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Elizabeth “Libba” Cotten was born on this day in 1893. Through her songwriting and unique left-handed, upside-down playing style on guitar and banjo, Cotten has influenced generations of musicians. Here she performs her classic “Freight Train” at the Seeger family home in 1957. Cotten wrote the song as a teenager, inspired by the train sounds near her home in Carrboro, North Carolina. It appeared on her 1958 debut album, Folksongs and Instrumentals with Guitar, released on Folkways Records and l

Remembering Elizabeth "Libba" Cotten (January 5, 1893 – June 29, 1987) She was an American blues and folk musician, singer, and songwriter. A self-taught left-handed guitarist, Cotten developed her own original style. She played a guitar strung for a right-handed player, but played it upside down, as she was left-handed. This position meant that she would play the bass lines with her fingers and the melody with her thumb. Her signature alternating bass style has become known as "Cotten picking".