An icon of the Kansas City blues scene has died. Annetta Cotton Candy Washington passed away early Tuesday morning due to complications from a stroke. She was 76. The coming year would ve been the singer s 40th as a fixture on the local music scene, said Chris Cohick, a saxophonist who regularly played with her. It s hard to find a blues musician in this town that doesn t have a Cotton Candy story of some kind, Cohick said.

Just about everyone has either performed with her or received some support or encouragement from her. Friends and fellow musicians remembered her positive outlook on life. She s a woman that had very humble and austere beginnings, but she was always one of those people who took what life gave them and made the most of it, Cohick said. Her motto according to an essay on her Web site, www.cottoncandyblues.com was a mix of blues philosophy and religious faith: I am too blessed to be depressed.

Even after Washington lost a leg to diabetes, she performed regularly and was a strong supporter of local musicians. She regularly attended jam sessions and other performers concerts and was never shy about sitting in for a song, said John Altevogt, a bassist who played with her for about four years. She and her band twice won Best Blues Band contests in Kansas City and in 1998 placed third in the International Best Blues Band Contest in Memphis.

She once performed at a national convention for the Amputee Coalition of America and was a regular at private events and benefit concerts in the area. Washington was more than just a blues singer she was a blues entertainer, said D.C. Bellamy, another local performer and guitarist. She didn t just sing the blues; she entertained people, Bellamy said. She intertwined with the audience and could always make them laugh.