Elizabeth Cotten
Being left-handed, Elizabeth taught herself how to play music on her brother’s right-handed banjo. By turning the instrument upside down she developed a unique picking style that is now referred to as “Cotten picking”. She was forbidden to play music by her church and husbad, but after her divorce a chance encounter put her back on the path towards music when she helped a lost young girl find her mother in a department store. The girl was Peggy Seeger of the famous music family. A month later Elizabeth began working for the family where she was eventually discovered to be an incredibly talented guitarist, banjo player, song writer and singer. She went on to record several highly influential albums and toured into her 90s!
Being left-handed, Elizabeth taught herself how to play music on her brother’s right-handed banjo. By turning the instrument upside down she developed a unique picking style that is now referred to as “Cotten picking”. She was forbidden to play music by her church and husbad, but after her divorce a chance encounter put her back on the path towards music when she helped a lost young girl find her mother in a department store. The girl was Peggy Seeger of the famous music family. A month later Elizabeth began working for the family where she was eventually discovered to be an incredibly talented guitarist, banjo player, song writer and singer. She went on to record several highly influential albums and toured into her 90s!
Being left-handed, Elizabeth taught herself how to play music on her brother’s right-handed banjo. By turning the instrument upside down she developed a unique picking style that is now referred to as “Cotten picking”. She was forbidden to play music by her church and husbad, but after her divorce a chance encounter put her back on the path towards music when she helped a lost young girl find her mother in a department store. The girl was Peggy Seeger of the famous music family. A month later Elizabeth began working for the family where she was eventually discovered to be an incredibly talented guitarist, banjo player, song writer and singer. She went on to record several highly influential albums and toured into her 90s!