Thomas Burt (1900-1987)

Uncovering the roots of Elizabeth Cotten's Freight Train

In the late spring of 1984, we packed up a U-Haul on the upper West Side of Manhattan and bailed out of New York City.

Though I'd worked on Cotton Patch Gospel at the Lamb's Club in the Broadway district (playing fiddle, clawhammer banjo, mandolin, dobro and guitar), played the clubs, joined Tom Chapin, Pete Seeger, and bassist John Miller in a concert t…