She grew up in a strict, religious family and girls weren't supposed to play guitars. So she'd sneak her brother's guitar out from under the bed and practice when no one was around. However, she was left-handed, and so learned to play a regularly-strung guitar upside-down. That's why the chords and progressions she produced were so different from anything else that was being played at the time. A pure definition of the word "unique."
@trimbandit9636
4 жыл бұрын
Dick Dale approves
@direfranchement
4 жыл бұрын
Actually it wasn't a guitar that she she snuck, but a banjo. She bought her own guitar later, but first learned to play her brother's banjo.
@jonathabotbot8237
Жыл бұрын
i can see that she knows the chords very well. if you look closely, you can see a C Chord clearly, on the other video of her i saw A minor
@davidmccaffery7977
7 ай бұрын
Jimi Hendrix played a right handed guitar ( he also was left handed) a developed a unique sound
@christinamiller3363
6 ай бұрын
She simply restrung her own left handed guitar.....and rocked it all the way home...🤘💕
@justingsteele
9 жыл бұрын
This is the talent that should have recognition in the Rock Hall of Fame. Humble and with grace, a beautiful, talented human being. Thanks to those who made the effort to post these videos.
@TheGuitologist
9 жыл бұрын
Justin G. Steele Screw the rock HOF. Music shouldn't have or need gatekeepers of approval.
@rillloudmother
4 жыл бұрын
why lump this in with rock when it is clearly not rock?
@googleisretarded7618
3 жыл бұрын
It's not rock, though.
@jenniferisbell9629
3 жыл бұрын
I agree on it all. She is very talented..
@davisworth5114
2 жыл бұрын
Why sully her reputation, she's not a rocker, she's an American original.
@TheeDavidDee
Ай бұрын
Simply sublime and angelic
@charlespineda1685
6 жыл бұрын
She is literally playing the guitar upside down. Southpaws stand up!
@JeffaHensley
4 жыл бұрын
charles pineda Great, but you don’t have to say “literally” all the time.
@houseofpills
4 жыл бұрын
@@JeffaHensley YOUR MOM
@thatpickingguy
3 жыл бұрын
@@houseofpills GOTTEEEMM!!!!
@kennethbartholow2732
3 жыл бұрын
@@JeffaHensley did you hear him? He said YOUR MOM
@hubertsumlin9697
Жыл бұрын
I saw that! All that fingerpicking, completely "backwards". Amazing.
@drombit
9 жыл бұрын
A beautiful woman and great musician.
@bustov75
3 жыл бұрын
No fancy, no show, a simple woman with an incredible talent!!!!!! God bless you!!!!
@thenormalyears
2 жыл бұрын
her guitar playing I would categorize as very fancy but I dont mean that in a bad way obviously but she does flex in her own ways during the songs
@MichaelKingsfordGray
Жыл бұрын
All gods are fictional.
@TheEpicImpaler
4 жыл бұрын
I think what makes her sound so distinct from the rest is that her downstrokes sound like upstrokes and viceversa.
@bungieflute
3 жыл бұрын
is that knuckles up or down?
@warpnin3
11 жыл бұрын
let's collect some money to send the two people that don't like this video to an ear doctor
@vincent5542
4 жыл бұрын
I don t want want to waste money on These people at all
@jamesreedmusic4224
4 жыл бұрын
A head doctor. They're crazy
@mariaapoleika6121
3 жыл бұрын
maybe they have vision problems and missed the thumb?
@jackfletcher1000
3 жыл бұрын
I think that they will also claim the Hendrix was the best guitar player EVER, gimme a break.
@bloozer666
Жыл бұрын
This is some ahead of it's time guitar work for sure... Such a cool chick ❤
@maroudakiles2983
2 жыл бұрын
Mon dieu, je ne peux m'empêcher de toujours revenir à cette musique hypnotique. Une force tranquille.
@akroatis
11 жыл бұрын
I love the black-and-white grainy footage, it adds to the charm of the music.
@KamoHaze
8 жыл бұрын
I concur.
@kevincupy
7 күн бұрын
I accord.
@foobird58
4 жыл бұрын
Elizabeth "Libba" Cotten (née Nevills) (January 5, 1893 - June 29, 1987)[1] was an American blues and folk musician, singer, and songwriter. A self-taught left-handed guitarist, Cotten developed her own original style. She played a guitar strung for a right-handed player, but played it upside down, as she was left-handed.[2] This position meant that she would play the bass lines with her fingers and the melody with her thumb. Her signature alternating bass style has become known as "Cotten picking".[3]
@bandicoot5412
8 жыл бұрын
She gets that special sound, that comes from that special place, love and peace, thank you!
@longtalltexan8419
5 жыл бұрын
No words to honor this beautiful soul.
@DawnDavis-lz3rj
4 ай бұрын
What a beautiful Soul she was! It would have been special to see her live! But it is special to see and hear her here, too! Thanks for posting! 🙂🤎❤️🤎🌼
@mikeksiazek
9 жыл бұрын
Beautiful. We need more music like this. Not that modern day cacophony. Marvelous musicians like her and Gary Davis are rare.
@deaner1722
9 жыл бұрын
agreed, we need to get back to the instruments.. sick of all the electronic/ computerized music that the kids love these days.. I feel like the average 14-15 yr old kid wouldn't appreciate her.
@contactkeithstack
9 жыл бұрын
+deaner1722 alright Grandpa (or grandma?). Don't you have a bridge (or bingo) video to be commenting on? Maybe expressing how sick you are of Uno and/or Trouble the board game! (maybe I"m showing my own age?) How these are no talent games based on luck?? (All the while your old games being just as fun and emotive as the new games?)...
@RASTAxSKATE
9 жыл бұрын
+deaner1722 not true I love this style of music and I'm only 15. kids just listen to that bull shit cause other kids think it's cool and all kids want is to be cool. on a personal level this stuff hits me right in the heart man.
@mikeksiazek
9 жыл бұрын
+contactkeithstack grandpa? hah hah. take lessons Sonny boy. maybe one day you'll be a somebody.
@eugemurts5903
7 жыл бұрын
Michael K open your mind
@Westcope
7 жыл бұрын
She is Killing it!
@darrincobb6714
4 жыл бұрын
Thank you for bringing this talented blues woman to light.
@nicolen.9642
5 жыл бұрын
We are grateful to the people who share these moments. Elizabeth Cotten is a gem, what legacy!! 👍
@vanessaecampbell
2 жыл бұрын
Whoa! Never so clear a blend of heart and mind with her instrument. She makes it sound like two instruments!!!
@guitar1977man
12 жыл бұрын
Am I the only one who has turned the computer upside down and watched her play? Then it makes sense what she did and she did it well!
@noah122804
2 жыл бұрын
Lefty here, she's left handed playing a right handed (upside down) guitar :)
@mylifeasmalu
2 жыл бұрын
no, i can see what's she doing without turning my monitor
@panetierjulien140
7 жыл бұрын
She just reversed the guitar but not he strings, amazing.
@partyinternational4406
8 жыл бұрын
Dear Elizabeth... Cotton. Thank You.
@gcheves
11 жыл бұрын
In terms of color, blues is an adaptation of African rhythms. In other words, the music came to America with the Africans and evolved. The whites who play blues learned from Black people. It only stands to reason that the most influential blues artist would be black.
@kingjacobi9370
3 жыл бұрын
The guitar was introduced to the us by Spaniards bro don’t make it about color
@yemaozimao
5 жыл бұрын
Brilliant playing a guitar left handed strung right handed,Hats of to Lizzy,What a gem.
@MrCanigou
5 жыл бұрын
This music radiates love, that's why it feels so good to hear
@googleisretarded7618
3 жыл бұрын
So true. It's like fresh baked buns from your grandma.
@guitarHero1885
8 жыл бұрын
brilliant!!!! one of the BEST guitarists EVER. why she not listed in guitar press top 100s? and who are the 4 dislikes? wtf?
@Ridger1978
8 жыл бұрын
+guitarHero1885 4 dislikes are Justin Bieber fans!
@guitarHero1885
8 жыл бұрын
or closely related! no accounting for taste.
@Ridger1978
8 жыл бұрын
Very True!
@flintdinkersnatch5297
8 жыл бұрын
+guitarHero1885 They haters.
@jamesrobbie1981
8 жыл бұрын
Five now - Poi Dogs who think they invented slack tuning
@chrisclaridge65
4 жыл бұрын
First song I cried , second ,I laughed in wonder....third, just marveled and smiled ...
@ehhep123
3 жыл бұрын
I had the pleasure of seeing her play at Folklife Festival in the opera house in Seattle, Washington. I will never forget it. Thank you for posting this. Love that Washington (DC) Blues....
@neerajbenjamin1919
5 жыл бұрын
her surname is Cotten....her playing is pure silk......
@bungieflute
3 жыл бұрын
Har Har MahaDev
@briankenome
2 жыл бұрын
😂
@OsbornIOW
4 жыл бұрын
I like to try and play guitar. So when you try and play makes you appreciate seeing Elizabeth play so beautifully and calmly . Imagine having a mum or grandma like that :)
@lightcap24
12 жыл бұрын
Thank you so much for posting this. This music makes people better. God bless you, and God bless Elizabeth Cotten.
@zarroukfrederic52
8 жыл бұрын
thank you cotten beautiful prestation
@snerper
8 жыл бұрын
Ridger 1978 = What an honour and privilege it would have been to know this lovely lady, she always played guitar upside down like that! The dislikes are on here because the people who put them here are not allowed anything sharper than crayons in the secure home they're in! Probably typed the dislikes on here inbetween drooling uncontrollably and waiting for the nurse to change their soiled underwear for them!
@orion9458
Жыл бұрын
A national treasure. Thank you for uploading
@johnm3152
6 жыл бұрын
Love you Elizabeth !!
@toniarichards1379
5 жыл бұрын
This is incredible - playing left-hand strung for right-hand
@philescionocanty4407
10 жыл бұрын
this is spectacular, i've never seen or heard anything like this before
@LaZaritasjourney
7 жыл бұрын
WOW! Great musician! Great guitar player! Yes, I agree with Justin G. Steele when he wrote, "Thanks to those who made the effort to post these videos!" Yes, thnx! I appreciate it and I appreciate you!!!! I also thank those filmmakers, producers who did these amazing recordings of these wonderful, amazing musicians way back when! Thnx for sharing! 'Keep*On*A*Rocking*N*A*Rolling!' :)
@milanpetro276
10 жыл бұрын
this lady is amazing this style is everywhere
@prutissbartlow8835
4 жыл бұрын
At 6 minutes and 18 seconds and sound like the Mario brother s. Theme song. Lol...the true innovator.... Rag time.... Old time country... The birth of nation.... top hats and carriages the queen Victorian age AKA Mary Poppins the 1920s 30s 40s 11
@MrReneprimo
10 жыл бұрын
Inacreditável... com que leveza e naturalidade essa senhora leva os dedos as cordas, sem esforço, sem expressar dificuldade alguma... com uma facilidade inacreditável! From BRAZIL!!!
@oldbluechef
12 жыл бұрын
Spent a lovely hour or so at her house with MS John Hurt and Tom Hoskins, who also played left-handed upside-down and backwards. John played a somewhat different "Spanish Flangdang". Middle 1960s. What a sweet lady she was.
@sportsfan120577
6 жыл бұрын
Are you serious?
@gennyhaley7014
6 жыл бұрын
She taught me to make apple pie: Granny Smith apples, lots of butter and cinnamon and lemon juice for the filling, preferably lard or crisco for a light crust--get dough to pea size (she used a fork or pastry cutter) before rolling, don't knead it, just form into ball and roll out. She was quite old when I watched her do this and was cold enough to wear a sweater even in a hot kitchen in Oakland. One talented lady!
@soundstartearlychildhoodmu8876
4 жыл бұрын
@@gennyhaley7014 What a sweet memory! Somehow I am not at all surprised that this woman can make excellent music AND excellent pie. May we all learn to become like this!
@sarkiesarkie4918
8 жыл бұрын
what a fantastic tune. every mums expectatation
@pupusaslordking5617
2 жыл бұрын
i like how lena hugues used to play the spanish fandanfo almost exactly like that
@SpaceGhost67
5 жыл бұрын
Sound quality will be restored in the future because this footage will live long after the guitar wizards who can't really play are forgotten. It will be glorious to hear then.
@rexmundi2237
8 жыл бұрын
Keep in mind that the audio quality is inevitably rough and probably sounds more out of tune than it really was at time of recording.
@adilsonferreiramartins4963
2 жыл бұрын
Oi bom dia? Hoje acordei pela manhã! Decidi abrir as redes , parece meu espírito se comunicou com meus ancestrais! Escute essa Heroína Americana, fera no blus; e muita honra!
@joe4nature1
9 жыл бұрын
What a great collection of musicians! I listened to those masters when I was much younger. Now I even more appreciate their contributions!
@stephensevenpounder5447
11 жыл бұрын
I have no words,, I thought others on this studio were awesome,,, this woman ,, gots some balls,,,,
@paulogomes8283
2 жыл бұрын
MEU NOSSO DEUS QUE COISA MAIS LINDA DE SE OUVIR ,EITA GLÓRIA AO CRIADOR !!!
@jorhay1
3 жыл бұрын
I love the time traveler with the iPhone at 4:56
@joegarrison5911
3 жыл бұрын
Same outfit as lightnin hopkins 😂
@Strik9
Жыл бұрын
David Holts " State Of Music" on PBS has a great doc. about her that is a must see!
@lerevolver6688
6 жыл бұрын
she's so lovely, i wish i knew her or something. she seems so cool
@weegiewarbler
12 жыл бұрын
What I don't understand is why she's not better known? I love guitar picking music, and have dredged through dozens and dozens of GUYS, and this beautiful lady has been hidden away like some sort of secret. I've just spent the last 24 hours digging every where to find her music. I don't understand why she's not right out there.
@carolmikofsky4976
2 жыл бұрын
Folkways LP
@christinamiller3363
6 ай бұрын
I know jack shit about absolutely nothing..., but i do know THIS is Amazing! ❤
@earniemalumpkiss3846
5 жыл бұрын
Albert King plays like that too, I always thought that was wicked cool
@gmmaal7161
Жыл бұрын
Spanish Flang Dang (instr.) George Buck (guitar) Washington Blues (instr.) I'm Going Away
@paulogomes8283
2 жыл бұрын
ESSA MULHER ERA UM GENIO FO VIOLÃO !
@DCShaneTours
7 жыл бұрын
My jaw is on the ground. Amazing. That is the way Jimi Hendrix played at first, a right-handed guitar upside-down, and the strings upside down also, he later flipped the strings.
@maggieadams8600
3 жыл бұрын
Thank Heaven for Elizabeth Cotton!
@killianmchugh9867
12 жыл бұрын
there is nothing more than this. this is all we need.
@kixr1
13 жыл бұрын
Wow ... glad i found this
@heathergrube6917
6 ай бұрын
Thank you for uploading this!
@drumier
3 жыл бұрын
I've played upside down lefty forever and this looks incomprehensible to me.
@davidklein5007
4 жыл бұрын
Always have preferred east coast raggy blues to delta/country blues.
@gmoney2103
3 жыл бұрын
She's the coolest. I'm amazed out how sick she played.
@grizzlycomrie
12 жыл бұрын
What a gem, simple and great style.
@spudcustardx1
12 жыл бұрын
this lady get into a zone I only dream of, for every flash gutarist that post a video on youtube watch this and weep
@budlorry8937
7 жыл бұрын
Glad I tripped over your channel.....Chock full of talent ....Thank you
@WashingtonJohnson
8 жыл бұрын
Playing left handed on a righthanded strung guitar, priceless. Jimi could do both !
@PHJimY
7 жыл бұрын
But Jimi didn't perform with a right handed strung guitar. Libba once explained that she had brothers who played, but there was only one guitar in the house and they wouldn't let her restring it, so she turned it upside down.
@WashingtonJohnson
7 жыл бұрын
No , but he could do it. l know people who played with him and were also close friends
@cyndygough6910
8 жыл бұрын
So beautiful
@ernestoparrajaque4427
Жыл бұрын
Hermosamente fantástica en mi caso tengo la suerte de que mi padre me a enseñado algunos tiemples por la labor diaria no lo practico .pero los tengo en mi memoria y los reconozco donde quiera que los oiga ......
@thelittlekittymesh91
7 жыл бұрын
This people should be everlasting!!
@simeb98
7 жыл бұрын
RIP Elizabeth. ((:
@1244taylor
12 жыл бұрын
wow that is brilliant .. so laid back and fun
@ukin555
6 жыл бұрын
love her... ❤💙💙💓💓
@milanpetro276
10 жыл бұрын
what a great player
@johnloud3986
2 жыл бұрын
Amazing ! so glad to have found this. Thank you
@laurenceshatkin4950
8 жыл бұрын
This is essentially the same tune as the "Spanish Fandango" recorded by "Uncle Charlie" on the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band album, "Uncle Charlie and His Dog Teddy."
@gennyhaley7014
6 жыл бұрын
Spanish Fandango was an old "parlor" piece of written music for guitar from the 1800s done in slack key open G tuning. It entered the folk tradition by being such a popular piece that self taught guitar players figured out their own versions of it, such as Ms. Cotten's.
@PHJimY
7 жыл бұрын
Three fingers for Washington Blues and I'm Goin' Away. A different rolling feel.
@Blasianpower2
10 жыл бұрын
I would of been a leftie, but someone switched me to right i am still creative though being able to use both sides of my brain I write with my left hand.
@weegiewarbler
11 жыл бұрын
That wasn't the discussion. My initial question was (as a keen follower of this type of guitar style) why I'd never heard of Elizabeth Cotton. Someone supposed it was down to her colour, but I am of the belief it was more because of her gender. My digging around the top 25 Blues guitarists found 25 men - No Women! It was more of an aside that 5 were white and tended to be more recent.
@maggieadams8600
3 жыл бұрын
I agree, I've only just discovered her and I'm 60! She's so brilliant and singular, I can only put it down to her gender coupled with her brilliance that she's been left in the shadows for so long!
@philfischer4115
Жыл бұрын
These are the true hits....unbelievable cant stop listening. While it's not the hardest song to play, its the picking style/tone that no one can or will be able to reproduce. Where is this on vinyl???
@tikiart1970
12 жыл бұрын
Elizabeth Cotton is great! You might also like Hawaiian slack key guitar like George Kahamuko or anything on the dancing cat label.
@MrJemoederopeenstokj
Жыл бұрын
Just what i needed to soothe my raging mind
@deaner1722
9 жыл бұрын
love that Washington blues song she does in this
@MrFloopy99
9 жыл бұрын
+deaner1722 shit dude nice nugs
@deaner1722
9 жыл бұрын
Sillycibin thanks bud
@MrFloopy99
9 жыл бұрын
hah
@masercot
8 жыл бұрын
Her fingers are so long, she could probably palm a medicine ball. I'm kind of jealous because my fingers are pretty stumpy. All I can play is a childrens ukulele and that keeps slipping out of my hands.
@GodsVibes
8 жыл бұрын
Beautiful
@ManImJustSomeDude
Жыл бұрын
The Spanish Fandango, beautiful!
@danmurphy4724
6 жыл бұрын
So pretty. Its upsidown. Look at the strings
@richdandanell2911
4 жыл бұрын
This is an absolute treasure .
@weegiewarbler
11 жыл бұрын
I'm sure colour was right up there too, but gender knocked her way down the "must play list". I just checked a list of the "top 25 most influential Blues guitarists ever" - all 25 were men, 20 out of 25 were black.
@pennscyclingschool
4 жыл бұрын
amazing! no wonder my father love her!
@neutralgod300
2 жыл бұрын
she's a left-handed + playing with a right-handed guitar! wow!!!!
@1244taylor
11 жыл бұрын
I don't really care if she is black, white or purple , she is one talented lady. a right hand guitar played upside down left.. wow G
@danmurphy4724
5 жыл бұрын
As I listen ....i fall to to floor with shame not able to play
@nicksonthevet
8 жыл бұрын
Ooh my God the first tune! Is there a tutorial?
@Khamomil
5 жыл бұрын
the three chords are A, D and E7th. use your ears to figure out the rest because she's left handed and hasn't switched the strings'position.
@brownjmj3
4 жыл бұрын
The key is knowing that the guitar is tuned to open G. I learned how to play it by just watching the video. She called it Spanish Flangdang, but others called it Spanish Fandango.
@googleisretarded7618
3 жыл бұрын
@@brownjmj3 That's so cute that she called it Spanish Flandang
@janethauber6120
11 жыл бұрын
notice she is a lefty playing a right hand strung guitar. Amazing!
@morleyacousticguitarclub6031
11 жыл бұрын
Other influential Black women blues guitarists? Rosetta Tharpe (the greatest!), Memphis Minnie, Etta Baker......
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