About This Item
In the mid-1940s, Elizabeth Cotten (1895-1987) chanced to meet composer Ruth Crawford Seeger at a department store. They began to talk, and Seeger soon hired Cotten to work in the Seeger household. It was here that Cotten became motivated to pick up the guitar again-it had been so long she had forgotten she knew how to play-and she began playing professionally in her early eighties. The material chosen for this recording includes songs and tunes from her childhood, such as InchPraying Time Will Soon Be OverInch and original compositions like InchWhen I'm Gone.Inch She accompanies herself on her guitar, strung in the usual right-handed way yet played left-handed, with the guitar upside down. This album showcases her unique style, described by Mike Seeger as Incha synthesis of turn-of-the-century parlor music, blues, church songs, and a little ragtime.Inch Liner notes include extensive selections from conversations between Cotton, Mike, and Alice Gerrard. Album Tracks 1. New Year's Eve 2. Praying Time Will Soon Be Over 3. Time to Stop Your Idling 4. Gaslight Blues 5. Jenny 6. Street Blues 7. Home Sweet Home 8. Freight Train 9. Casey Jones 10. Willie 11. Boddie's Song 12. Wilson Rag 13. When I'm Gone
