Thats one of the most amazing, delightful things i have ever heard in my life. She feels like everyones grandma, but who is a badass at guitar.

This should be broadcasted in Americas history museums

A young female guitarist whose name escapes me was the first to mention Elizabeth Cotten and bring this amazing lady into my awareness. I only wish I could remember the name of the young 20 something female guitarist who I heard talk about her guitar style. There's something really unique about this fingerstyle technique. Those bends and slurs. That alternating driving finger picking tone. Just wow. Cotten Pickin'. It's something special.

how wonderful a right handed guitar played by a left handed lady. Definitely a personal and unique way.

Ridiculously great guitarist. Unique style. Strings back to front. Never heard of her till now. She wrote Freight train in 1904!

Tracklist: Elizabeth Cotten 0:00 Freight Train 2:04 Sweet Bye and Bye 3:41 Vastopol 5:40 George Buck 6:54 Washington Blues 10:47 I'm Going Away Jesse Fuller 15:35 John Henry 20:15 Red River Blues

Her fingerpicking style is incredible! Never seen anything like this before. And she plays all that with her eyes closed!

I actually saw her play at an outdoor festival, must been around 1980 or 81, and at that point she must have been 90 or nearly so! A review in the newspaper the next day said "her voice may have seen better days, but her guitar playing needed no apologies!". This was a FREE festival; Taj Mahal was the headliner. I also saw Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee at one of these free shoes, it might have been the same show as Ms Cotten and Taj, but I can't remember for sure.

Excellent camera work too, lots of close-ups on both hands. If that cameraman is still alive, I salute him! If not, we should dig him up and clone him. It's amazing how many rather more modern videos we will see from the 70s onwards where the cameraman seems to have absolutely no clue how to videotape a guitar player, or a band for that matter.

Einfach nur Superklasse 🙂💜

Many years ago l saw her on TV. She spoke of her young her young days and upbringing. She said that as a little girl the only name she knew was "Cotten." One day someone asked what her first name was and she made up "Elizabeth" on the spot. I thought that was interesting. Her and Jesse Fuller are both truly gifted players.

Virtually everyone has heard Elizabeth Cotten sing Freight Train, but that doesn't give even a hint of how good her guitar playing really was. She really shines on the instrumentals here, especially Washington Blues.

What an amazing musician was Libby. Not only did she plat left handed, she strung her guitar in reverse.

I hope her personal life was as obviously humble like her picin and poetry for the public and betterment for all. A rare gem

Sweet voice and unique playing mode but beautiful

really really nice to see her with those beautiful melodies!!

This song and shake sugaree speaks to my heart and soul in more ways than I even understand

If anyone wants to see the full performances they are on the FolkSeattle youtube channel

Smaller artists keep guitar right way. She is so good!!

God Bless this Wonderful American.... Truly unique!

Really good stuff here. What a great roll model. I wish I could play like that. So beautiful

Forever thankful ms.cotten

Jesse Fuller lived in Oakland Ca. In the 50s ,he was walking on the sidewalk ,someone had thrown an old piano out a window ,he brought the pieces home and made a "Footadella" thats the bass insturment you hear and see him playing!

I love this lady already - never heard her until today! Been down highway 61 a couple of times visited the haunts of Charley Parker and BB King and Robert Johnson’s grave and Ground Zero, but there 8:38 is just so much that you miss. Some great Delta Blues heritage.

So peaceful

Why isn't this beautiful lady more famous!!! well secretly, I'm glad for now I can say to any music snob do you know who Elizabeth Cotten is!!! :) Nastya Jiva thank you for posting and hey you have 30k + views just in this video

She was an amazing guitar player. I'm attempting to learn and play Freight Train.

thank you for sharing the work of e c and j f

Elemental Leaning into the Blue Grass Side of Folk Blues

manny thanks nastya for posting this and manny thanks mvr cotten god bles y beatyfull gr the netherlands

Awesome! Thank You! Timeless❤❤❤

Legendary! Thanks for posting!

amazing footage!

Beautiful 😍

Yeah it’s good

Great stuff, thank you!

this is incredible.

Rediscovery by the Seeger Family. An amazing story of open people finding and nurturing one other ...... (from WP) "Cotten retired from playing the guitar for 25 years, except for occasional church performances. She did not begin performing publicly and recording until she was in her 60s. She was discovered by the folk-singing Seeger family while she was working for them as a housekeeper. While working briefly in a department store, Cotten helped a child wandering through the aisles find her mother. The child was Peggy Seeger, and the mother was the composer Ruth Crawford Seeger. Soon after this, Cotten again began working as a maid, this time for Ruth Crawford Seeger and Charles Seeger, and caring for their children, Mike, Peggy, Barbara, and Penny. The Seeger family kids, who were too young to pronounce "Elizabeth", began calling her "Libba", and she embraced that nickname later in life.[16] While working with the Seegers (a voraciously musical family that included Pete Seeger, a son of Charles from a previous marriage), she remembered her own guitar playing from 40 years prior and picked up the instrument again and relearned to play it, almost from scratch."

I bet that the freight train still runs in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.

Oh my gosh she looks exactly like my grandma

Wowowowowowowowowow fucking wow this is real music

Awesomeness :)

She makes that pickin' look so easy. Her voice is better sounding than the lp I have so it must be earlier. I would guess early 1950s

I just noticed the right handed guitar being played by a left hand, also!

I never realized that she finger picked a right handed guitar with her left hand!

I am shocked at how good Ms Cotton actually was.

Not many will notice this: shes playing a left handed guitar upside down, still strung right.

Increíble

Never noticed that she was strung upside down (like Otis Rush and Albert King) until someone pointed out recently. Guess I learned this song all wrong in some people's book. :-)

Listen to Red River Blues at 20: 15, and it seems obvious that Ry Cooder must have listened to Jesse Fuller as a kid just learning to play. Sadly, the track gets cut off before the ending, and the rest of the songs listed above are nowhere to be found.

Now I know how to play this. I will only learn this, way,... now I do only have only two fingers on my picking hand. Just kidding.

If it's in normal tuning, she's a magician. With that much talent upside down.......Most couldn't play that well regular right handed. Was she self taught? I'd guess....because who would she be learning something this unique from?

This is awesome, thank you for posting this. Do you know what year this is from?

I think the Grateful Dead must have been fans of Elizabeth, as you can hear her influence in much of their music.

wow she's using a right handed guitar aswell

original !

She plays a right hand guitar left handed,...who does that sound like 🤔 Hendrix 😁

I am going to try and string mine so the bass is opposite as it should be strung...( Im right handed)...and maybe,....it would be easier to work the bass rather than the highs which I end up with too much....hmmm....I am excited now...;its not too easy for me to really use the bass picking it from the thumb...hmmm

That is a right handed Martin, strung for right handed playing. (The string are upside down for your normal guitar player.) THAT is fucking insane.

Wikipedia says 1960: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_Cotten

I am going to research ubout her ☠️😭❤️😩🐱🐱🐱🐱🐱🐱🐱🐱. Liz.

Yep, Libby was a treasure! Anyone figure out what Jesse Fuller is using as a slide on John Henry?😉 !

If you could only clap on KZfaq.

She did not restring her guitar.

Thank you! Unfortunately no, I do not know. Sorry...

Her name??

Potrebbe suonare davanti al padreterno

I cant Only Say Play Ellizabeth huuuu

and upside down!? Wtf

A left-handed person who plays on a right-handed guitar, with the thumb which therefore does not play the bass...