![]() As popular as ever, Doc and Merle began playing as a trio, with T. Watson recorded his first solo album in 1964 and began performing with his son Merle the same year.Īfter 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. 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. He also began to tour as a solo performer and appeared at universities and clubs like the Ash Grove in Los Angeles. That move ignited Watson's career when he played on his first recording, Old Time Music at Clarence Ashley's. 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. During his time with Jack Williams, Doc also supported his family as a piano tuner. He later transferred the technique to acoustic guitar, and playing fiddle tunes became part of his signature sound. Following the example of country guitarists Grady Martin and Hank Garland, Watson taught himself to play fiddle tunes on his Les Paul electric guitar. The band seldom had a fiddle player, but was often asked to play at square dances. In 1953, Watson joined the Johnson City, Tennessee-based Jack Williams' country and western swing band on electric guitar. 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. In 1947, Doc married Rosa Lee Carlton, the daughter of popular fiddle player Gaither Carlton. By the time Watson reached adulthood, he had become a proficient acoustic and electric guitar player. 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. The first song Watson learned to play on the guitar was "When Roses Bloom in Dixieland". Later in that same interview, Watson explained that his first high quality guitar was a Martin Guitar D-18. The brothers did the work and Watson bought a $10 Stella guitar from Sears Roebuck while his brother bought a new suit. ![]() His father told him that if he and his brother 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. In a 1988 radio interview with host Terry Gross on the Fresh Air show of National Public Radio (NPR), Watson explains how he got his first guitar. He attended North Carolina's school for the visually impaired, The Governor Morehead School, in Raleigh, North Carolina. Despite this, he was taught by his parents to work hard and care for himself. Īn eye infection caused Doc Watson to lose his vision before his first birthday. A fan in the crowd shouted "Call him Doc!" presumably in reference to the literary character Sherlock Holmes ' sidekick Doctor Watson. 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. Watson was born in Deep Gap, North Carolina. He performed with his son Merle for over 15 years until Merle's death in 1985, in an accident on the family farm. Watson's flatpicking skills and knowledge of traditional American music are highly regarded. Watson won seven Grammy awards as well as a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. Arthel Lane "Doc" Watson (Ma– May 29, 2012) was an American guitarist, songwriter and singer of bluegrass, folk, country, blues and gospel music.
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