983K views · 15K shares | At age 85, Elizabeth Cotten demonstrates how she taught herself to play guitar as a child and performs the first tune she ever learned, "Wilson Rag." Special thanks to Mike Seeger for everything he did to bring Elizabeth Cotten's music to the world including this footage filmed at Black Hawk College in 1978. | Dust-to-Digital | Facebook

Elizabeth Cotten - “Oh Babe, It Ain't No Lie” with Mike Seeger in 1980 | Blues Compartido

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

15K views · 213 reactions | This is the BLUES. Watch American Blues legend, Elizabeth Cotten, playing her most famous song, "Freight Train." Notice how she played a right handed guitar upside down. Cotten was a true original. | Guitar Loves | Facebook