Danielia Cotton
Encyclopedia
Danielia Cotton is an American rock
singer, songwriter
and guitarist
from Hopewell, New Jersey
. Danielia comes from a musical family. She is the daughter of jazz vocalist, Wenonah Brooks and the niece of jazz vocalists Jeannie Brooks and Carol Brooks-Meyners. She is married to Sam Roberts, a New York
-based attorney with Legal Aid
.
, population 2,010. She was raised, along with three siblings, by her African American/Native American/Caucasian mother, yet never met her Puerto Rican father. A jazz singer by avocation
, her single mom supported the family doing accounting work. At the age of 12 her mom gave her an acoustic guitar, a prescient move designed to help a daughter find an emotional and creative outlet. She also started harmonizing with her mom and her aunts in a gospel group, the Brookes Ensemble Plus. Growing up as one of only seven black kids in Hopewell Valley Central High School, she was not exposed to R&B and hip-hop. Along with her growing love for rock, Danielia developed a warm appreciation for jazz and gospel. Danielia wound up at the top of her high school class, the first to graduate from the New Jersey School of Performing Arts. Her powerful vocal skills earned her a full scholarship to Bennington College
, a storied – and costly – school where the arts were emphasized. Danielia chose to pursue acting there, eventually spending most of her senior year at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts in London. She doubled up on credits, so she could still study music, taking tutorials with avant garde jazz trumpeter-professor Bill Dixon, who, she says, “really trained my ear.” Acting has had a serious effect on Danielia as shown every time she performs, commanding onstage and off, a natural raconteur as well as a singer.
, Janis Joplin
, and the Rolling Stones
. WXPN/Philadelphia and home of the nationally syndicated World Café named her "Artist to Watch", slotted the album's soulful single "It's Only Life" into heavy rotation, and featured her on their HDNetwork broadcast of On Stage at World Café Live. Extensive national touring followed. Not too long after, Danielia's second studio album Rare Child, released May 20, 2008, was ranked in the top ten albums downloaded on iTunes during its first week of release. On July 7, 2009, Danielia released the LP "Live Child", a companion piece to her 2008 studio album, "Rare Child". This riveting document of her live set won the 9th Annual Independent Music Award for the ‘Best Live Album’ and 'Live Performance Album Vox Pop' for the album "Righteous People".
Throughout her career, Danielia has played in clubs and festivals around the country, and has opened for some of the biggest names in rock, R&B and blues including the Allmans, B.B. King, Derek Trucks
, Bon Jovi
, Lynyrd Skynyrd
and Robert Cray
.
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
singer, songwriter
Songwriter
A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
and guitarist
Guitarist
A guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselves on the guitar while singing.- Versatility :The guitarist controls an extremely...
from Hopewell, New Jersey
Hopewell, New Jersey
Hopewell is a Borough in Mercer County, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2010 Census, the borough population was 1,922.Hopewell was incorporated as a borough by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on April 14, 1891, from portions of Hopewell Township, based on the results of a...
. Danielia comes from a musical family. She is the daughter of jazz vocalist, Wenonah Brooks and the niece of jazz vocalists Jeannie Brooks and Carol Brooks-Meyners. She is married to Sam Roberts, a New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
-based attorney with Legal Aid
Legal Aid Society
The Legal Aid Society in New York City is the United States' oldest and largest provider of legal services to the indigent. It operates both traditional civil and criminal law cases.-History:...
.
Early life
Cotton was raised in the small western New Jersey town of Hopewell, New JerseyHopewell, New Jersey
Hopewell is a Borough in Mercer County, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2010 Census, the borough population was 1,922.Hopewell was incorporated as a borough by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on April 14, 1891, from portions of Hopewell Township, based on the results of a...
, population 2,010. She was raised, along with three siblings, by her African American/Native American/Caucasian mother, yet never met her Puerto Rican father. A jazz singer by avocation
Avocation
An avocation is an activity that one engages in as a hobby outside one's main occupation. There are many examples of people whose professions were the ways that they made their livings, but for whom their activities outside of their workplaces were their true passions in life...
, her single mom supported the family doing accounting work. At the age of 12 her mom gave her an acoustic guitar, a prescient move designed to help a daughter find an emotional and creative outlet. She also started harmonizing with her mom and her aunts in a gospel group, the Brookes Ensemble Plus. Growing up as one of only seven black kids in Hopewell Valley Central High School, she was not exposed to R&B and hip-hop. Along with her growing love for rock, Danielia developed a warm appreciation for jazz and gospel. Danielia wound up at the top of her high school class, the first to graduate from the New Jersey School of Performing Arts. Her powerful vocal skills earned her a full scholarship to Bennington College
Bennington College
Bennington College is a liberal arts college located in Bennington, Vermont, USA. The college was founded in 1932 as a women's college and became co-educational in 1969.-History:-Early years:...
, a storied – and costly – school where the arts were emphasized. Danielia chose to pursue acting there, eventually spending most of her senior year at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts in London. She doubled up on credits, so she could still study music, taking tutorials with avant garde jazz trumpeter-professor Bill Dixon, who, she says, “really trained my ear.” Acting has had a serious effect on Danielia as shown every time she performs, commanding onstage and off, a natural raconteur as well as a singer.
Music career
In 2005 Danielia released her debut album Small White Town (title inspired by Hopewell). Although Danielia is not a fan of comparisons, she was soon earning them after her debut album with such titans as Tina TurnerTina Turner
Tina Turner is an American singer and actress whose career has spanned more than 50 years. She has won numerous awards and her achievements in the rock music genre have led many to call her the "Queen of Rock 'n' Roll".Turner started out her music career with husband Ike Turner as a member of the...
, Janis Joplin
Janis Joplin
Janis Lyn Joplin was an American singer, songwriter, painter, dancer and music arranger. She rose to prominence in the late 1960s as the lead singer of Big Brother and the Holding Company and later as a solo artist with her backing groups, The Kozmic Blues Band and The Full Tilt Boogie Band...
, and the Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones are an English rock band, formed in London in April 1962 by Brian Jones , Ian Stewart , Mick Jagger , and Keith Richards . Bassist Bill Wyman and drummer Charlie Watts completed the early line-up...
. WXPN/Philadelphia and home of the nationally syndicated World Café named her "Artist to Watch", slotted the album's soulful single "It's Only Life" into heavy rotation, and featured her on their HDNetwork broadcast of On Stage at World Café Live. Extensive national touring followed. Not too long after, Danielia's second studio album Rare Child, released May 20, 2008, was ranked in the top ten albums downloaded on iTunes during its first week of release. On July 7, 2009, Danielia released the LP "Live Child", a companion piece to her 2008 studio album, "Rare Child". This riveting document of her live set won the 9th Annual Independent Music Award for the ‘Best Live Album’ and 'Live Performance Album Vox Pop' for the album "Righteous People".
Throughout her career, Danielia has played in clubs and festivals around the country, and has opened for some of the biggest names in rock, R&B and blues including the Allmans, B.B. King, Derek Trucks
Derek Trucks
Derek Trucks is a Grammy Award-winning, American guitarist, songwriter, and record producer. He founded The Derek Trucks Band and worked as a session musician when he was still in his early teens. Throughout those teenage years, he toured with The Allman Brothers Band primarily as a slide...
, Bon Jovi
Bon Jovi
Bon Jovi is an American rock band from Sayreville, New Jersey. Formed in 1983, Bon Jovi consists of lead singer and namesake Jon Bon Jovi , guitarist Richie Sambora, keyboardist David Bryan, drummer Tico Torres, as well as current bassist Hugh McDonald...
, Lynyrd Skynyrd
Lynyrd Skynyrd
Lynyrd Skynyrd is an American rock band prominent in spreading Southern Rock during the 1970s.Originally formed as the "Noble Five" in Jacksonville, Florida, in 1964, the band rose to worldwide recognition on the basis of its driving live performances and signature tune, Freebird...
and Robert Cray
Robert Cray
Robert Cray is an American blues guitarist and singer. A five-time Grammy Award winner, he has led his own band, as well as an acclaimed solo career.-Career:...
.
Band members
- Danielia Cotton - Lead vocals, electricElectric guitarAn electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker...
and acousticAcoustic guitarAn acoustic guitar is a guitar that uses only an acoustic sound board. The air in this cavity resonates with the vibrational modes of the string and at low frequencies, which depend on the size of the box, the chamber acts like a Helmholtz resonator, increasing or decreasing the volume of the sound...
rhythm guitarRhythm guitarRhythm guitar is a technique and rôle that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with singers or other instruments; and to provide all or part of the harmony, ie. the chords, where a chord is a group of notes played together...
s, songwriterSongwriterA songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer... - Marc Copely - Lead guitarLead guitarLead guitar is a guitar part which plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs within a song structure...
, backing vocalsBacking vocalistA backing vocalist or backing singer is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists... - Winston Roye - BassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
- John Clancy - drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
Studio albums
- Small White Town September 6, 2005 (Thirty Tigers)
- Rare Child May 20, 2008 (Adrenaline Records/ADA)
EPs
- Danielia Cotton (EP) August 24, 2004 (HipShake Music)
- Live Child (EP) July 7, 2009 (Cottontown)
External links
- Danielia Cotton's Official Website
- Danielia Cotton at MSNMSNMSN is a collection of Internet sites and services provided by Microsoft. The Microsoft Network debuted as an online service and Internet service provider on August 24, 1995, to coincide with the release of the Windows 95 operating system.The range of services offered by MSN has changed since its...
music
Reviews
- Danielia Cotton: A 'Rare Child'
- Danielia Cotton: Rare Child at Popmatters
- Disc review: Daniella Cotton
- Danielia Concert Review at Summit Daily News
- Danielia Cotton Review at Billboard
- Danielia Cotton Review at The Boston Herald
- Danielia Cotton Album Review at The Los Angeles Times
- Danielia Cotton Album Review at The New York Times
