Poco guitarist Paul Cotton dead at 78

Paul Cotton, the lead guitarist and singer-songwriter for the country-rock band Poco, died July 31, his wife said. He was 78.

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Cotton died near his summer home in Eugene, Oregon, his wife, Caroline Ford Cotton, told The New York Times. She did not reveal a cause of death.

Cotton’s death came less than four months after Rusty Young, the band’s longtime steel guitarist. Young died April 14 at the age of 75.

Cotton joined the band in 1970 as a replacement for founding member Jim Messina, the Times reported.

“There was no doubt that he was the guy to replace Jimmy,” Poco co-founder Richie Furay said in a 2000 interview with soundwaves.com. “We knew that he was bringing a little bit of an edge to our sound, and we wanted to be a little more rock ‘n’ roll sounding.”

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Cotton was one of the group’s primary songwriters, according to his obituary.

He wrote the 1979 hit “Heart of the Night,” and was also the lead singer. His other compositions with Poco included “Barbados,” “Indian Summer,” and “Bad Weather.” Cotton also sang co-lead vocals on songs including “Rose of Cimarron.”

Norman Paul Cotton, the oldest of five children, was born on Feb. 26, 1943, in Fort Rucker, Alabama, the Times reported. His father, Norman Cotton, owned several grocery stores in the southeastern part of the state. His mother; Edna Cotton, kept the books for the family business. Young Norm, as Paul Cotton was known as the time, began playing guitar at 13.

Cotton spent three decades on and off with Poco and also released several solo albums between 1990 and 2014, according to the Times.

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