The woman who played guitar upside down and changed folk music
In short: Elizabeth Cotten was a self-taught musician who mastered a unique style by playing a right-handed guitar upside down. This physical quirk birthed 'Cotten picking,' a signature alternating bass technique that has influenced generations of artists, from Bob Dylan to Jerry Garcia, and even shaped the British skiffle movement.
Elizabeth Cotten's unique musical identity was born from necessity and physical adaptation. Born in 1893, she was a left-handed musician who began her journey by toying with her older brother's banjo. By reversing her banjo's orientation, she crafted a technique where the top string functioned as a brief, high-toned note terminating at the fifth fret rather than a bass note. When she eventually transitioned to the guitar, she continued to play it upside down—using a right-handed instrument. This necessitated using her thumb for melodies and fingers for bass lines, resulting in a unique fingerpicking method currently termed 'Cotten picking.' After marrying in 1910, she largely gave up her music for family and church, retiring from the guitar for 25 years. It wasn't until she was in her 60s, while working as a housekeeper for the Seeger family, that she rediscovered her instrument. The Seegers, a prominent musical family, helped her relearn her craft almost from scratch. This late-life revival led to her being discovered by the folk-singing Seeger family, eventually leading to her first public concert at Swarthmore College in 1960 and performances alongside legends like Muddy Waters and John Lee Hooker.
Her influence is perhaps most famously tied to the song 'Freight Train,' which she wrote as a teenager to remember a nearby train. The song became a cornerstone of the UK skiffle scene in the 1950s, though it was initially misappropriated and copyrighted by British songwriters. It took the advocacy of the Seeger family to eventually restore the copyright to Cotten. Cotten's life was marked by long periods of silence.
At 90 years old, she secured a 1984 Grammy, followed by a 2022 posthumous Rock and Roll Hall of Fame entry as an early influence.
She retired from playing the guitar for 25 years before being rediscovered by the Seeger family in her 60s. Her song 'Freight Train' was a major hit in the UK and influenced the rise of skiffle.
The 1985 Grammy for Best Ethnic or Traditional Folk Recording was granted to her at age 90.
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- Summary by Intellect · source: Elizabeth Cotten
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