Doc Watson at 100

On March 3, 2023, the late Doc Watson would have turned 100 years young. A dazzling genius on the acoustic guitar, Watson remains an American musical institution and pillar of North Carolina culture and heritage.

“The first thing that comes to mind [about Doc Watson] is his innate soulfulness that reached out and touched people — you knew you were hearing a master,” said David Holt.

An iconic musician and storyteller in his own right, Holt befriended Watson many decades ago, ultimately performing alongside the six-string maestro from 1998 until Watson’s passing in 2012.

“Doc was in touch with his emotions and could put those feelings into his music,” Holt said. “Like any great singer, he imagined the story of the words.”

Born in Deep Gap (Watauga County) in 1923, Watson was raised in a small house in the rural countryside, the sixth of nine children. As a toddler, Watson lost his sight due to an eye infection.

“You have to remember he grew up blind and poor — it is amazing what he accomplished,” Holt said. “Doc was one of America’s great musicians. For musicality, soulfulness, and instrumental technique, I would put him at the top of the list with other virtuosos.”

Aside from the vast accomplishments Watson achieved throughout his long and bountiful career, perhaps none was more meaningful than his creation of MerleFest in 1988. The gathering is dedicated to Watson’s son, Merle, who tragically passed away in an untimely accident.

The renowned annual gathering takes place on the campus of Wilkes Community College in Wilkesboro (Wilkes County). Each spring, MerleFest plays host to an array of marquee bluegrass, Americana, folk and country acts in front an audience of tens of thousands — and all with the memory of Doc at the heart of the event.

“Doc will be a touchstone for future generations. They’re responding to that deep soul that he delivered so naturally and powerfully,” Holt said. “There’s so much to appreciate and learn from Doc Watson. He had it all — technique, taste, tone, and touch.”

A four-time Grammy Award winner, Holt took home the 2002 honor for “Best Traditional Folk Album” for his collaboration with Watson on the record “Legacy.” Watson himself garnered eight Grammys, including the “Lifetime Achievement Award” in 2004.

“[Doc] spent a great deal of time thinking about the words and building a story around them,” Holt said. “Then, he would add music to complement the message of the song with his instrument and voice — it was always tasteful.”

Those sentiments about Watson are also shared by another guitar legend, Bryan Sutton. Hailing from Asheville and greater Buncombe County, Sutton is one of the most intricately talented players of the modern era.

A 10-time International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA) “Guitar Player of the Year,” Sutton also took home the Grammy for “Best Country Instrumental Performance” for “Whiskey Before Breakfast” with Watson in 2007.

“Doc was this perfect blend of clear articulation and discipline, but also a very casual kind of front porch fun and ease, ultimately,” Sutton said. “And anytime I was around him, he was always extremely generous with his time, with his words to me, and always treated me like a professional — he was just a real guy, he had it all.”

While still in high school, Holt first heard Watson in 1964 on his debut album, “Doc Watson,” which was released that same year. In 1971, the two finally crossed paths at the Lavonia Bluegrass Festival in Georgia.

“His music was so authentic, heartfelt, and real,” Holt said. “I liked the way he took old traditional tunes and made them sound modern and universal — he bent traditional songs, but he never broke them.”

Touring and performing coast-to-coast with Watson, Holt got to see first-hand the legend and lore of the late great guitar hero.

“We played a festival in Golden Gate Park [in San Francisco, California] for 500,000 people — the audience stretched as far as I could see,” Holt recalled. “And yet, the two of us were able to create a rhythm that brought people in, and with an intimacy that held them.”

For Holt and Sutton, and countless other guitar players and music lovers, the life and legacy of Doc Watson will carry on far into the 21st Century and beyond — his music as timeless, influential, poignant, nurturing, and vital today as ever before.

“If you’re a singer-songwriter, you can get a lot from Doc Watson. If you’re a flat-picker, you can get a lot from Doc Watson,” Sutton said. “His legacy, much like with [the ‘Father of Bluegrass’] Bill Monroe, is how you can be your own artist, and how you can kind of stay true to the traditions that inform you and define you stylistically, but also be your own sound as you interpret a lot of other things, as well.”

Enjoy more of our Down the Road – Bluegrass and Old-Time Music Guide here.