Joseph Cotton
b. Silbert Walton, 1957, St. Ann, Jamaica, West Indies. Prior to his success in the music industry Walton spent a year in the Jamaican Police Force before recording as Jah Walton for Joe Gibbs in 1976. By 1977 he recorded a number of tracks for producer Harry Mudie, including the popular combination hit with Prince Heron, ‘Stay A Yard And Praise God’, ‘Touch Her Where She Want It Most’ and the hilarious ‘Married To A Bank Cashier’. With Sonia Pottinger he was enrolled to perform on the rehashed ‘It’s Raining’ by the Techniques, made available in the disco mix format. In 1982 he released the dancehall stepper ‘All Kinda People Come To The Dance’ and the Nicodemus -influenced ‘Senator Dee’, which enhanced his credibility and led to a session at Channel One for the equally popular ‘River To The Bank’. In the mid-80s he became known as Joseph Cotton, which led to a change of fortune when he recorded the chart-topping ‘No Touch The Style’ for Fashion Records in the UK, featuring the uncredited vocals of Janet Lee Davis. The release was coupled with a celebratory instrumental, ‘Cotton Comes To Harlesdon’, a pun relating to the 1970 blaxploitation movie starring Godfrey Cambridge. The success of the single resulted in a rare UK television appearance in 1987 on the Channel 4 Club Mix programme, where he performed his hit to an exuberant crowd. The single led to numerous hits including ‘Things Running Slow’, ‘Pat Ha Fe Cook’, ‘Tutoring’, ‘Judge Cotton’, and the combination with Janet Lee Davis (credited to her alter ego Shako Lee), ‘What Is This’.
In the late 80s Cotton teamed up with veteran producer Glen Brown, who had enjoyed a revival when he recorded the instrumental Glen Brown Plays Music From The East. In the early 90s he joined fellow expatriate Errol Dunkley, performing their interpretation of Ken Boothe’s ‘The Train Is Coming’ as ‘Bad Boy Train’. A surprise appearance at a concert headlined by Dunkley at the Podium in London’s Vauxhall resulted in several false starts, a practice drawn from the dancehall phrase ‘haul and pull’, which denotes audience approval. In 1995 he released ‘Smile Orange’, taking its title from the classic Jamaican film, and in 1996 followed with the equally popular ‘You Sexy Thing’. He also recorded in combination with Sylvia Tella the hit ‘Warm And Tender Love’/‘Rastaman’. In 1997 he appeared as Jah Walton at the Essential Festival Weekender alongside Dennis Alcapone, recreating the excitement of dancehall.
© TiVo
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Absent Mind
Reggae - Released by SouLove Records on Feb. 28, 2011
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Cumbia Party
Dancehall - Released by DiscoBox Digital Hi-Fi on Jan. 1, 2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
There's no Devil
Dancehall - Released by Air Afrique Records on Mar. 8, 2024
24-Bit 48.0 kHz - Stereo -
Tribute To Peter Tosh
Reggae - Released by Air Afrique Records on Feb. 9, 2024
24-Bit 48.0 kHz - Stereo -
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Trod in Africa
Reggae - Released by Freestyle Records on Jun. 16, 2023
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Everyday is a mother's day
Joseph Cotton, Sly Dunbar, Heartical Sound
Dancehall - Released by Heartical Label on Jun. 4, 2023
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Tribute To Tina Turner
Miscellaneous - Released by Air Afrique Records on Jul. 21, 2023
24-Bit 48.0 kHz - Stereo -
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Come Ketch The Style
Dancehall - Released by Air Afrique Records on Sep. 29, 2023
24-Bit 48.0 kHz - Stereo -
Street President
Dancehall - Released by X-Ray Production on Mar. 10, 2017
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Manudigital Affair
Dancehall - Released by X-Ray Production on Mar. 10, 2017
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Internet Judge & Jury
Reggae - Released by DIscoBox Recordings on Sep. 24, 2019
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Love Emotion
Dancehall - Released by DIscoBox Recordings on Sep. 15, 2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Foreign Correspondent
Humour/Spoken Word - Released by Saland Publishing on Mar. 13, 2008
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Happy Days
Reggae - Released by Hills View Music on Jan. 17, 2022
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mr Talkative (Alternate Mix)
Reggae - Released by BAT Records on Mar. 10, 2023
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Air Force One
Reggae - Released by Musical Ambassador on May 16, 2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo