Cotton Candy and So Many Men -
Cotton Candy - Annetta Washington -
Kansas City Blues Band |
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Cotton Candy - Annetta
Washington
KC blues icon Annetta "Cotton Candy" Washington dies at 76
Information from: The Kansas City Star,
The Associated Press
KANSAS CITY, Mo. --Kansas City blues icon Annetta "Cotton
Candy" Washington died on Christmas from complications from
a stroke. She was 76.
The singer suffered a stroke on Dec. 15 while performing at
a breast cancer benefit at Blayney's blues club in the
city's Westport bar entertainment district, said saxophonist
Chris Cohick, a regular Washington collaborator. Washington,
who died in the early morning hours Tuesday, would have
celebrated her 40th year as a local music fixture this
coming year, he said.
"It's hard to find a blues musician in this town that
doesn't have a Cotton Candy story of some kind," Cohick
said. "Just about everyone has either performed with her or
received some support or encouragement from her."
Washington's motto - according to an essay on her Web site,
http://www.cottoncandyblues.com - was: "I am too blessed to
be depressed."
"She's a woman that had very humble and austere beginnings,
but she was always one of those people who took what life
gave them and made the most of it," Cohick said.
Washington performed regularly and actively supported local
musicians even after losing a leg to diabetes. She would
attend jam sessions and the concerts of other performers,
never hesitating to sit in for a song, said bassist John
Altevogt, who played with her about four years.
Washington was known for performing at area benefit
concerts, too.
Her voice also was prize-winning. She and her band were
twice winners of Best Blues Band contests in Kansas City. In
1998, they placed third in the International Best Blues Band
Contest in Memphis.
"She didn't just sing the blues; she entertained people,"
said fellow blues performer D.C. Bellamy. "She intertwined
with the audience and could always make them laugh. She was
full of joy and there was an excitement you couldn't get
away from with her."
Washington was a founding member of the Kansas City Blues
Society and was among the first women to be named an Elder
Statesman of Jazz in Kansas City, Cohick said.
The legendary blues woman was a direct link to Kansas City's
thriving jazz and blues past, Altevogt said.
"She was one of the few remaining who reach back to that
era," he said. "She was there at 18th and Vine," the city's
historic jazz district where legendary musicians such as
Charlie "Bird" Parker and Count Bassie once played.
"Now without her we're deprived of that history."
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Cotton Candy and
So Many Men |
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Annetta Washington doesn't use her given name professionally, and
most people have never heard it. Everyone follows the advice of her
signature tune, "THEY CALL ME COTTON CANDY", and that they do.
Cotton Candy was a founding member and helped to organize the Kansas
City Blues Society, and served as the original secretary during her
three year tenure on the board. Today she still remains associated
with the Society. She also has the distinction of being the first
female blues artist to be inducted into the Elder Statesmen of Jazz.
One can always find Cotton on stage somewhere doing what the blues
are all about...living as well as performing them. "That's the true
bedrock of the blues," Cotton says. "Living them."
Cotton comes from a religious and musical background. At age eight
she was playing the piano for her minister/father's church, while
her mother played piano in the local clubs. Her blues career began
with she and two friends going to jam sessions in the Baghdad Club
at 37th & Broadway in Kansas City. She would sing the two Dinah
Washington songs that she knew weekend after weekend. Today she
writes her own material by herself or in collaboration with her
band.
Her present band, SO MANY MEN, is her third band. Cotton comments on
the band, "You keep on working til you get what you want." .
Cotton Candy and So Many Men were recently honored by Mayor Emanuel
Cleaver and the Kansas City City Council when they unanimously
resolved and proclaimed April 14 as Annetta "Cotton Candy"
Washington Day. This resolution becomes a permanent record in Kansas
City music history.
Cotton Candy's CD, "THEY CALL ME COTTON CANDY" is already enjoying
rave reviews across the country. To quote the Lare Bear, "Cotton
Candy sings the blues with her whole heart, because she sees the
blues in life." |
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