A Glimpse at a Few of the 150 Artists Portrayed in Uncommon Sound

Mark Knopfler - Ollie Halsall - Dave Wakeling
Lili Boniche - Joseph Carter III - Bobby Womack

Elizabeth Cotten

Mike Seeger:"Libba Cotten´s style was a cross between the county-blues style and a parlor-guitar style, which was uniquely adapted or mixed because of her left-handed playing. It became THE fingerpicking style, you might say. It´s a few clichés of that style that are used by thousands of singer-songwriters."

She started her public musical career at age 67 and became the most formidable female artist of American folk-blues music, playing guitar left-handed upside down.

While her work has been deeply influential, her live appearances had the ephemeral magic of an inimitable event that blended musicality and humanity.

Her classics "Freight Train" and "Shake Sugaree" have been interpreted by dozens of notable performers, from Bob Dylan to the Grateful Dead and The Vipers.