Early Years

Jeffrey Ralph Cotton was born in 1949 (or possibly 1950, I've not been able to confirm this). Around 1962 Jeff's parents moved him and his little sister, Kathy, from Porterville to the desert town of Lancaster in California's Antelope Valley like many others to find work in the local aircraft industry.

At some point Jeff got himself a guitar and in an attempt to develop his skills he tracked down some like-minded youngsters in the town. Don Giesen, along with brothers Ron and Steve Beaver also had guitars. After the brothers' Dad had helped them tune their instruments and shown them a few basic things they tried figuring out surf tunes from their 45's. Occasionally a neighbour of Ron's would bring over his student snare drum and join in.

Don Giesen told me:-

During this basic learning process, Jim Ferguson's family moved in down the street from me. We used to teach him stuff on our guitars as he didn't have one of his own. His house was kind of a hang out for us because his mom would let us smoke cigarettes there.
Jeff Cotton was new in town and lived a few neighborhoods away by the fairgrounds and the junior high. Somehow he heard about us and used to ride his 10 speed bike over with his first guitar to Ron's or Jim's. We would show each other songs and chords and generally share knowledge about things we had figured out. We all seemed to have pretty good ears for picking things out. Of course they were elementary early surf tunes.

While working at the small Lancaster airport Jeff's dad had befriended a Mr Fankhauser who's son, Merrell (pronounced Merle) played guitar. The 21 year old Merrell also worked at the airport and was asked if he'd get together with Jeff who was learning the guitar.

Merrell was already an experienced recording and performing artist with the surf band The Impacts which he'd quit earlier that year (1963) because of the lack of financial success. The 14 year old Jeff was a fast learner as he and Merrell practised every day playing surf songs and their version of the newly emerging beat music.

It wasn't long before they had enough of their own songs and, like hundreds of other teenagers, decided to form a band. In fact, Merrell recalls that they may well have decided to form a band at their first meeting.

In Lancaster at this time, the mid-60s, THE place to congregate was Rohr's Music Box, a music store owned by Cliff Rohr. It was here that Jeff and Merrell gave guitar lessons. Jeff obviously had an innate flair and ability for the instrument and his playing had soon surpassed that of his older band mate and former teacher.

But Jeff still had to attend school ... Antelope Valley High School. Fellow student Don Aldridge described Jeff as "THE man in high school" while another friend, Bruce Gardner, says that he "was always a front runner in many things, long hair before it was popular. Talked drug talk ... claimed to have used grass and LSD". But music wasn't far away. Although involved with The Exiles he stuck at high school, sang in the Acapella Choir and played guitar and sang in the school's folk group called The Balladiers

The acapella choir would perform at other local schools. A 13 year old Ann Rezearch was a pupil at Joshua Elementary:-

"Jeff was the talk of the place, of course, because he had long hair, which was unknown for a school kid in the spring of 1967 in Lancaster. As the choir walked in a procession through the auditorium after the performance, Jeff walked past me, leaned over and kissed me on the cheek and asked (in earshot of the entire school) if I was coming over after school? There are not words to describe the incredible increase in popularity I enjoyed at school from that day forward. Other kids would come up to me - Do you KNOW him??? Yes, I smiled sweetly..."

Ann went on to tell me that although she knew Jeff, she never felt she knew him well. She says

"he was always very nice and attentive to me. Jeff lived across the street from my school when I was in 8th grade. Larry Willey lived nearby, but I can't recall exactly where. I would go with my friend, Rita, over to Larry's house after school and Rita, Jeff, Larry and I would smoke pot. The first time I ever got high (I was 13) was at Larry's house with Jeff and Rita. I was always so amazed that Jeff paid attention to me. He was such the hot guy around town, but he never acted like it to me."

As well as being naturally good looking Jeff seemed to have a natural talent for playing guitar too. Bruce Gardner again, "He tended to play most anything [...] I heard him play classical, folk, rock ...very, very talented!" He may have started out on surf music, then soaked up the sounds of the the 'British invasion' groups but he was now being influenced by the blues-based music coming out of England at that time, especially that played by The Yardbirds.

The Balladiers
Antelope Valley High