Shake Sugaree: Elizabeth Cotten and Brenda Evans
That's Elizabeth Cotten on guitar and her twelve year old great grandchild singing it. This cut comes from the Smithsonian Folkways album Shake Sugaree.
http://www.folkways.si.edu/albumdetails.aspx?itemid=3027
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keepthecoffeecoming.blog 
July 19, 2010 at 11:30 am
yousendit link:
https://rcpt.yousendit.com/911950719/7ad28727963ccac998a57b4056c4d46e
July 19, 2010 at 4:43 pm
What a beautiful performance. I have admired Elizabeth Cotten’s playing for some time now, but I’ve never heard this recording before. I’m curious as to whether there are more duets between Elizabeth Cotten and her granddaughter on that CD. I would love to hear more like that.
July 19, 2010 at 4:49 pm
Tony,
There is only one other song of the two of them on that album, Jesus Lifted Me. The rest are just Libba.
July 20, 2010 at 10:41 am
What a great little piece of music Kat. As is the Lonnie Johnson cut. Have quite a lot of Lonnie ’cause I just love his guitar playing.
Wish that grandchild of Ms Cotton had recorded more when she grew up
Pete
July 20, 2010 at 10:53 am
Pete,
When I first heard this song, I think I played it four or five times as I was so taken with it. I looked but found nothing more about Brenda.
You gotta love Lonnie Johnson!
July 20, 2010 at 11:27 am
Thanks. Know this cut well, but, damn, I had to listen to it three times in a row again…absolutely beautiful recording.
Fred Neil’s recording is so different but absolutely entwined with this one. I can’t tell you which I like better. Both.
(There was a great overview of the song and some of its covers at http://ramone666.blogspot.com/2008/04/shake-sugaree.html)
July 20, 2010 at 3:33 pm
J
I felt the same way the first time I heard this and I just kept playing it until finally I got my fill. The Fred Neill was one I’d played on the blog once known as Coffee, but I listened again and know what you mean by how entwined they are.
The link didn’t work, but I found the page and then went and found the two I didn’t know. They were far different from this and the Neill.
July 20, 2010 at 12:27 pm
I find a 2002 reference of Brenda Evans Fennell performing at a tribute concert in North Carolina, but that was as far as I got with the granddaughter. She definitely has a distinctive voice.
July 20, 2010 at 3:34 pm
Thanks, sprite
At least now I know she was still singing in 2002. She had such a distinctive voice as a 12 year old I’d hate to think she stopped singing.