8: Elizabeth Cotten

Join Chapel Hill Public Library staff and community members as we uncover the untold histories of Chapel Hill, from the inside out and bottom up.

In this episode we dive into Chapel Hill's musical history, starting with one of its most beloved artists, Elizabeth Cotten. We search for signs of Chapel Hill in Cotten's music and learn about life for a young Black girl growing up in the turn of the century South.

Producer, Mandella Younge, joins Molly as co-host for this episode. Special thanks to Glenn Hinson, Brent Glass, and the Chapel Hill Historical Society.

This episode was written, produced and edited by Mandella Younge and Molly Luby.

• Mike Seeger Collection at UNC Wilson Library — the collection includes dozens of recordings Seeger made of Elizabeth Cotten, playing, speaking and in concert.
• This black female musician you may not know has written songs you probably do | GMA
• The Carolina times. (Durham, N.C.) 1919-current, July 03, 1976, Second Section, Page 23, Image 23 · North Carolina Newspapers — Ms. Cotten shows up on the lineup several times
• The Myth of Southern Exceptionalism - Google Books — The chapter "Black as Folk: The Southern Civil Rights Movement and the Folk Music Revival" by Grace Elizabeth Hale paints rural Black southerners as "the folk" in a bid for Northern white sympathies during the Civil Rights Movement. The advantages, limitations, and who it left behind.
• Cotten, Elizabeth (c. 1893–1987) | Encyclopedia.com — We recommend the great list of sources at the bottom.
• John Ullman's liner notes — Extensive notes from Cotten's posthumously released album, Shake Sugaree
• Liner notes from When I'm Gone — Extensive liner notes on When I'm Gone were compiled from taped conversations with Elizabeth Cotten, Alice Gerrard, and Mike Seeger between 1966 and 1979
• Elizabeth Cotten playlist on Spotify
• Public Art | Chapel Hill Community Arts & Culture — As part of the North Carolina Musicians Mural Project, the Elizabeth Cotten mural honors the local blues legend and her lasting impact on the community.