Lawrence Cotton was born February 2, 1927, in New Orleans' 13th Ward Uptown, and has lived there his entire life. His father, a dockworker, was also an amateur pianist who played at house parties, and young Lawrence taught himself piano by watching him. His mother, Edna Mae Lanz, worked as a domestic and came from Baton Rouge.
Cotton served three years in the United States Air Force, and afterward used the G.I. Bill to attend the Grunewald School of Music, studying alongside a remarkable cohort of future New Orleans music legends, including Earl Palmer, Al Belletto, Eddie Bo, and Tommy Ridgley, among others. He got his start substituting for pianist Jeanette Kimball at a gig with bandleader Papa French, and went on to record and tour with guitarist Guitar Slim, best known for the 1954 hit "The Things That I Used to Do."
Cotton is a longtime member of the Preservation Hall Musical Collective, where he holds the distinction of being the group's eldest member, recognized as a Master Practitioner. Well into his late nineties, he continues to perform regularly at Preservation Hall and around New Orleans, including appearances at Satchmo SummerFest and French Quarter Fest. His band, the Lawrence Cotton Legendary Experience, continues his decades-long commitment to sharing traditional New Orleans piano with new audiences.
