Doc Watson, 89; folk legend mastered flatpicking style, passes

robert l. bentham

robert l. bentham

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Doc Watson, the Grammy award-winning folk musician whose lightning-fast style of flatpicking influenced guitarists around the world for more than a half-century, died Tuesday at a hospital in Winston-Salem, according to a hospital spokeswoman and his manager. He was 89.​

Mr. Watson, who was blind from age 1, recently had abdominal surgery that resulted in his hospitalization.​
Arthel ‘‘Doc’’ Watson’s mastery of flatpicking helped make the case for the guitar as a lead instrument in the 1950s and 1960s, when it was often considered a backup for mandolin, fiddle, or banjo. His fast playing could intimidate other musicians, even his own grandson, who performed with him.

http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/e...on_89_folk_legend_mastered_flatpicking_style/​



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Doc Watson, the guitarist and folk singer whose flat-picking style elevated the acoustic guitar to solo status in bluegrass and country music, and whose interpretations of traditional American music profoundly influenced generations of folk and rock guitarists, died on Tuesday in Winston-Salem, N.C. He was 89.​
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Mr. Watson, center, at the 1963 Newport Folk Festival.​
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Mr. Watson, who had been blind since he was a baby, died in a hospital after recently undergoing abdominal surgery, The Associated Press quoted a hospital spokesman as saying. On Thursday his daughter, Nancy Ellen Watson, said he had been hospitalized after falling at his home in Deep Gap, N.C., adding that he did not break any bones but was very ill.
Mr. Watson, who came to national attention during the folk music revival of the early 1960s, injected a note of authenticity into a movement awash in protest songs and bland renditions of traditional tunes. In a sweetly resonant, slightly husky baritone, he sang old hymns, ballads and country blues he had learned growing up in the northwestern corner of North Carolina, which has produced fiddlers, banjo pickers and folk singers for generations.
His mountain music came as a revelation to the folk audience, as did his virtuoso guitar playing. Unlike most country and bluegrass musicians, who thought of the guitar as a secondary instrument for providing rhythmic backup, Mr. Watson executed the kind of flashy, rapid-fire melodies normally played by a fiddle or a banjo. His style influenced a generation of young musicians learning to play the guitar as folk music achieved national popularity.
“He is single-handedly responsible for the extraordinary increase in acoustic flat-picking and fingerpicking guitar performance,” said Ralph Rinzler, the folklorist who discovered Mr. Watson in 1960. “His flat-picking style has no precedent in earlier country music history.”
Arthel Lane Watson was born in Stoney Fork, N.C., the sixth of nine children, on March 3, 1923. His father, General Dixon Watson, was a farmer and day laborer who led the singing at the local Baptist church. His mother, Annie, sang old-time ballads while doing household chores and at night sang the children to sleep.
When Mr. Watson was still an infant an eye infection left him blind, and the few years of formal schooling he received were at the Raleigh School for the Blind. His musical training, typical for the region, began in early childhood. At the age of 5 or 6 he received his first harmonica as a Christmas gift, and at 11 his father made him a fretless banjo with a head made from the skin of a family cat that had just died.
Arthel dropped out of school in the seventh grade and began working for his father, who helped him get past his disability. “I would not have been worth the salt that went in my bread if my dad hadn’t put me at the end of a crosscut saw to show me that there was not a reason in the world that I couldn’t pull my own weight and help to do my part in some of the hard work,” he told Frets magazine in 1979.
By then, Arthel had moved beyond the banjo. His father, hearing him plucking chords on a borrowed guitar, promised to buy him his own guitar if he could teach himself a song by the end of the day. The boy taught himself the Carter Family’s “When the Roses Bloom in Dixieland,” and a week later he was the proud owner of a $12 Stella guitar.
Mr. Watson initially employed a thumb-picking style, in which the thumb establishes a bass line on the lower strings while the rest of the fingers pick out a melody or chords. That soon changed.
“I began listening to Jimmie Rodgers recordings seriously and I figured, ‘Hey, he must be doing that with one of them straight picks,’ ” he told Dirty Linen magazine in 1995. “So I got me one and began to work at it. Then I began to learn the Jimmie Rodgers licks on the guitar, then all at once I began to figure out, ‘Hey, I could play that Carter stuff a lot better with a flat pick.’ ”.....
much more here...:)
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/30/arts/music/doc-watson-folk-musician-dies-at-89.html

on a personal note.. in his final years he was known to take in any stray guitarist that wanted a mentorship... and he taught and performed with, some of jazz musics', and blue grass musics', soon to be greats.... his personal diversities taught him to be a kinder gentler soul and to look for that in each of us. he found a common bond with that through music, and he "gave back" every chance he had... what a wonderful man! and a wondrous life! god speed doc! ​

he meant as much to me as barbie does you... ;)
 
notice that generally people THIS wonderful are not found in the news

but THESE are the people who make life a wonderful adventure
 
To get this entire 90 minute film go to ​
https://www.createspace.com/205698​
This music Documentary presents Earl Scruggs with many greats including Bill Monroe, Doc Watson, Earl's sons Randy and Gary, The Morris Borthers, The Byrds, Bob Dylan, Joan Baez among many others. in informal scenes ​

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two legends

Product Description

From the day he stepped off the bus in New York City, Doc Watson changed the music world forever. His influence has been recognized by presidents and by the heroes of modern music. This is the first comprehensive biography of bluegrass great hero, flat-picking legend, and the man who brought Amazing Grace into the public consciousness.

Inspiration to Robert Plant, Bob Dylan and countless other rock, country, pop and bluegrass musicians, Doc Watson started his career in his late 30s, on a small stage in Greenwich Village, New York City. Blind But Now I See delves into the dark corners of Doc Watson's life, and of course, the development of his baritone voice and steady guitar licks. This is a full and honest portrayal of a true American hero, and a genius of our times, from the small town of Deep Gap, North Carolina.

Blind But Now I See: The Biography of Music Legend Doc Watson includes never before released details about Doc Watsons life and music career. Chock-full of new and compelling interviews. Among others interviewed are: Abigail Washburn, Alan O Bryant, Alice Gerrard, Annie Bird, B. Townes, Bela Fleck, Ben Harper, Beppe Gambetta, Clint Howard, Darol Anger, David Grisman, David Moultrup, Don Rigsby, Donna Hill, Ed Pearl, Edgar Meyer, Ellen Harper-Verdries, George McCeney, Greg Brown, Guy Clark, Guy Davis, Jack Lawrence, James Reams, Jean Ritchie, Jerry Douglas, Joe Crookston, John Cohen, John Pushkin, Jonathan Byrd, Ketch Secor, Larry Long, Maria Muldaur, Mark Moss, Marty Stuart, Michelle Shocked, Mike Marshall, Mike Seeger, Norman Blake, Paddy Moloney, Pat Donohue, Paul Asbell, Paul Chasman, Peggy Seeger, Peter Rowan, Peter Siegel, Rebecca Lovell, Ricky Skaggs, Roland White, Sam Bush, Sarah Bryan, Si Kahn, Tao Rodriguez-Seeger, Tom Chapin, Tom Moore, Tom Paxton, Tommy Emmanuel, Tommy Sands, Tony Cartledge, Tony Rice, Tony Trischka, Warren Haynes and Wayne Henderson.
http://www.amazon.com/Blind-But-Now-See-ebook/dp/B004MME4ZE
even if you have only ever played an air guitar... you were influenced by this man.... robert plant... right? who else gets to die and say well you know i worked at this and this and uh by the way... i was a driving influence behind led zepplin... nice....
 
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