When I was in the Army and stationned at Tripler Army Medical Center in Honolulu HI in 1979, I was pleasantly surprised that there was a woman scheduled to give a concert near Waikiki Beach in a public outdoor stage. The performer was Elizabeth Cotton. Hers was one of the first songs my buddies taught me to play on the guitar long befor this concert - "Freight Train." I knew it well and always wondered if I ever got it right.

This amazing woman gave two concerts that day and I was at both. One at about 1 pm and one later. She played gospels and some songs she knew well and she told a story to us in the audience.

When her brother (I think) went to the fields to work she would sneak his guitar out from under the bed. Ms Cotton was left-handed. She said she learned to play it "upside down". She was caught with it one day and was forced to buy her own guitar. She said it cost about $5.

The evening concert went on and on. She was by my guess 75-80 at the time and the guy who ran the concert had to make her stop playing.

I have the playbill (program) somewhere in a guitar case with a sketch of Ms COtton on it.
I got her to autograph it and she gave me a big hug and a kiss.

It was a very moving day for me. Just think, she said the was her FIRST TRIP out of Georgia ever. I was so lucky to attended both concerts.

What a wonderful thing. I just played Freight Train tonite and wandered onto the internet and there you were.


God Bless Ms Cotton. What an amazing Person.

Dennis D. Doblar, Ph.D., M.D.
Professor of Anesthesiology and Engineering
University of Alabama
Birmingham
USA

Please let me know if you found this interesting
ddd