http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/30/arts/music/doc-watson-folk-musician-dies-at-89.html
Tremendous loss.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-7MwW3JuEOY
The earth is still reverberating from the last giant to fall.
I found my way to Doc Watson by way of a different route than most people. Back in the 70s, I owned a Hall and Oates album (the only one I’ve ever owned) called “Past Times Behind.” It wasn’t your typical H&O fare, but rather a folksy bluesy collection of songs. It was one of my favorite albums for a while and my favorite song on it was “Deep River Blues.” I think the album might have given the writing credit for the song to Doc… at the very least, he was mentioned in conjunction with the song in the liner notes, but either way, it was that song on that album that introduced me to Doc’s music and some of the most amazing guitar playing I’ve ever heard. Damned shame he’s gone.
This one was a staple at Forestry Club parties in college: Tennessee Stud http://youtu.be/dq-1G6Wif8s
Doc Watson will be missed.
Now he’s gone
But I won’t worry
Cause he’s sittin’ on top of the world.
It’s hard to assess the man’s impact on guitarists my age. Doc Watson was either directly responsible for giving us much of our playing style or he strongly
influenced those that we came to play with. He will be missed but not soon forgotten.
John Oates was as much a folk blues picker as anything else when I first met he and Daryl. They were one of many acoustic singer-songwriter duos playing the coffee houses and colleges around Philly in the late 60’s early 70’s. We shared billing with them a number of times. Doc Watson’s music was pretty much required repertoire for all of us. John still plays some of Doc’s music in his solo act and he remembers to give Doc credit for his influence whether Doc wrote the piece or not. Really, who remembers Jimmy Driftwood or the Mississippi Shieks? We all remember Doc Watson.
Feadoggie
I grew up in the Boone area. My dad and many of his generation knew Doc personally. A real local hero.
So glad I got to see Doc and Merle play several times. Just wish I had appreciated them more when I was young.
Doc will be missed. I heard him play with his son before he was killed in an unfortunate farming accident. It wasn’t so much his impeccable guitar playing but the sound of his voice that impressed me. Rest in peace, Doc. Or rise up and lead us onward.
Zombie Doc Watson???
That would be an awesome name if someone were starting a metal bluegrass band.
They’d have to play metal bodied Dobros and National guitars and mandolins of course.
Feadoggie
A friend of mine ran sound for years, and has lots of unreleased things. He put an evening of Doc Watson up on his site. Mono, but high quality. Back when Merle was playing with him.
Very nice, Chuck. Thank you.
I happened to be recording a project at the Cowboy Arms studios in Nashville on the day of Merle’s accident in 1985. And I remember that the word went around town like wildfire before it hit the news. Our producer, Jim Rooney, was in shock. At lunch, Béla Fleck and Sam Bush thought that Doc would hang it up for sure. That they were off by another 27 years is a real tribute to the man’s quiet strength.
The Tennessee stud was one of my favorite songs as a child, and continues to be so. My dad would play Deep River Blues sitting by the fireplace in the winter. Good lord, I owe Doc my childhood.