returned to Australia and signed with Oz Records. In August 1878, he released a solo single, "Don't Let It Get to You". From January 1979 Cotton hosted a TV music series, ''Summer Rock'', on Adelaide's
Nine Network
Nine Network (stylised 9Network, and commonly known as Channel Nine or simply Nine) is an Australian commercial free-to-air television network. It is owned by parent company Nine Entertainment and is one of the five main free-to-air television ...
.
Other solo singles followed, "I Don't Want to Lose You" in February 1979 and "Glamour Girl" in July 1979. At about that time Cotton acted on the Australian soap opera ''
The Young Doctors
''The Young Doctors'' is an Australian early-evening soap opera originally broadcast on the Nine Network and produced by the Reg Grundy Organisation, it aired from Monday 8 November 1976 until Wednesday 30 March 1983. The series is primarily s ...
'' for one season and followed with another series of ''Summer Rock'' in early 1980.
In February 1980, Cotton released his most successful solo single, "Same Old Girl", which reached top ten on the
Kent Music Report
The Kent Music Report was a weekly record chart of Australian music singles and albums which was compiled by music historian David Kent from May 1974 through to January 1999. The chart was re-branded the Australian Music Report (AMR) in July 19 ...
Singles Chart.
"Same Old Girl" was co-written with former bandmate Christian.
Cotton's work in 1980 earned him an award for Best Solo Male Performance, 10 years after Zoot had won a similar award for a group.
''Best Seat in the House'' was released on EMI Records in April 1980 and was produced by Christian.
Cotton formed a backing band, The Charts, with Joey Amenta on lead guitar (ex-Taste, Redhouse, Russell Morris Band), Andy Buchanan on drums, Randy Bulpin on guitar (
Mondo Rock
Mondo Rock are an Australian rock band, formed in November 1976 in Melbourne, Victoria. Singer-songwriter Ross Wilson (musician), Ross Wilson founded the band, following the split of his previous band Daddy Cool (band), Daddy Cool. Guitarist Er ...
), Terry Davidson on keyboards and Simon Gyllies on bass guitar (Mondo Rock).
In 1983 Cotton appeared in the lead role of the Australian stage production of
Andrew Lloyd Webber
Andrew Lloyd Webber, Baron Lloyd-Webber (born 22 March 1948) is an English composer and impresario of musical theatre. Several of his musicals have run for more than a decade both in the West End theatre, West End and on Broadway theatre, Broad ...
and
Tim Rice
Sir Timothy Miles Bindon Rice (born 10 November 1944) is an English songwriter. He is best known for his collaborations with Andrew Lloyd Webber, with whom he wrote, among other shows, '' Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat'', ''Jesus C ...
's ''
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat
''Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat'' is a sung-through musical with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by Tim Rice, based on the character of Joseph from the Bible's Book of Genesis. This was the first Lloyd Webber and Rice ...
''.
In 1984 he released his second solo album, ''It's Rock 'n' Good Fun'' on Hammard Records.
1985-2011: Continued success
From 1985 to 1989 Cotton was a co-host, with Marie Van Maaren, on
Network Ten
Network 10 (commonly known as the 10 Network, Channel 10 or simply 10) is an Australian commercial television network. It is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Paramount Global's Paramount Networks UK & Australia, UK & Australia division and is o ...
's ''
The Early Bird Show'', a Saturday morning children's TV variety show, where he worked alongside Marty the Monster.
In 1989, Cotton was awarded the Advance Australia Award for his services to the community, acknowledging his support and assistance to numerous charities and public organisations.
He also sang the lyrics to the song "Surfin" from the TV program Pugwall's Summer.
In 1994 Cotton released a children's album, ''Just for Kids'', on DC Records.
In 1996 he formed
Burns Cotton & Morris with fellow 1960s pop singers, Ronnie Burns and Russell Morris, which issued a self-titled album.
The album included three tracks from each artist's earlier career and three new songs.
In 2000 Burns retired from the trio and, with
Jim Keays
James Keays (9 September 194613 June 2014) was a Scottish-born Australian musician who fronted the rock band The Masters Apprentices as singer-songwriter, guitarist and harmonica-player from 1965 to 1972 and subsequently had a solo career. He ...
(ex-The Masters Apprentices), they became
Cotton Keays & Morris, which also released a self-titled album.
Since 1987 Cotton performed with the Australian Youth Choir and released numerous albums in the early 2000s. Cotton was the patron of the associated National Institute of Youth Performing Arts Australia.
His solo performances were backed by the Darryl Cotton Band, which, in 2005, consisted of Ashley Robinson on guitar and backing vocals, Peter Valentine on keyboards and backing vocals, Alejandro Vega on drums and percussion, Tim Wilson on saxophone, flute and backing vocals; and were sometimes augmented by
Lisa Edwards and
Wendy Stapleton
Wendy Anne-Marie Stapleton (born 8 July 1954) is an Australian pop/rock singer-songwriter, musical theatre performer and television actress and presenter Stapleton has performed as a backing singer, session musician and a solo artist; she front ...
on vocals.
Darry Cotton Band performed at corporate functions with a repertoire that included music from 1960s pop to 1990s and early 2000s work.
In 2011 Zoot reunited for a short performance cruise out from
Miami
Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...
with the line-up of Cotton joined by Birtles, Brewer and Springfield.
2012: Death
In May 2012, Cotton was diagnosed with
liver cancer
Liver cancer, also known as hepatic cancer, primary hepatic cancer, or primary hepatic malignancy, is cancer that starts in the liver. Liver cancer can be primary in which the cancer starts in the liver, or it can be liver metastasis, or secondar ...
, his manager Jeff Joseph announced that Cotton was receiving chemotherapy "
is resting comfortably and letting the treatment take its course".
On 27 July 2012 Cotton died.
On 12 May he had performed his last gig, with Cotton Keays & Morris, at a Sydney
RSL club.
In July Keays recalled, "
out six weeks ago... we were up in Sydney, he's an
asthma
Asthma is a common long-term inflammatory disease of the airways of the lungs. It is characterized by variable and recurring symptoms, reversible airflow obstruction, and easily triggered bronchospasms. Symptoms include episodes of wh ...
tic and used to cough a lot,
..we were driving back from the gig and he was just coughing so badly, and Russell was driving, and said 'Do you want us to drive you to the hospital?'".
Personal life
On 16 July 1977 Darryl Cotton married Cheryl Forehead; the couple had two children.
Cotton died on 27 July 2012, eleven days after the couple's 35th anniversary, aged 62.
Non-music Associations
Darryl Cotton played
Australian Rules Football
Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an Australian rules football playing field, oval field, often a modified ...
as a youth for the
Christies Beach Football Club, captaining the Senior Colts in 1965.
Discography
* ''For additional albums and singles, see
Zoot discography,
Cotton, Lloyd and Christian,
Burns Cotton & Morris &
Cotton Keays & Morris''
Albums
Singles
Awards and nominations
References
;Notes
;General
* Note: Archived
n-linecopy has limited functionality.
*
Note:
n-lineversion of ''The Who's Who of Australian Rock'' was established a
White Room Electronic Publishing Pty Ltdin 2007 and was expanded from the 2002 edition. As from, September 2010 the
n-lineversion shows an 'Internal Service Error' and was no longer available.
;Specific
External links
Obituaryin ''
Sydney Morning Herald
''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily tabloid newspaper published in Sydney, Australia, and owned by Nine Entertainment. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuously published newspaper in ...
''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cotton, Darryl
1949 births
2012 deaths
Australian male singers
Australian male television actors
Australian television presenters
Australian pop musicians
Musicians from Adelaide
Deaths from liver cancer in Australia
Deaths from cancer in Victoria (state)
Christies Beach Football Club players
20th-century Australian musicians
20th-century Australian male musicians
Zoot (band) members
Cotton Keays & Morris members
Burns Cotton & Morris members