Elizabeth Cotten

The Profile

Elizabeth Cotten (born in Chapel Hill, North Carolina; died in Syracuse, New York in 1987) was an American folk and country-blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter. A self-taught left-hander who played an inverted guitar, she popularized the distinctive “Cotten-picking” approach and is best known for her song Freight Train. Rediscovered while working for the Seeger family, she recorded her debut for Folkways in 1958 and performed widely through the 1960s–1980s, earning a Grammy Award in 1985 for Elizabeth Cotten Live!

Self-taught, left-handed guitarist who played with the guitar upside down and developed a two-finger “Cotten-picking” style; wrote “Freight Train” at age 15; rediscovered by the Seeger family and recorded for Folkways in 1958; performed at the Newport Folk Festival and the Smithsonian Festival of American Folklife; associated with country blues, ragtime, parlor-style pieces, and open tunings; released Shake Sugaree and Volume 3: When I'm Gone; performed into her 90s.

A first-person, affectionate portrait of Elizabeth Cotten: self-taught, left-handed, and inventor of the famed “Cotten-picking.” The review traces her journey from Chapel Hill to her Folkways debut, centering on Freight Train, her tender signature song. It highlights her unique inverted technique, Seeger-family rediscovery, and calm, intimate style.