Doc Watson created the flat-picking guitar style more than six decades ago. He initially did it to play the leads for his band which didn't have a fiddle player. Any guitarist will tell you there's nothing more challenging than playing fiddle tunes on the guitar. And Doc set a standard that no one has ever matched.
At age 86, his fingers haven't lost a beat. He can do what no one else can. His fingers fly over the strings so fast it would take a slow-motion camera to see what he really does. But another thing that made this night so special was that he was in the mood to talk. A lot! He said he would try to be the same person on stage that he would be in his own living room, and believe me, he succeeded. Besides his music, he shared from his own soul--things that were important to him. He kept coming back to "the pretty little gal who put her hand in mine 63 years ago and said she'd walk with me."
Doc shared stories of how he had been taken to a faith healer as a child, but for reasons known best to the Lord, he had not been healed of his blindness. Doc felt that God had given him his talent to make music for a reason. Throughout his life music has allowed him to provide for his family. And his blindness prevented him from serving in World War II, which he said could have saved his life. At that point, Doc paid tribute to his brother David, who it turned out was the gentleman that had asked me and Judy to swap seats with him on our arrival. David, a mere 84, had survived both D-Day in the Atlantic and the Battle of Okinawa in the Pacific. Judy and I were very impressed with the soft-spoken man, who was obviously very proud of his big brother. He also told us his son lives in Carthage. Small world!
Here's a vintage picture of Doc's family. He's standing in the light shirt.
For many years Doc performed with his son Merle. But Merle was killed in a tragic tractor accident in the mid 1980's. Doc continued to perform all over, but the loss was certainly hard to take. But in recent years, David Holt has been a godsend, joining Doc in performances everywhere, almost becoming a son to him. David is known internationally as a folk musician and storyteller. He, too, should be regarded as a North Carolina treasure. He shows people that it's valuing the "ordinary" things around them--music, stories, the old-time crafts and ways of life--that shows us what's truly extraordinary.
Saturday, David's banjo picking and guitar strumming were the perfect complement to Doc's art. David is a gifted singer and performer in his own right. As a matter of fact, this was not my first encounter with David Holt. About 10 years ago he came to Farm Life School to give a performance. I helped him unload and set up. As we talked about our musical experiences and he learned about my classroom singalongs, he invited me to help him lead the students in "The Titanic." That has always been one of our class favorites. It was sad, oh so sad,
It was sad when that great ship went down, (hit the bottom)
There were husbands and wives, little children lost their lives,
It was sad when that great ship went down.
My first acquaintance with Doc Watson's music was more than 30 years ago when I was in college. I bought the now-classic album "Will the Circle Be Unbroken" and listened to it over and over. My favorite songs on it were always the Doc Watson instrumentals--plus his vocal classic, "The Tennessee Stud."
This was my first chance to see Doc Watson in person. Some might call it the twilight of his career. But I'm not so sure. Besides his music, he is living out a great testimony of faith. He has some rock solid words of wisdom to share with those who gather around. The personal anecdotes and off-hand comments he made this night were as memorable to me as his inimitable ballads and folk songs.
There is no shortage of Doc Watson's music available on the internet if you'd like a sample. Just go to www.youtube.com and search Doc Watson. All of his favorites are there. But if you ever get a chance to hear him live, I recommend you go. It will be an experience to treasure always.
If you don't have time to check out Youtube for videos, here are a couple of brief samplers. The first is an all-instrumental version of Deep River Blues. The second features David Holt with a demonstration of traditional "hamboning." And Doc Watson gets some laughs for throwing in a bit of his own.
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