Oldest artist to win a Grammy (female)
- Who
- Elizabeth Cotten
- What
- 90:52 year(s):day(s)
- Where
- United States (Los Angeles)
- When
- 26 February 1985
Folk/blues singer and guitarist Elizabeth “Libba” Cotten (USA, b. Elizabeth Nevills, 5 January 1895, d. 29 June 1987) was 90 years 52 days old when she won Best Ethnic or Traditional Folk Recording for Elizabeth Cotten Live! at the 27th Grammy Awards on 26 February 1985.
The opening track on Elizabeth Cotten Live! is her most famous composition, “Freight Train”, penned when she was 11 or 12.
Cotten, who only began performing in her 60s, was renowned for her left-handed, upside down “Cotten picking” style of guitar-playing.
She was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame – in the “Early Influences” category – in 2022.
Cotten was the category’s penultimate winner. In 1987, Best Ethnic or Traditional Folk Recording was split into two new categories: Best Traditional Folk Album and Best Contemporary Folk Album.