-My
youngest brother is a worldly type; born and raised in the Midwest ,
schooled in the deep south, and found his calling here in New
England which led to work in such exotic places as London , England
and Luxemburg. Which, in turn, has opened many a door for him both travel-wise
(he regularly drives from country to country) as well as land him, shall we
say, many friends and girlfriends from afar.
-Long
story short: my dear Mom was celebrating her 80th in Kentucky a few years
back, and my aforementioned brother wanted to show off his (then) girlfriend
from Yugoslavia .
Pleasant and unassuming, I couldn’t help but notice that she insisted on
parading around with a beat-up old boombox, listening to nothing but…Doc
Watson! On cassette no less!
-Obvious
point being…the man’s music is and always has been…universal! Knows no
boundaries!
-You’ve
no doubt heard the story…Folkways records his family & friends in 1960
after having played in various incarnations for 20 or so years, he debuts at
Gerde’s in NY in late ’62, then on to Newport, his crowning achievement being
his flatpicking contributions to the groundbreaking Will the Circle Be Unbroken
in the early 70’s. Despite being middle age when he was ‘discovered’, Doc
continues to be active to this day, hosting the annual MerleFest music festival
in honor of his late (also very talented) son Merle.
-Doc
turned 89 years young last Saturday the 3rd, and all day Friday (the
2nd) WUMB we honored this singular American guitar player,
songwriter and singer of bluegrass, folk, country, blues and gospel music.
Undoubtedly, there’s that one Doc Watson track that you’re especially fond of; for the next time we play his music --
lend us your suggestions, won’t you please?
-Do you have a favorite Doc Watson story you'd like to share?
-Do you have a favorite Doc Watson story you'd like to share?
- Albert
O
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