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Elizabeth Cotten

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Vocalist

The Resume

    (January 5, 1895-June 29, 1987)
    Born in Carrboro, North Carolina
    Maiden name was Nevills
    Folk/blues guitarist, singer and songwriter
    Recorded the albums 'Folksongs and Instrumentals with Guitar' (1958), 'Shake Sugaree' (1967), 'When I'm Gone' (1979) and 'Live!' (1983)
    Won a Grammy for Best Ethnic or Traditional Folk Recording (1984)

Why she might be annoying:

    Her parents could not agree on a name for her, so she was known as 'Babe' and "Little Sis' until she began school.
    She stopped playing guitar for four decades after the deacons at her church told her to give up 'worldly music.'
    Her distinctive guitar style (playing the bass lines with her fingers and melody with her thumb) was dubbed 'Cotten picking.'

Why she might not be annoying:

    She was a self-taught guitarist.
    She wrote the folk standard 'Freight Train' when she was twelve years old.
    She was rediscovered while working as a maid for the Seeger family, with Mike Seeger recording her first album at their home.
    She was named a National Heritage Fellow by the National Endowment of the Arts and a Living Treasure by the Smithsonian Institution.

Credit: C. Fishel


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    In 2023, Out of 3 Votes: 33.33% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 4 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 16 Votes: 93.75% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 7 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 5 Votes: 60.0% Annoying
    In 2018, Out of 3 Votes: 33.33% Annoying
    In 2016, Out of 2 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2015, Out of 5 Votes: 40.0% Annoying
    In 2014, Out of 7 Votes: 71.43% Annoying
    In 2013, Out of 11 Votes: 54.55% Annoying
    In 2012, Out of 12 Votes: 41.67% Annoying
    In 2011, Out of 18 Votes: 72.22% Annoying