Doc Watson: A Tribute
Our bluegrass teachers have written some beautiful tributes to honor the passing of flatpicking legend Doc Watson.
Doc Watson (March 3, 1923 – May 29, 2012)
"This was Doc. When he walked on the stage the air seemed to change. The light went to a new hue. The ambience he created simply by saying hello, recognizing his fellow musicians, and introducing his tunes, gave all of us a sense of greatness. We knew we were in the presence of one of us yet someone touched by light. We somehow were being showered with it from above and it was being reflected back to Doc in some magical way. He could see us with those ears I am sure.." - Mike Marshall
Read Mike's full tribute to Doc Watson at the Academy of Bluegrass
"Nobody didn’t love Doc, and everyone agreed he was really special. Yet there was a feeling, on the west coast at least, that Doc was sort of like a spectacular natural feature of the landscape; inevitable, fully formed, iconic. He seemed ageless, and his so-called 'disability’ and spectacular transcendence of that, along with his folksy manner, made him a kind of mythic character, sort of a household god." - Darol Anger
Read Darol's full tribute to Doc Watson at the Academy of Bluegrass
"Doc is not with us anymore in the physical sense. But his music and my memories are as strong as they ever were—maybe even stronger. He will always maintain a presence and just as strong an influence for me as ever. His footprint is too big in the world of music. He's secured a place in the pantheon of music legends like Bach, Django, Hendrix, and Monroe. These men and their music are eternal." - Bryan Sutton
Read Bryan's full tribute to Doc Watson
Doc Watson and Darol Anger onstage 1978
12-year-old Bryan Sutton Meeting Doc Watson