Elizabeth Cotten (born Elizabeth Nevills on January 5, 1893, in Chapel Hill, North Carolina – died June 29, 1987) was a groundbreaking American blues and folk musician, singer, and songwriter. Her signature left-handed guitar style, where she played a right-handed guitar upside down, became known as "Cotten picking" and influenced a generation of musicians. Self-taught from a young age, Cotten developed her own unique sound, characterized by her alternating bass pattern with an independent melody on the treble strings.

Cotten's music career took a significant hiatus after she married and focused on her family, but she was rediscovered during the folk revival of the 1960s. Her work was brought to a broader audience thanks to the folk music community, including the renowned Seeger family with whom she worked as a housekeeper. Her tune "Freight Train," written when she was just 11 years old, became a folk classic and a staple of the American folk music repertoire. Into her 90s, Cotten continued to record and perform, leaving behind a legacy enshrined in albums such as "Freight Train and Other North Carolina Folk Songs and Tunes," "Live!," and "Elizabeth Cotten, Volume 3: When I'm Gone." Her music is celebrated not just for its beauty and technical skill, but also for its profound influence on the folk genre.

Genres

American Folk Revival

Piedmont Blues

Traditional Blues

Traditional Folk

Related Artists

Doc Watson

Mississippi John Hurt

Woody Guthrie

Taj Mahal

Pete Seeger

Brownie McGhee

John Fahey

Odetta

Etta Baker

Sonny Terry

Big Bill Broonzy

Muddy Waters

Latest Release

Freight Train

Elizabeth Cotten

Single - Released August 25, 2014