Eddie Cotton

Eddie Cotton Jr. was born in Jackson, Mississippi, in 1970 and grew up in Clinton, where his father, a Pentecostal minister, founded Christ Chapel Church of God in Christ. He got his first electric guitar at six, joined the church band at eight and became its lead guitarist. He heard the blues on the radio and in the live shows of Jackson bluesman King Edward, and at 18 he won a full scholarship to study music theory at Jackson State University.

In 1995 he left school to play full time in Jackson, at the Subway Lounge and the Alamo Theatre on Farish Street. He played with King Edward Antoine and recorded with Grady Champion. He appeared in Robert Mugge's documentary Last of the Mississippi Jukes and played Robert Johnson in the short film Stop Breakin' Down. He has shared bills with B.B. King, Buddy Guy, Bobby Rush, Robert Cray, Etta James and Gladys Knight, and has opened for Ike Turner.

He won the 2015 International Blues Challenge in Memphis. Albums include Here I Come (2014) and One At A Time (2015) on DeChamp Records, and The Mirror (2024) on Malaco Records. In 2022 the Mississippi Blues Trail placed marker No. 212 in Clinton in his honor. In 2025 he received the Mississippi Governor's Arts Award for Excellence in Music and was recognized in the Congressional Record.

He leads Eddie Cotton and the Mississippi Cotton Club. Recent stages include SXSW (2024), the National NAACP Convention (2024), the Richmond Folk Festival (2017 and 2024) and the National Folk Festival. He still serves as minister of music at his home church. His track Delivered By The Blues is on the 2025 Jacktown USA compilation.