Folk Music and Elizabeth Cotten
Folk Music is a genre that has been produced since the time of slavery in the Americas. The genre got its start by adapting West and East African instruments like The Djembe, The Kora, and The Banjo, which was developed later in North America. Popular names in the genre include trailblazers like Taj Mahal, Rhiannon Giddens, Odetta, and Elizabeth Cotten. In this post, I’ll be focusing on Elizabeth Cotten in particular because of her influence in re-popularizing the banjo, as well as writing music as early as 12 years old. Aspects of Folk Music that remain important today, though I won’t be deep diving in this post, are the field holler, ring-and-shout, and work songs, which all served as ways of communication for slaves while they worked in the fields.
Elizabeth Cotten
Elizabeth Cotten was a self-taught, left-handed guitar player who played with only two fingers, on a guitar that meant for those who are right handed. She was born in 1893 and died in 1987 and specialized in the genres Blues and Folk. She’s best known for her song “Freight Train”. She wrote it when she wad 11-12 years old, and her inspiration was a train that she often saw running by her home in North Carolina. She toured and released albums well into her 80s, but only started performing in her 60s. In addition to touring, she used her profits to support the folk arts further.
