Joseph Cotton Jah Walton (born Silbert Walton, 1957,
St. Ann
According to apocrypha, as well as Christian and Islamic tradition, Saint Anne was the mother of Mary, the wife of Joachim and the maternal grandmother of Jesus. Mary's mother is not named in the Bible's canonical gospels. In writing, Anne's nam ...
, Jamaica) is a
reggae
Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica during the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its Jamaican diaspora, diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, "Do the Reggay", was the first ...
singer
Singing is the art of creating music with the voice. It is the oldest form of musical expression, and the human voice can be considered the first musical instrument. The definition of singing varies across sources. Some sources define singi ...
active since the mid-1970s.
Biography
After spending a year working in the Jamaican police force, Walton turned to recording, initially working with
Joe Gibbs
Joseph Jackson Gibbs (born November 25, 1940) is an American auto racing team owner and former American football, football coach. He served as the head coach of the Washington Redskins of the National Football League (NFL) from 1981 Washingto ...
in 1976, under the name Jah Walton.
[Larkin, Colin:"The Virgin Encyclopedia of Reggae", 1998, Virgin Books, ] He then moved to
Harry Mudie
Harry A. Mudie (born 1940 in Spanish Town, Jamaica) is a Jamaican record producer.Thompson, Dave (2002) ''Reggae & Caribbean Music'', Backbeat Books, , p. 315
Biography
Harry Mudie attended the St Jago High School.Larkin, Colin (1998) ''The Vi ...
, recording popular tracks such as "Stay a Yard and Praise God", "Touch Her Where She Want It Most" (the title track from his debut album), and "Married to a Bank Cashier".
In the mid-1980s, he began recording under the name Joseph Cotton, immediately having success in the United Kingdom with "No Touch the Style", leading to a television appearance on
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...
's ''Club Mix'' programme in 1987.
Several more reggae chart hits followed in the form of "Things Running Slow", "Pat Ha Fe Cook", "Tutoring", "Judge Cotton", and "What Is This". Cotton continued to perform and record into the 1990s, 2000s and the present day. He now lives in France where he performs at venues throughout the country and elsewhere in Europe both solo and in collaboration with other reggae artists.
Albums
*''Touch Her Where She Want It Most'' (1981) Music Force
*''Talk of the Town'' (1984) Thunder Bolt
*''Cotton Style'' (1990) South East – credited to Joseph Cotton and the Lord Son (
Glen Brown
Glenmore Lloyd Brown (1943 or 1944Campbell-Livingston, Cecelia (2013)Tough Times for Glen Brown", ''Jamaica Observer'', 15 July 2013. Retrieved 26 December 2014Larkin, Colin, ''The Virgin Encyclopedia of Reggae'', 1998, Virgin Books, . – 4 O ...
)
*''No Touch the Style'' (1987) Blue Mountain/
VP
*''Dancehall Days'' (1998) Moll Selekta (compilation)
*''The Good Old Days of the 70s'' (1998) Teem (Joseph Cotton &
Mike Brooks)
*''Things You Should Know'' (1999)
*''Kingston a Run Red'' (2002) China Visit
*''Black & White Ting'' (200?) P.O.T.
*''100% Pure Cotton'' (2005) P.O.T.
*''Worldpeace'' (2005) P.O.T.
*''Unity Amongst the Youths'' (2006)
Jet Star
*''Showcase'' (200?)
*''Joseph Cotton Meets Lion Stepper'' (2009)
*''True Life'' (2013) Disco-Box Music
*''Nightlife'' (2014) Atili Bandelero Records
References
External links
Joseph Cotton at Roots Archives*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cotton, Joseph
1957 births
Living people
Jamaican reggae musicians
Musicians from Saint Ann Parish
Jamaican police officers