A record that was born from the turmoil that befalls many artists who have signed to a major label, From The Hip marks a pivotal crossroads at the beginning of her decades-long career. “I think we all had our version of a nervous breakdown in a closet somewhere,” she laughs over those tumultuous times. “If the recording of Convertible Music was a technically nightmarish Elvis Presley movie, then From the Hip was Nightmare on Elm Street.”
Signed to Elektra Records (The Cars, The Pixies, The Doors, Bruno Mars), Cotton was introduced to the revolving door company brass turnover that happens frequently at major labels. Having released her 1982 classic debut Convertible Music on the label, spawning the New Wave hits "Johnny, Are You Queer?" and "He Could Be the One", she had already witnessed the fickleness of the label who shifted the level of their support throughout the promotion of the album.
“By the time From the Hip came out, Elektra had changed CEOs several times,” she explains. “So we were excited to hear that our new guy would be none other than [legendary producer] Roy Thomas Baker. I was a huge fan of his work, producing Queen and the Cars and we eventually became good pals.”
Though Cotton and Baker shared a wonderful working friendship, her experience at the label was anything but wonderful. “In the middle of recording, my manager and lawyer disappeared and then Elektra decided to fire my producers/mentors [Bobby and Larson Paine],” she recalls, noting that Baker took over production duties.
“I started taking meetings at Elektra with no representation... el solo mio. All the people who had signed me initially and believed in me were gone. It felt like I was starring in my own Telenovela soap opera, but my mouth is out of synch with the sound as I overact my way into oblivion."
Throughout it all, Josie pushed through and released From The Hip, a great time capsule of 80's New Wave through the unmistakable eyes of Josie Cotton. The album is a pastiche of 1960's girl group pop a la The Ronettes (“Life After Love”, “School Is In”), psychedelic surf rock (“No Use Crying”) and even a little rockabilly (“Straight Talk”, "Gina").
The single "Jimmy Loves Maryann" features Lindsay Buckingham on guitar and has become one of Josie's signature tracks. It charted #82 on Billboard's Hot 100 of 1984 and in 2007 was named as one of the greatest cover songs of all time along with The White Stripes’ version of “Jolene”, The Beatles’ remake of “Twist and Shout” and Johnny Cash’s rendition of “Hurt.”
"What I learned through all of this, is that talent is not enough. You need a team of people you can trust who have your back. And it helps if they’ve had a lot of therapy” quips Cotton.
In the last year alone, she has released the singles “Ukrainian Cowboy”/ “Cold War Spy,” a holiday track "Every Day Like Christmas," and re-released her albums Everything Is Oh Yeah!, Invasion of the B-Girls, her breakthrough debut album Convertible Music and is currently working on a brand new record to be released in early 2021.
If anything, the experience and lessons she learned from From The Hip has given her some clarity on the music business and, more importantly, herself. “The kicker is that being dropped by Elektra was the best thing that could have happened to me as an artist,” she smiles. “You could say, and I hope you do, that I don’t breed well in captivity."
Track listing:
License to Dance
Life After Love
Stop Me
No Use Crying
Straight Talk
Gina
Come with Me
School Is In
Way Out West
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