On my latest album, One Guitar Woman, I pay tribute to many of the female pioneers of the guitar, all of whom are among the biggest influences on my approach to playing the instrument. On the album, I ...

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A self-taught musician, Elizabeth Cotten changed American folk music. The twice-nominated folk musician, Elizabeth "Libba" Cotten won her first Grammy at 90 years old. Fiercely proud of her North ...

Forbidden from playing music, a young Elizabeth Cotten — born in 1893 in what is now part of Carrboro — secretly borrowed her brother’s banjo and guitar. She flipped the instruments upside down to ...

Left-handed, Elizabeth Cotten turned the guitar so the bass strings were at the bottom, therefore "backwards." She used her thumb to play the melody and her fingers for the low notes.Photo by John ...