This article is about the musician. For the baseball player, see Doc Watson (baseball).
Doc Watson

Doc Watson at Sugar Grove Music Festival in 2009
Background information
Birth name Arthel Lane Watson
Also known as Doc Watson
Born (1923-03-03)March 3, 1923
Deep Gap, North Carolina
Died May 29, 2012(2012-05-29) (aged 89)
Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Genres Blues, bluegrass, country, folk, gospel
Occupations Musician, singer-songwriter
Instruments Vocals, guitar, banjo, harmonica
Labels Folkways, Vanguard, United Artists, Flying Fish, Sugar Hill

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. Watson won seven Grammy awards as well as a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. Watson's flatpicking skills and knowledge of traditional American music are highly regarded. He performed with his son Merle for over 15 years until Merle's death in 1985, in an accident on the family farm.[1][2][3]

Contents

Biography [link]

Early life [link]

Watson was born in Deep Gap, North Carolina. 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 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.[5]

In a 1989 radio interview with host Terry Gross on the Fresh Air show of National Public Radio (NPR), Watson explains how he got his first guitar. His father told him that if he and his brother (David Watson) chopped down all the small, dead, chestnut trees along the edge of their field, he could sell the wood to the tannery and make money. The brothers did the work and Watson bought a $10 Stella guitar from Sears Roebuck while his brother bought a new suit.[6] Later in that same interview, Watson explained that his first high quality guitar was a Martin Guitar D-18.[7]

Watson's earliest influences were the roots of country, including the Carter Family and Jimmy 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 stated in an interview with American Songwriter that, "Jimmy Rodgers was the first man that I started to claim as my favorite."[8] 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.[9]

Career [link]

In 1953, Watson joined the Johnson City, Tennessee-based Jack Williams' country and western swing band on electric guitar. The band seldom had a fiddle player, but was often asked to play at square dances. Following the example of country guitarists Grady Martin and Hank Garland, Watson 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][10] During his time with Jack Williams, Doc also supported his family as a piano tuner.

In 1960, as the American folk music revival grew, Watson took the advice of folk musicologist Ralph Rinzler and began playing acoustic guitar and banjo exclusively.[5] That move ignited Watson's career when he played on his first recording, Old Time Music at Clarence Ashley's. Also of pivotal importance for his career was his February 11, 1961 appearance at P.S. 41 in Greenwich Village.[11] He subsequently 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 Newport, Rhode Island in 1963. Watson recorded his first solo album in 1964 and began performing with his son Merle the same year.

After the folk revival waned during the late 1960s, Watson'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 guitar, 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. In 1985, Merle died in a tractor accident.[10]

Doc Watson sculpture on the corner of King and Depot Streets in Boone, North Carolina. The plaque on the bench reads "Just one of the People".

Watson played 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. Watson 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 was also an accomplished banjo player and sometimes accompanied himself on harmonica as well. Known also for his distinctive and rich baritone voice, Watson 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 endeared him to his fans nearly as much as his musical talent.

Watson played a Martin model D-18 guitar on his earliest recordings. In 1968, Watson began a relationship with Gallagher Guitars when he started playing their G-50 model. His first Gallagher, which Watson 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 Watson's preferred specifications, which bears the Doc Watson name. In 1991, Gallagher customized a personal cutaway guitar for Watson that he played until his death and which he referred to as "Donald" in honor of Gallagher guitar's second generation proprietor and builder, Don Gallagher. [12] For the last few years, Doc had been playing a Dana Bourgeois dreadnought given to him by Ricky Skaggs for his 80th birthday.

File:Merlewatson.jpg
Merle Watson, c. 1979

In 1986, Watson received the North Carolina Award and in 1994 he received a North Carolina Folk Heritage Award. Also in 1994, Watson teamed up with musicians Randy Scruggs and Earl Scruggs to contribute the classic song "Keep on the Sunny Side" to the AIDS benefit album Red Hot + Country produced by the Red Hot Organization.

Later life [link]

In 2000, Watson was inducted into the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Honor in Owensboro, Kentucky. In 1997, Watson received the National Medal of Arts from U.S. president Bill Clinton.[13] In 2010, he was awarded an honorary doctor of music degree from Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts.[14]

In his later life, Watson scaled back his touring schedule. Watson was generally joined onstage by his grandson (Merle's son) Richard, as well as longtime musical partners David Holt or Jack Lawrence. On one occasion, Watson was accompanied by Australian guitar player Tommy Emmanuel at a concert at the Bass Performance Hall in Fort Worth, Texas. Watson also performed, accompanied by Holt and Richard, at the Hardly Strictly Bluegrass festival in San Francisco, California in 2009, as he had done in several previous years.

Watson hosted 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 was named in honor of Merle Watson and is one of the most popular acoustic music festivals in the world, drawing over 70,000 music fans each year.[15]

In 2010, Blooming Twig Books published "Blind But Now I See" by Dr. Kent Gustavson, the first comprehensive biography of the seminal flatpicking guitarist.

Personal life [link]

In 1947, Doc married Rosa Lee Carlton, the daughter of popular fiddle player Gaither Carlton. Watson 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.[5]

In late May 2012, Watson was listed in critical condition but was responsive at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, after undergoing colon surgery.[16] Watson fell at his home earlier in the week, after which he was sent to Watauga Medical Center in nearby Boone, NC. Watson was not seriously injured in the fall, but an underlying medical condition prompted the surgery which required him to be airlifted to Winston-Salem.[17] Watson died on May 29, 2012 at Wake Forest Baptist at the age of 89.[18]

Discography [link]

Further information: Doc Watson discography

Awards & honors [link]

Grammy awards [link]

References [link]

  1. ^ a b Miller, Dan (September 1998). "Doc Watson: Flatpicking Legend". Flatpicking Guitar Magazine, Vol 2, No 6. https://www.flatpick.com/Pages/Featured_Artist/Doc.html. Retrieved 2008-11-28. 
  2. ^ "Doc Watson Biography". Wilkes Community College. 2005. Archived from the original on 2009-02-12. https://web.archive.org/web/20090212102758/https://merlefest.org/DocsIntro.htm. Retrieved 2009-03-09. 
  3. ^ Menconi, David (2003-03-02). "Doc of Ages". The News & Observer. https://blogsarchive.newsobserver.com/beat/index.php?p=11290&more=1&c=1&tb=1&pb=1. Retrieved 2009-03-09. 
  4. ^ Doc Watson (2002). Legacy (CD). 
  5. ^ a b c Kaufman, Steve (1999). The Legacy of Doc Watson. Mel Bay Publications. p. 152. ISBN 978-0-7866-3393-7. https://books.google.com/books?id=Et6zwlhPwUcC&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_navlinks_s#v=onepage&q=&f=false. 
  6. ^ www.npr.org. "Doc Watson". [1]. https://www.npr.org/templates/transcript/transcript.php?storyId=129579152. Retrieved 2010-09-03. 
  7. ^ "Fretbase, Doc Watson's first Martin Guitar". Fretbase.com. 2010-09-09. https://www.fretbase.com/blog/2010/9/doc-watsons-first-martin-guitar/. Retrieved 2012-05-28. 
  8. ^ "R.I.P. Doc Watson; Read Our 2012 Interview". American Songwriter. https://www.americansongwriter.com/2012/05/r-i-p-doc-watson-read-our-2012-interview/. Retrieved 30 May 2012. 
  9. ^ Country.com. "Doc Watson". Chet Atkins: Mister Guitar - Books & Bios. https://www.misterguitar.com/bios/watsonbio.html. Retrieved 2008-11-28. 
  10. ^ a b Havighurst, Craig (June 2003). "Living Legacy". Acoustic Guitar magazine. https://www.acousticguitar.com/issues/ag126/feature126.html. Retrieved November 20, 2009. 
  11. ^ Grimes, William (May 29, 2012). "Doc Watson, Blind Guitar Wizard Who Influenced Generations, Dies at 89". New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/30/arts/music/doc-watson-folk-musician-dies-at-89.html. Retrieved May 30, 2012. 
  12. ^ Callow, John (January 1997). "Gallagher Guitars". Flatpicking Guitar Magazine, Vol 1, No 2. https://www.gallagherguitar.com/flatpickart.html. Retrieved 2008-11-28. 
  13. ^ Lifetime Honors: National Medal of Art, National Endowment for the Arts.
  14. ^ Hayes, Rob. "Doc Watson Receives Honorary Doctorate". https://www.berklee.edu/news/1790/doc-watson-receives-honorary-doctorate. Retrieved 30 May 2012. 
  15. ^ Mansfield, Brian (30 May 2012). "Doc Watson, folk music legend, dies at 89". USA Today. https://www.usatoday.com/life/people/obit/story/2012-05-29/doc-watson-dies/55271498/1. Retrieved 30 May 2012. 
  16. ^ "Folk musician Doc Watson responsive after surgery in N.C.". USA Today. Associated Press. May 26, 2012. https://www.usatoday.com/life/people/story/2012-05-26/doc-watson-folk-musician/55220538/1. Retrieved May 26, 2012. 
  17. ^ "Doc Watson Dead at 89". GoBlueRidge.net - High Country News, Weather and Bulletins (High County Adventures). May 29, 2012. https://www.goblueridge.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=16053:doc-watson-dead-at-89&catid=1. Retrieved May 29, 2012. 
  18. ^ "Doc Watson Bluegrass Legend Dies At 89 In Winston-Salem". WFMY News 2. May 29, 2012. https://www.digtriad.com/news/article/230442/217/Bluegrass-Legend-Doc-Watson-Dies. Retrieved May 30, 2012. 

External links [link]

Article on Doc Watson and other western NC guitar players [2]


https://wn.com/Doc_Watson

Doc Watson (album)

Doc Watson is the self-titled debut album by Doc Watson, released by Vanguard Records in 1964. The musical supervision was credited to Ralph Rinzler.

It was re-issued on CD by Ace Records in 1995 and numerous tracks have been used in compilations such as Vanguard Years and The Best of Doc Watson 1964-1968.

In celebration of Vanguard Records 60th Anniversary in 2010, it was re-issued with original artwork on a limited edition 180 gram vinyl record pressing of 500 copies for Record Store Day on April 17.

Reception

Writing for Allmusic, music critic Jim Smith wrote the album "The album is incredibly varied, from the stark, banjo-driven "Country Blues" to the humorous "Intoxicated Rat," and many of these songs became Watson standards, especially his signature song "Black Mountain Rag." His incredible flat-picking skills may have been what initially wowed his audiences, but it was Watson's complete mastery of the folk idiom that assured his lasting popularity."

Track listing

  • "Nashville Blues" (Delmore Brothers) – 1:55
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    Doc Watson (baseball)

    Charles John "Doc" Watson (January 30, 1886 in Carroll County, Ohio – December 30, 1949 in San Diego, California) was a pitcher in Major League Baseball.

    External links

  • Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference, or Baseball-Reference (Minors)


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    Roll On

    Roll On may refer to:

  • Roll On (The Living End album)
  • "Roll On" (The Living End song)
  • Roll On (Alabama album)
  • "Roll On (Eighteen Wheeler)"
  • Roll On (JJ Cale album)
  • "Roll On" (Kid Rock song)
  • "Roll On" (Mis-Teeq song)
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    This page contains text from Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia - https://wn.com/Roll_On

    Roll On (Alabama album)

    Roll On is the eighth studio album of country music band Alabama, released in 1984.

    All four singles released from this album reached Number One on the Hot Country Singles chart: "Roll On (Eighteen Wheeler)", "When We Make Love", "If You're Gonna Play in Texas (You Gotta Have a Fiddle in the Band)" and "(There's A) Fire in the Night". Music videos were made for "I'm Not That Way Anymore" and "(There's A) Fire in the Night".

    The album was certified quadruple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America.

    Track listing

    Side A

  • "Roll On (Eighteen Wheeler)" (Dave Loggins) - 4:21
  • "Carolina Mountain Dewe" (Randy Owen) - 4:22
  • "The End of the Lyin'" (Robert Byrne, Alan Schulman) - 2:59
  • "I'm Not That Way Anymore" (Owen, Teddy Gentry, Mark Herndon, Greg Fowler) - 4:49
  • "If You're Gonna Play in Texas (You Gotta Have a Fiddle in the Band)" (Dan Mitchell, Murry Kellum) - 4:28

    • Side B

  • "(There's A) Fire in the Night" (Bob Corbin) - 4:14
  • "When We Make Love" (Troy Seals, Mentor Williams) - 3:36
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    Roll On (Eighteen Wheeler)

    "Roll On (Eighteen Wheeler)" is a song written by Dave Loggins, and recorded by American country music band Alabama. It was released in January 1984 as the first single and title track to the band's album Roll On. It was the group's 12th straight No. 1 single on the Billboard magazine Hot Country Singles chart.

    Story

    "Roll On (Eighteen Wheeler)" was Alabama's contribution to an honored tradition in country music: the tribute to the American truck driver. Here, the story is that of a man who drives an over-the-road semitrailer truck to support his wife and three children.

    As the story begins, the man (referred to only as "Daddy") leaves for a several-day trip through the Midwest. When the children gather around their mother in sadness, she says all they need to do is remember the song their father had taught them ("Roll on highway, roll on along, roll on Daddy 'til you get back home, roll on family, roll on crew, roll on mama like I asked you to do"); those lyrics serve as the refrain of the song.In some versions,the song begins with a CB radio call saying "How about ya,Alabama,Roll On",which was recorded from an actual CB call placed to Alabama's bus in the late 70s.

    Read more
    This page contains text from Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia - https://wn.com/Roll_On_(Eighteen_Wheeler)

    Podcasts:

    Doc Watson

    ALBUMS

    Doc Watson

    ALBUMS

    The Definitive Doc Watson

    Released 2013

    The Atkins-Travis Traveling Show / Reflections

    Released 2008

    Vanguard Visionaries: Doc Watson

    Released 2007

    Memories

    Released 2004

    Trouble in Mind

    Released 2003

    The Three Pickers

    Released 2003

    Legacy

    Released 2002

    Songs From Home

    Released 2002

    Foundation: The Doc Watson Guitar Instrumental Collection, 1964-1998

    Released 2000

    Third Generation Blues

    Released 1999

    The Best of Doc Watson: 1964 - 1968

    Released 1999

    Mac, Doc & Del

    Released 1998

    Doc & Dawg

    Released 1997

    Good Deal / Doc Watson in Nashville

    Released 1996

    Docabilly

    Released 1995

    The Original Folkways Recordings of Doc Watson and Clarence Ashley: 1960 Through 1962

    Released 1994

    My Dear Old Southern Home

    Released 1993

    Live Duet Recordings 1963-1980: Off the Record, Volume 2

    Released 1993

    On Praying Ground

    Released 1989

    The Essential Doc Watson

    Released 1986

    Reflections

    Released 1980

    Home Again!

    Released 1966

    Doc Watson

    Released 1964

    1980-08-07: The White House

    At Gerdes Folk City

    Doc Watson Sings Songs for Little Pickers (Live Recordings)

    Doc Watson on Stage (feat. Merle Watson)

    Portrait

    The Vanguard Years

    Southbound

    Suwannee Springfest 25-3-2000

    Strictly Instrumental

    Old Timey Concert

    Red Rocking Chair (with T. Michael Coleman)

    Elementary Doctor Watson

    Riding the Midnight Train

    Born: 1923-03-03

    Died: 2012-05-29

    Doc Watson

    ALBUMS

    The Kame Up Mixtape, Volume I

    Released 2007
    Email this Page Play all in Full Screen Show More Related Videos
    PLAYLIST TIME:

    Born About Six Thousand Years Ago

    by: Doc Watson

    I was born about six thousand years ago
    They ain't nothin' in this world that I don't know
    I saw Old King Pharaoh's daughter find Little Moses on the water
    And I can whip the man that says it isn't so
    I saw Noah when he built that famous ark
    I slipped into it one night when it got dark
    I saw Jonah swallowed by the whale, and I pulled the lion's tail
    I can whip the man that says it isn't so
    I'm an educated man, to get more sense within my head I plan
    Well, I've been on earth so long, and I used to sing a little song
    While all of them old timers took their stand
    Queen Elizabeth fell dead in love with me, (hee, hee, she did)
    We was married in Milwaukee secretly
    Then I took her out and shook her, and I went with General Hooker
    To fight mosquitoes down in Tennessee.
    I taught Solomon his little A B C's (smart feller)
    And through all his books, I tutored him with ease
    Then I sailed out on the bay with Methuselah one day
    And I played with his flowing whiskers in the breeze
    I'm an educated man, to get more sense within my head I plan
    Well, I've been on earth so long, and I used to sing a little song
    While all of them old timers took their stand
    I seen old Satan when he searched that Garden o'er, (old booger)
    Saw Adam and Eve driven from the door
    When the applese they were eating, from the bushes I was a-peeping
    I can prove it from the man that ate the core
    I saw Cain when he killed Abel with a spade
    And I know the game was poker that they played
    I was hid behind the shrub when he slapped him with that club
    Poor old Abel caught him a-cheatin', and now he's dead
    I'm an educated man, to get more sense within my head I plan
    Well, I've been on earth so long, and I used to sing a little song




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