Is a legendary Syracuse musician the most underrated guitar player in history? Grammy-winning artist Jason Isbell certainly thinks so.
The acclaimed singer-songwriter recently responded to a prompt on Threads asking users to name the most underrated guitarist ever. Isbell’s answer was succinct: “Libba Cotten.”
Elizabeth “Libba” Cotten, a self-taught left-handed guitarist, developed a unique playing style by flipping her guitar upside down. This unconventional approach led to the creation of “Cotten Picking,” a technique where she played bass notes with her index finger and melody with her thumb. Cotten also wrote iconic folk songs such as “Freight Train” and “Oh Babe It Ain’t No Lie.”
Though she spent her final years in Syracuse and earned admiration locally, Cotten didn’t receive widespread recognition during much of her life. Her work was later covered by prominent artists including Joan Baez, Bob Dylan, the Grateful Dead, Taj Mahal, Gary Clark Jr., Peter, Paul and Mary, and The Quarrymen — the band that eventually became The Beatles.
Despite her influence, Cotten often went unrecognized. She was named Syracuse’s first Living Treasure in 1983, just two years before winning her first Grammy at the age of 90. She also received a National Heritage Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts and was honored by the Smithsonian Institution. In 2022, Cotten was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with the Early Influence Award. A bronze statue of her playing guitar in her signature upside-down style stands today in Syracuse’s Libba Cotten Grove.
While these accolades seem significant, Cotten’s career was nearly silenced early on. Born in North Carolina, she composed “Freight Train” at age 12. After marrying at 15, she stopped playing music due to disapproval from her husband’s religious family, setting aside her guitar for 40 years.
Her fortunes changed when she moved to Washington, D.C., in the 1940s and began working for the Seeger family, including folk legend Pete Seeger. Cotten shared “Freight Train” with Peggy Seeger, Pete’s half-sister, and the song gained popularity. However, it was wrongfully copyrighted by British songwriters Paul James and Fred Williams and famously performed by Nancy Whiskey and Chas McDevitt on “The Ed Sullivan Show.”
With the Seeger family’s support, Cotten sued for copyright infringement and was encouraged to perform publicly — which she began doing in her 60s.
“She didn’t really understand how her playing captured the attention of so many people,” her grandson, the late Rev. Larry Ellis of Syracuse, told The Post-Standard in 2010. “I think the music had a lot to do with her being able to make it and express herself in a different way.”
Cotten passed away in Syracuse in 1987 at the age of 92. Her grandson Ellis, a local pastor and funk musician once sampled by Jay-Z, died in 2012.
Other suggestions from Threads users for underrated guitarists included Richard Thompson, Prince, Alex Lifeson (Rush), Glen Campbell, Dean Deleo (Stone Temple Pilots), Adrian Belew (King Crimson), Lindsey Buckingham (Fleetwood Mac), Roy Clark, Derek Trucks, Warren Haynes, and Trey Anastasio (Phish). While some of these names are in the Rock and Roll or Country Music Halls of Fame, Cotten’s legacy remains unique — quietly powerful, technically innovative, and deeply influential, even if too often overlooked.
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