Elizabeth Cotten

E940497

Elizabeth Cotten was an influential American folk and blues musician and self-taught guitarist best known for her distinctive left-handed playing style and the classic song "Freight Train."

All labels observed (4)

How this entity was disambiguated

Statements (47)

Predicate Object
instanceOf American folk musician
blues musician
guitarist
human
alsoKnownAs Elizabeth Nevill
Libba Cotten
associatedWith Mike Seeger
Pete Seeger
Seeger family
awardReceived Grammy Award for Best Ethnic or Traditional Folk Recording
National Heritage Fellowship
birthName Elizabeth Nevills
countryOfCitizenship United States of America
dateOfBirth 1893-01-05
dateOfDeath 1987-06-29
debutAlbum Folksongs and Instrumentals with Guitar
ethnicity African-American
genre American folk music revival
blues
folk music
hasSignatureSong Freight Train
honor commemorated by a historical marker in Chapel Hill, North Carolina
inducted into the North Carolina Music Hall of Fame
influenced American folk revival musicians
fingerstyle guitarists
instrument banjo
guitar
knownFor Cotten picking guitar style
distinctive left-handed guitar playing style
livedIn Washington, D.C., United States
linked to: Washington, D.C.
musicalTechnique played a right-handed guitar upside down left-handed
name Elizabeth Cotten
notableWork Freight Train
Oh Babe, It Ain't No Lie
Shake Sugaree
occupation domestic worker
guitarist
musician
singer-songwriter
placeOfBirth Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States
placeOfDeath Syracuse, New York, United States
linked to: Syracuse
recordLabel Folkways Records
religion Christianity
selfTaught guitar
wroteSong Freight Train
Oh Babe, It Ain't No Lie
Shake Sugaree

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (8)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Cotten hasNotableBearer Elizabeth Cotten
Libba Cotten Bikeway namedAfter Elizabeth Cotten
Libba Cotten Bikeway honors Elizabeth "Libba" Cotten
linked to: Elizabeth Cotten
Libba Cotten Bikeway commemorates American folk musician Elizabeth Cotten
linked to: Elizabeth Cotten
Folkways Records publishedArtist Elizabeth Cotten
Honky Tonk (1941 film) featuresCharacter Elizabeth Cotton
linked to: Elizabeth Cotten
Piedmont blues notableArtist Elizabeth Cotten
Elizabeth Cotten name Elizabeth Cotten