Musicians - Doc Watson

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	Musicians - Doc Watson

Arthel Lane Watson (born March 3, 1923) in Deep Gap, North Carolina, is a guitar player, songwriter and singer of bluegrass, folk, country, blues and gospel music. The nickname 'Doc' comes from his days in radio when he needed a short name. The nickname stuck because of the reference to Sherlock Holmes's sidekick.

The first song Doc ever learned to play was "When Roses Bloom in Dixieland"; his father was so proud, he took Doc to the store and bought him his first guitar, a $12 Stella.

- In fact: Doc got his nickname from a studio employee who asked what the name of the artist was. Because no one knew that at the time the man said: "call him Doc". Besides that, Doc usually is a nickname for the seventh child (son) in a family.

An eye infection caused Doc Watson to lose his vision prior to his first birthday.

He often performed with his son, (Eddy) Merle Watson (Named after Eddy Arnold and Merle Travis), who was killed in a tractor accident at the age of 36 in 1985.

He plays in both flatpicking and fingerpicking style, but is best known for his flatpick work. His virtuosity combined with his authenticity as a mountain musician made him a highly influential figure in the folk music revival of the early sixties. He pioneered the fast and flashy bluegrass lead guitar style which has been adopted and extended by others such as Clarence White and Tony Rice.

He is also an excellent and soulful singer, who started by developing a repertoire of mountain ballads which he learned via the oral tradition of his home area in Deep Gap, North Carolina. His first recordings were made with Clarence Ashley, Fred Price, Clint Howard, and others from this area. Prior to this, he worked as an electric guitar player in a honky-tonk band.

In 1986 he received the North Carolina Award and in 2000 he was inducted into the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Honor. In 1997, Doc received the National Medal of the Arts from President Clinton.

Grammy awards

1973 Best Ethnic Or Traditional Recording (Including Traditional Blues): Doc Watson for Then And Now
1974 Best Ethnic Or Traditional Recording: Merle Watson & Doc Watson for Two Days In November
1979 Best Country Instrumental Performance: Doc Watson & Merle Watson for Big Sandy/Leather Britches
1986 Best Traditional Folk Recording: Doc Watson for Riding The Midnight Train
1990 Best Traditional Folk Recording: Doc Watson for On Praying Ground
2002 Best Traditional Folk Album: Doc Watson & David Holt for Legacy

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Musicians - Doc Watson

Grammy awards

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