Wagnabbit: Boone celebrates ‘Doc Watson Day’ Aug. 14

Updating a previously published column:

Born in 1923, the late Doc Watson became one of North Carolina’s music industry trailblazers.

Raised in Watauga County’s Stony Fork community near Deep Gap, Arthel Lane Watson, was the son of farmers General Dixon Watson and Nancy Annie Greene Watson. Both parents were musically inclined. He directed the local church choir; she was a talented gospel vocalist.

Arthel suffered a rare eye infection as an infant that caused him to go blind. He would later say: “I’d think learning to play the guitar would be very confusing for sighted people.”

He got the nickname Doc early in his career. During a live radio show performance, the announcer suggested that “this musician named Arthel needs a nickname.”

Someone in the audience shouted: “Call him Doc!” – as in Doctor Watson, the sidekick of detective Sherlock Holmes of Scotland Yard (fictional characters created in 1887 by British author Arthur Conan Doyle).

Obviously, the name stuck with Doc Watson for his entire life. (He died in 2012, at age 89.)

The North Carolina House of Representatives wants the state to recognize “Doc Watson Day” every March 3 (his birthday).

Legislation was introduction in 2023 to applaud Doc Watson as “a guitarist, banjoist, singer and songwriter of bluegrass, country, folk, roots and gospel music, renowned for his fingerpicking and flatpicking skills.”

“Doc Watson’s musical career spanned more than half a century and is most positively identified with his promoting and preserving Appalachian and old-time folk music,” the bill sponsors wrote.

(The proposal sailed through the House, with a unanimous 107-0 vote. The Senate has yet to consider the bill.)

Doc Watson won seven Grammy Awards as well as a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2004.

David Holt of Gatesville, Texas, who accompanied Doc Watson on stage from 1998-2012, commented: “If I had to choose one mentor who I have learned the most from it would be Doc Watson. I consider him my ‘musical father.’”

“Doc Watson was an American folk legend who left an amazing legacy of music and stories. Hailed as one the country’s greatest folk musicians, Doc carved an indelible mark into American music and culture,” Holt said.

“To be recognized as a national treasure by President Jimmy Carter, honored with the National Medal of the Arts by President Bill Clinton and given an honorary doctorate degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill attests to him being a fine musician and entertainer,” he said.

“Doc Watson received these accolades not only for his talent but for the honor, integrity, humility, grace and dignity that he displayed throughout his long and distinguished career. While there are many, many great guitar players and singers; there was only one Doc Watson,” Holt concluded.

Doc Watson married Rosa Lee Carlton of Deep Gap in 1947. Her father, Gaither Wiley Carlton, was a big-time fiddle player. He and Doc hit it off, and they often performed together.

Doc and Rosa Lee had two children. Daughter Nancy Ellen Watson was named “within the family,” but son Eddy Merle Watson was named after music industry titans who Doc admired most – Eddy Arnold and Merle Travis.

The boy went by Merle Watson. He was the heir apparent who died too young. Merle was 36 when he was killed in a tragic tractor accident in 1985. It was a bizarre occurrence. Merle was driving a farm tractor when he lost control of the vehicle on a hillside. It rolled over and he was crushed to death beneath the tractor.

Doc had nurtured Merle, and the father-and-son duo had performed together for many years. Merle was a gifted guitarist and banjo player. They had perfected their act and routine, much to the delight of the audiences they entertained.

Their faith and love led Doc and Rosa Lee to establish MerleFest in 1988 as an annual event staged in April on the campus of Wilkes Community College in Wilkesboro in memory of their son. Proceeds benefit the college’s foundation.

The four-day musical extravaganza typically attracts some 75,000 music fans who come for the “music, moments and memories.”

MerleFest celebrates what Doc Watson termed “traditional plus” music. He explained: “When Merle and I started out, we called our music ‘traditional plus,’ meaning the traditional music of the Appalachian region…plus whatever other styles we were in the mood to play.” The venue features 12 stages and a plethora of musicians.

MerleFest’s mascot is Flattop, a raccoon character who was associated with Merle Watson’s band Frosty Morn. The group often was the opening act for Doc and Merle.

One who continues to sing Doc Watson’s praises is Dolly Parton, who said: “Doc Watson was everyone’s hero and a great guitar player. Some say he was the absolute best, and I was honored to get to work with him a few times in my career.”