While Doc always insisted he was just a regular person, a man of the people, but people growing up with Doc knew he was different….unique. The sense was that, if he wasn’t going to be famous for his music, that he would be famous or noteworthy doing something else.
According to one of Doc’s brothers, he never wanted to be put on a pedestal. Doc said, “I want to talk to people when I’m on stage just like I would talk to them in my living room. I want people to know me.”
When we at Germain Media offered an open microphone to Doc’s friends and family at the Doc and Rosa Lee Watson Musicfest in Sugar Grove, one comment struck us as unique. It was that people who knew Doc and lived in the High Country of North Carolina really had no idea about the far reaching impact Doc had on musicians all over the world. After Doc’s passing in 2012 the website Doc’s Guitar.com provided an open forum for people to share how this blind flatpicking guitar player from a mountain crossroad had impacted their lives.
Here are some of their stories:
In late 1977, when I heard Doc’s brilliant style for the first time, I decided to follow him in a new experience: Playing the acoustic guitar. This moment was a turning point in my life…Leo Gentilini- Rome, Italy.
I went to Appalachian State in the 1960s and 70s and I remember sitting at the Boone Drug lunch counter when Doc and his wife would come in. The whole place would light up and Doc would start telling stories and left us all gasping for breath from laughing so hard…Jim O’Leary.
I was sitting in the front row of a small coffee house in West Philadelphia and as we clapped to Doc’s music it became a contest, the faster he picked, the faster we clapped…and he never missed a note…after that song he reached over and shook our hands and said “Thank You”…Floyd Taylor.
I found Doc in 2009 when I met my wife. She was a big fan. It literally changed my life and my taste for music. I soon found I could buy his music even here in Denmark. Kaj Samuelsson, Copenhagen.
The music of Doc Watson has been central to my life ever since I saw him and Merle on Austin City Limits in the late 1970s. I had the great pleasure of seeing him at Merlefest in 2011…I will never forget him…Rob Rainer, Ottawa, Canada.
I first heard Doc in the 70s on the fabulous “Will the Circle Be Unbroken” album. I was immediately struck with his depth and warmth of character as much as his virtuosity. Matti Ressler, Australia.
I remember sitting a few feet away from Doc at a Folk Club in England in the 60s. During the set a string broke and he said, “Dang me, I got a wire gone! Better tell you a story.” He kept us enthralled while he changed his string, brought it up to pitch and then carried on as if nothing had happened…Roger Hurrell, Great Britain.
I heard Doc and Merle in France once and almost wanted to give my guitar away after that, but yet it’s here…Eric, Toulouse, France.
And finally this: Recently my 10-year old son picked up the guitar and insisted on learning to flatpick like Doc because he had been inspired by the Doc Watson tunes regularly flowing in our home and car…Jonas Nilsson, Stockholm, Sweden.
Please share your Doc Watson stories in the comments section below, and, as always, thanks for liking, commenting and sharing this post with your friends!