Norman Paul Cotton (February 26, 1943 – July 31, 2021) was an American guitarist and singer-songwriter. He was a member of the band Poco and the writer of their international hit song "Heart of the Night". Before that, he was co-guitarist for the Illinois Speed Press.
Cotton was born in Fort Rucker, Alabama, on February 26, 1943. He started learning the guitar when he was 13 years old, and became involved in his first band a year later. He relocated to Illinois by age 16 and joined the Mus-Twangs, which later became the Illinois Speed Press. He played for the group throughout the next decade until 1970, when it dissolved due to the divergent musical interests of him and Kal David.
Cotton joined Poco in 1970, replacing Jim Messina. Most of Cotton's music career was as songwriter, lead guitarist and lead singer for the group. He said in a September 2000 interview with Sound Waves magazine, "I'm just drawn to the South. Hey, I spent 25 winters in Chicago." Cotton's best known song with Poco is "Heart of the Night", which was a major hit from the band's Legend album, released in 1978; the song is an evocation of the night life of the city of New Orleans.

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