Elizabeth Cotten
American blues and folk musician, singer and songwriter (1893-1987) · United States · On the map · Musicians · Died at 94
Elizabeth "Libba" Cotten was an influential American folk and blues musician. She was a self-taught left-handed guitarist who played a guitar strung for a right-handed player, but played it upside down. This position meant that she played the bass lines with her fingers and the melody with her thumb.
Elizabeth Cotten is read about 184 times a day, in 23 languages.
A typical day, 30 days to 9 November 2026
The middle day of the days counted, so one week of news cannot move it. The line under it is the last 111 days, one point a day.
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Spotify![Bronze statue of Cotten in Libba Cotten Grove, South State St., Syracuse NY.[24]](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4d/Elizabeth_Cotten_Statue.jpg/1280px-Elizabeth_Cotten_Statue.jpg)
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Her signature alternating bass style has become known as "Cotten picking". NPR stated "her influence has reverberated through the generations, permeating every genre of music."
