MUSICIAN

Elizabeth Cotten

1893 - 1987

Photo of Elizabeth Cotten

Icon of person Elizabeth Cotten

Elizabeth "Libba" Cotten (née Nevills; January 5, 1893 – June 29, 1987) was an influential American folk and blues musician. She was a self-taught left-handed guitarist who played a guitar strung for a right-handed player, but played it upside down. This position meant that she would play the bass lines with her fingers and the melody with her thumb. Read more on Wikipedia

Since 2007, the English Wikipedia page of Elizabeth Cotten has received more than 755,628 page views. Her biography is available in 22 different languages on Wikipedia (up from 18 in 2019). Elizabeth Cotten is the 1,788th most popular musician (down from 1,461st in 2019), the 9,032nd most popular biography from United States (down from 7,336th in 2019) and the 681st most popular American Musician.

Memorability Metrics

  • 760k

    Page Views (PV)

  • 44.86

    Historical Popularity Index (HPI)

  • 22

    Languages Editions (L)

  • 2.02

    Effective Languages (L*)

  • 3.73

    Coefficient of Variation (CV)

Among MUSICIANS

Among musicians, Elizabeth Cotten ranks 1,788 out of 3,175. Before her are Mel Tormé, Tomoyasu Hotei, Ray Evans, Brian Downey, Joe South, and Dave Hill. After her are Chris Hillman, Ray Bryant, Lonnie Johnson, Roy Ayers, Wayne Static, and John Patitucci.

Most Popular Musicians in Wikipedia

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Contemporaries

Among people born in 1893, Elizabeth Cotten ranks 245. Before her are Willi Apel, Walter Gordon, Norman Bel Geddes, Katharine Cornell, Elizabeth Holloway Marston, and Steingrímur Steinþórsson. After her are Betty Blythe, Harry Warren, Maja Berezowska, Frances Schroth, Richard Dix, and Nuriye Ulviye Mevlan Civelek. Among people deceased in 1987, Elizabeth Cotten ranks 222. Before her are Alexis Chantraine, George Mikes, Viola Dana, Priscilla Dean, Dennis Poore, and Milt Kahl. After her are Khwaja Ahmad Abbas, Antonio Janni, Honorino Landa, Marc Aaronson, Clementina de Jesus, and Andrei Bărbulescu.

Others Born in 1893

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Others Deceased in 1987

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In United States

Among people born in United States, Elizabeth Cotten ranks 9,032 out of 20,380. Before her are Joe South (1940), Dorian Harewood (1950), Jay O. Sanders (1953), Jesse Plemons (1988), Carmine Caridi (1934), and Milt Kahl (1909). After her are Chris Hillman (1944), Ray Bryant (1931), William Stanley Jr. (1858), Dolores Huerta (1930), Mary Stuart Masterson (1966), and Mildred Wiley (1901).

Others born in United States

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Among MUSICIANS In United States

Among musicians born in United States, Elizabeth Cotten ranks 681. Before her are Cal Tjader (1925), Andraé Crouch (1942), Earl Wild (1915), Mel Tormé (1925), Ray Evans (1915), and Joe South (1940). After her are Chris Hillman (1944), Ray Bryant (1931), Lonnie Johnson (1899), Roy Ayers (1940), Wayne Static (1965), and John Patitucci (1959).

American born Musicians

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