Josie Cotton

Josie Cotton issued the new wave single "Johnny, Are You Queer?" in 1982, a track whose provocative title and memorable chorus invited debate even while it captured attention in its day. Beneath that attention-grabbing release, however, the singer and songwriter has produced a broader body of work. Her pair of early-1980s albums stand as overlooked pop treasures, and she later returned with a body of art rock that echoes the atmospheric approach of Jane Siberry and Kate Bush rather than joining Los Angeles peers such as Berlin or Dale Bozzio of Missing Persons on the revival circuit.

Early-1980s press reports occasionally described Josie Cotton as the granddaughter of actor Joseph Cotten, an assertion contradicted by the differing surname spellings. She was in fact born Kathleen Josey in Dallas, Texas, into a locally prominent family whose wealth originated in cotton. After performing with several groups in the city’s Deep Ellum district, she relocated to Los Angeles late in the 1970s. There she met musician Bobby Paine, who together with his brother Larson Paine had composed the satirical girl-group number "Johnny, Are You Queer?" a regular selection in the Go-Go’s early performances. Following the group’s decision not to record the song at their label’s urging, Cotton took it on herself. Bomp Records issued a 12-inch single pairing the track with the B-52’s-styled "Let's Dance the Blackout" in 1981. The release drew criticism from conservative voices who viewed it as an endorsement of homosexuality, while others on the progressive side found it offensive; one televangelist even asserted that playback at 33 rpm would disclose a male vocalist. Strong sales prompted Elektra Records to sign her and re-release the single.

Her debut album, Convertible Music, appeared in summer 1982. Built around Farfisa organ textures, surf-style guitar lines, and Cotton’s distinctive nasal delivery, the record yielded a second modest hit in the polished "He Could Be the One." She performed both prior singles plus the Gary U.S. Bonds classic "School Is In" in the prom scene of the 1983 cult film Valley Girl. The follow-up, From the Hip, arrived in 1984 and was again helmed by the Paine brothers, who expanded their songwriting share, reduced Cotton’s own writing presence, and shifted the production toward synthesizers and electronic drums. Although the strong track "Jimmy Loves Maryann" achieved minor chart success, Elektra ended the relationship shortly afterward.

Rather than settle into periodic nostalgia performances, Cotton—briefly using the legal spelling Josey—surfaced again in 1997 with the enigmatic Frightened by Nightingales. Co-produced by her husband, the veteran Los Angeles punk engineer Geza X, the album diverges sharply from the concise 1960s-derived pop of her earlier releases. A subsequent set, The Influence of Fear on Salesmen, which restored the Josie Cotton spelling, appeared in early 2002.