Doc Watson
Arthel Lane "Doc" Watson (March 3, 1923 – May 29, 2012) was an American guitarist, songwriter, and singer of bluegrass, folk, country, blues, and gospel music.[1] He won seven Grammy awards as well as a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. His fingerpicking and flatpicking skills, as well as his knowledge of traditional American music, were highly regarded.[2] Blind from a young age, he performed publicly both in a dance band and solo, as well as for over 15 years with his son, guitarist Merle Watson, until Merle's death in 1985 in an accident on the family farm.[3][4][5]
This article is about the musician. For his album, see Doc Watson (album). For the baseball player, see Doc Watson (baseball).
Doc Watson
Arthel Lane Watson
Doc Watson
March 3, 1923
Deep Gap, North Carolina, U.S.
May 29, 2012 (aged 89)
Winston-Salem, North Carolina, U.S.
Musician, singer-songwriter
Vocals, guitar, banjo, harmonica
1953–2012
Rosa Lee Carlton Watson
Biography[edit]
Early life[edit]
Watson was born in Deep Gap, North Carolina.[6] According to Watson on his three-CD biographical recording Legacy, he got the nickname "Doc" during a live radio broadcast when the announcer remarked that his given name Arthel was odd and he needed an easy nickname. A fan in the crowd shouted "Call him Doc!", presumably in reference to the literary character Sherlock Holmes's companion, Doctor Watson. The name stuck.[7]
An eye infection caused Watson to lose his vision before his second birthday.[6] He attended North Carolina's school for the blind, the Governor Morehead School, in Raleigh, North Carolina.[8]
In a 1989 radio interview with Terry Gross on the Fresh Air show on National Public Radio, Watson spoke about how he got his first guitar. His father told him that if he and his brother David chopped down all the small dead chestnut trees along the edge of their field, they could sell the wood to a tannery. Watson bought a Sears Silvertone from Sears Roebuck with his earnings,[9] while his brother bought a new suit.[10] Later in the same interview, Watson mentioned that his first high-quality guitar was a Martin D-18.[11]
Watson's earliest influences were country roots musicians and groups such as the Carter Family and Jimmie Rodgers. The first song he learned to play on the guitar was "When Roses Bloom in Dixieland", first recorded by the Carter Family in 1930. Watson said in an interview with American Songwriter that, "Jimmie Rodgers was the first man that I started to claim as my favorite."[12] Watson proved to be a natural musical talent and within months was performing on local street corners playing songs from the Delmore Brothers, Louvin Brothers, and Monroe Brothers alongside his brother Linny. By the time Watson reached adulthood, he had become a proficient acoustic and electric guitar player.[13]
Legacy[edit]
In 2002, High Windy Audio released a multi-CD biographical album of Watson's work, titled Legacy. The collection features audio interviews with Watson interspersed with music, as well as a complete recording of a live performance at the Diana Wortham Theatre in Asheville, North Carolina.[27] The collection won the 2002 Grammy Award for Best Traditional Folk Album.[28]
In 2010, Blooming Twig Books published a comprehensive biography of Watson, written by Kent Gustavson. The book, titled Blind But Now I See: The Biography of Music Legend Doc Watson, features never before published content regarding Watson's life and career, gleaned from interviews with Watson's friends and collaborators including Norman Blake, Sam Bush, members of the Seeger family, Michelle Shocked, and many others. The book also covers the life, supporting role, and untimely death of Merle Watson.[29] An updated edition was released by Sumach-Red Books in March 2012.[30][31][32]
In April 2013, Open Records released a multi-disc collection of unreleased recordings by Watson. The collection, titled Milestones, features 94 songs as well as stories, remembrances, and over 500 photographs. The collection was created by Watson's daughter, Nancy, and is being produced by ETSU Bluegrass and ETSU professor Roy Andrade.[33]