Key local figure
Elizabeth "Libba" Cotten was born in 1893 in what became Carrboro and raised on Lloyd Street, near the railroad tracks, where at 11 she wrote "Freight Train," which she recorded in 1958. Her music came to light while she worked for Ruth Crawford Seeger; she became a key figure in the 1960s folk revival and won a Grammy in 1984.
Source: NC DNCR: Elizabeth Cotten 1893-1987 (G-129)
Also found in catalogs as Elizabeth Cotten.
1893–1987 · Dates from the Library of Congress · Library of Congress authority record ↗
5 works about Elizabeth “Libba” Cotten are indexed here. 1 held at OCPL →
Dated events connected with this person, in date order. See these 3 dated events in the chronology →
Works about or by Elizabeth “Libba” Cotten. Each links to the institution that holds or provides it. Background reading appears below.
Laura Veirs's picture book biography of Elizabeth Cotten, the folk singer and guitarist who grew up near Carrboro and Chapel Hill and wrote Freight Train as a girl. Written for young readers, it was published by Chronicle Books in 2018. Topics include African American women singers and singers of the United States in juvenile literature.
Included because: Catalog heading in the Chapel Hill PL record: Cotten, Elizabeth.
Michael Wenberg's picture book for young readers tells, in fictional form, how Elizabeth Cotten as a girl of eleven put money aside for a guitar and went on to write Freight Train, the folk song for which she is best known. Cotten grew up in Carrboro. Topics include African Americans, folk singers and folk music in juvenile fiction, and a short note on her later career and honors closes the book. Published by Carcosa in 2002, unpaged with color illustrations.
Included because: Catalog heading in the NCCU record: Cotten, Elizabeth.
Poster by Bob Goldstein from 2020 arguing that Carrboro should stop carrying the name of Julian Shakespeare Carr, and proposing Cottenboro after the musician Elizabeth Cotten. A single sheet measuring 30 by 31 centimeters. Topics include Carr, Cotten and the question of the town's name, placing the poster with the local debate over commemoration.
Included because: Catalog heading in the UNC record: Cotten, Elizabeth.
Elizabeth Cotten, recorded on cassette in 1976 for the Chapel Hill Historical Society. Part of the society's CHHS.012 Audiovisual Materials Collection.
Included because: Its title names this person.
Undated folder on Elizabeth Cotten, the folk guitarist and writer of 'Freight Train', who was born in Chapel Hill. From box 3 of the Individuals and Families series in the Chapel Hill Historical Society's vertical files.
Included because: Their name appears in the record.
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