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• Arthel Lane "Doc" Watson is a legendary songwriter and guitarist whose music spans the genres of Bluegrass, Country, Folk, Blues and Gospel. Known for his innovative flat-picking style and adherence to traditional American musical forms, Watson is a seven-time Grammy award winner and a National Medal of the Arts recipient.

• Fast Facts

  1. Name: Arthel Lane Watson
  2. Born: March 3, 1923
  3. Genres: Bluegrass, Country, Folk, Blues, Gospel
  4. Origin: Deep Gap, North Carolina
  5. Active: 1953 - Present
  6. Labels: Folkways, Vanguard, United Artists, Flying Fish, Sugar Hill
  7. Grammy Awards: 7 (as well as a Lifetime Achievement Award)
  8. Lost his sight before the age of one due to an eye infection
  9. The nickname "Doc" is a reference to Sherlock Holmes' fictional sidekick Doctor Watson

• MerleFest

  After Watson's son Merle died in a farming accident in 1985, Doc began hosting a music festival each year in his honor called MerleFest. Held in Wilkesboro, North Carolina, the annual four-day festival celebrates traditional American roots music and attracts some of the top names in Bluegrass, Folk and Jazz each year.

• Selected Discography

  • 1964: Doc Watson
  • 1965: Doc Watson and Son
  • 1966: Southbound
  • 1966: Home Again!
  • 1967: Ballads From Deep Gap
  • 1972: The Elementary Doctor Watson!
  • 1973: Then and Now
  • 1977: Lonesome Road
  • 1978: Look Away!
  • 1981: Red Rocking Chair
  • 1984: Down South
  • 1985: Pickin' the Blues
  • 1986: Riding the Midnight Train
  • 1990: On Praying Ground
  • 1992: Remembering Merle
  • 1994: Docabilly
  • 1999: Third Generation Blues
  • 2002: Legacy

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