Arthel "Doc" Watson grew up listening and playing traditional folk and bluegrass music on the family farm in North Carolina. Blind since infancy, Doc Watson began playing guitar for money in the 1950s, starting out playing the electric guitar in a small local band. With the folk music revival of the 1960s, Doc moved to acoustic guitar (and harmonica) and recorded original and traditional tunes, quickly earning a reputation as one of the best flat-pickers in the business. He recorded several records with his son, Merle (born in 1943 and killed in 1985 in a tractor accident), winning Grammy awards for the 1973 recording Two Days in November. Doc Watson's influence on country and bluegrass music is widely acknowledged, as is his encyclopedic knowledge of traditional folk tunes.
(born March 2, 1923, Stony Fork, near Deep Gap, N.C., U.S.) U.S. country music singer, banjoist, and guitarist. Blind from birth, Watson grew up on a farm and learned to play guitar, banjo, and harmonica as a child. Though he did not record professionally until he was in his late 30s, he quickly rose to prominence with his renditions of traditional and popular tunes backed by his virtuoso flat-picking guitar style. He appeared at the 1963 Newport Folk Festival to great acclaim. He performed for many years with his son Merle (1949 – 85).
Representative Albums: "Doc Watson," "Southbound," "The Essential Doc Watson"
Representative Songs: "Black Mountain Rag," "Windy and Warm," "Rambling Hobo"
Biography
In the latter half of the 20th century there were three pre-eminently influential folk/country guitar players: Merle Travis, Chet Atkins, and Arthel "Doc" Watson, a flat-picking genius from Deep Gap, NC. Unlike the other two, Watson was in middle age before gaining any attention. Since 1960, though, when Watson was recorded with his family and friends in Folkways' Old Time Music at Clarence Ashley's, people have remained in awe of this gentle blind man who sings and picks with a pure and emotional authenticity. The present generation, folkies and country pickers alike, including Ricky Skaggs, Vince Gill, the late Clarence White, Emmylou Harris, and literally hundreds of others, acknowledge their great debt to Watson. Watson has provided a further service to folk/country by his encyclopedic knowledge of many American traditional songs. While Travis and Atkins started on acoustic guitars and moved to electric, before Watson's "discovery" during the folk revival in the early '60s, he played electric in a local all-purpose band that played current rock, swing, country, and of course folk music. He gained recognition gradually, first from the Clarence Ashley album, which led to a rave performance at the Newport Folk Festival in 1963. Folkways soon recorded an album of Watson, followed in 1964 by a series of albums by Vanguard, nearly one a year through the decade. No sooner had interest in folk music waned than Watson was back in great demand because of the three-disc Will the Circle Be Unbroken, a watershed album in 1972 that was created by the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band. It featured Watson, Travis, Roy Acuff, and a who's who of country greats. Merle, Watson's son and a talent in his own right, began appearing with his father regularly. The result was good enough for them to win two Grammys for traditional music, in 1973 and 1974. Father and son played beautiful music together for over 15 years, until Merle died tragically on the family farm in 1985. Following his son's death, Doc continued with his appearances, showcasing his beautiful voice, his great instrumental talent, and his mastery of traditional material. He is an American treasure.
Early in his childhood in Deep Gap, Watson was struck by an illness that restricted the bloodflow to his eyes, resulting in his blindness at an early age. As a child, he was surrounded by music and was given a new harmonia every Christmas. When he was ten, his father gave him a homemade fretless banjo, which Doc played consistently for the next three years. Around the same time he picked up the banjo, Watson began attending the School for the Blind in Raleigh, NC. At the age of 13, Doc began playing guitar after being introduced to the instrument by his cousin. Six months after receiving his guitar, Doc and his older brother Linney began busking on street corners, singing traditional numbers. By his late teens, Watson had learned how to finger-pick from his neighbor Olin Miller.
In 1941, Watson joined a band that had a regular radio program in Lenoir, NC. It was at this show that he earned his nickname, once one of the announcers referred to the guitarist as "Doc" during the broadcast. For the next six years he played around North Carolina. In 1947, he married Rosa Lee Carlton, the daughter of fiddler Gaither W. Carlton. Though his father-in-law taught him a number of traditional songs, Doc didn't play any traditional material publically during the '40s, preferring to concentrate on country instead; to pay the bills, he also worked as a piano tuner. Watson joined the supporting band of a local pianist and railroad worker named Jack Williams in 1953. With Williams, Doc played electric guitar and perfromed a variety of music, from country to rock and pop. After staying with Jack for eight years, Watson joined the Clarence Ashley String Band and traveled with the group to New York in order to appear at a Friends of Old-Time Music concert. His performance at the concert was a resounding success, and he was invited to perform at Gerde's Folk City in Greenwich Village.
The invitation to perform in New York was an indication that the folk boom of the early '60s was beginning to gain momentum, and Doc became one of the major benefactors of the revival. Young college students began to follow his music and he soon switched to acoustic guitar on the advice of Ralph Rinzler. During 1961, Watson made his recording debut on Clarence Ashley's Old Time Music at Clarence Ashley's, a performance which earned him considerable acclaim. Two years later, his solo spot at the Newport Folk Festival stole the show; that same year he released his first solo album, Doc Watson & Family. In 1964, Doc began giving concerts accompanied by his son Merle on second guitar. From that point on, Doc and Merle were constant collaborators and one of the most popular performers on the folk and traditional music circuit. Even when the folk boom of the '60s died down toward the end of the decade, Watson retained his audience, and when he was spotlighted on the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band's breakthrough 1972 album Will the Circle Be Unbroken, he earned another generation of new fans. In 1974, his album Then and Now won the Grammy for Best Ethnic or Traditional Recording; the following year, he and Merle took home the same award for their Two Days in November.
Doc and Merle continued to perform and record successfully during the early '80s, giving numerous successful concerts each year and earning many awards, including another Grammy in 1979 (Best Country Instrumental Performance for "Big Sandy"/"Leather Britches"). In 1985, Merle tragically died in a tractor accident on his home farm. Following his son's death, Doc stopped performing for a short time, yet he made a comeback supported by guitarist Jack Lawrence and bassist T. Michael Coleman, who had played with Watson since 1974. Throughout the '80s and '90s, Doc continued to perform and record to enthusiastic audiences. During that time he won two more Grammys -- Best Traditional Folk Recording for both 1986's Riding the Midnight Train and 1990's On Praying Ground -- as well as a North Carolina Award in Fine Arts. Home Sweet Home followed in 1998 and Third Generation Blues in 1999. ~ David Vinopal, All Music Guide
Doc Watson was born in Deep Gap, North Carolina. According to Doc 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 to go by. A fan in the crowd shouted "Call him Doc!" presumably in reference to the Sherlock Holmes sidekick Doctor Watson. The name stuck ever since.[4]
An eye infection caused Doc Watson to lose his vision before his first birthday. Despite this, he was taught by his parents to work hard and care for himself. He attended North Carolina's school for the visually impaired, The Governor Morehead School, in Raleigh, North Carolina.
The first song Doc ever learned to play was "When Roses Bloom in Dixieland". His father was so proud that he took Doc to the store and bought him his first guitar, a $12 Stella. Doc proved to be a natural and within months he was performing on local street corners playing Delmore, Louvin and Monroe Brothers' duets alongside his brother Linny. By the time he reached his adult years Doc had become a prolific acoustic and electric guitar player. [5]
In 1947, Doc married Rosa Lee Carlton, the daughter of popular fiddle player Gaither Carlton. Doc and Rosa Lee had two children - Eddy Merle (named after country music legends Eddy Arnold and Merle Travis) in 1949 and Nancy Ellen in 1951.
In 1953, Doc joined the Johnson City, Tennessee-based Jack Williams' country and western swing band on electric guitar. The band seldom had a fiddle player, but were often asked to play for square dances. Following the example of country guitarists Grady Martin and Hank Garland, Doc taught himself to play fiddle tunes on his Les Paul electric guitar. He later transferred the technique to acoustic guitar, and playing fiddle tunes became part of his signature sound.[1][6] During his time with Jack Williams, Doc also supported his family as a piano tuner.
In 1960 as the American folk music revival grew, Doc took the advice of folk musicologist Ralph Rinzler and began playing acoustic guitar and banjo exclusively. That move ignited Doc's career when he played on his first recording, Old Time Music at Clarence Ashley's. He also began to tour as a solo performer and appeared at universities and clubs like the Ash Grove in Los Angeles. Watson would eventually get his big break and rave reviews for his performance at the renowned Newport Folk Festival in 1963. He recorded his first solo album in 1964 and began performing with his son Merle the same year. The pair would tour and record together until 1985 when Merle was tragically killed in a tractor accident.[6]
After the folk revival waned during the late 1960s, Doc's career was sustained by his performance of "Tennessee Stud" on the 1972 live album recording Will the Circle Be Unbroken. As popular as ever, Doc and Merle began playing as a trio, with T. Michael Coleman on bass, in 1974. The trio toured the globe during the late seventies and early eighties, recorded nearly fifteen albums between 1973 and 1985, and brought Doc and Merle’s unique blend of acoustic music to millions of new fans.
Doc plays guitar in both flatpicking and fingerpicking style, but is best known for his flatpick work. His guitar playing skills, combined with his authenticity as a mountain musician, made him a highly influential figure during the folk music revival. He pioneered a fast and flashy bluegrass lead guitar style including fiddle tunes and crosspicking techniques which were adopted and extended by Clarence White, Tony Rice and many others. Watson is also an accomplished banjo player and in the past has accompanied himself on harmonica as well. Known also for his distinctive and rich baritone voice, he has over the years developed a vast repertoire of mountain ballads which he learned via the oral tradition of his home area in Deep Gap, North Carolina. His affable manner, humble nature and delightful wit have endeared him to his fans nearly as much as his musical talent has.
Doc played a Martin model D-18 guitar on his earliest recordings. In 1968 he began a relationship with Gallagher Guitars when he started playing their G-50 model. His first Gallagher, which Doc refers to as "Old Hoss", is on display at the Country Music Hall of Fame in Nashville, Tennessee. In 1974, Gallagher created a customized G-50 line to meet Doc's preferred specifications, which bears the Doc Watson name. In 1991, Gallagher customized a personal cutaway guitar for Doc that he plays to this day and refers to as "Donald" in honor of Gallagher guitar's second generation proprietor and builder, Don Gallagher.[7]
In recent years, Doc has scaled back his touring schedule. However, he still plays various shows around the United States to adoring audiences. As of 2007, he is generally joined on stage by his grandson (Merle's son) Richard, as well as longtime musical partners David Holt or Jack Lawrence. Recently, on June 19th, he was accompanied by Australian guitar legend Tommy Emmanuel at the Bass Performance Hall. He also, accompanied by Holt and his grandson, Richard, performed at Hardly Strictly Bluegrass in 2009, as he had done in several previous years.
He is host to the annual MerleFest music festival held every April at Wilkes Community College in Wilkesboro, North Carolina. The festival features a vast array of acoustic style music focusing on the folk, bluegrass, blues and old-time music genres. It is named in honor of Merle Watson and is one of the most popular acoustic music festivals in the world, drawing over 85,000 music fans each year.
2006 Best Country Instrumental Performance: Bryan Sutton & Doc Watson for Whiskey Before Breakfast track from Not Too Far From The Tree by Bryan Sutton
