30 May 2012

Doc Watson: RIP

Vinny Baker of Mullingar, guitarist with Bending the Strings, sends this message:

May I just say, through the Bluegrass Ireland Blog, that the death of Doc Watson is sadly one more of the great, great players of yesteryear gone to their eternal reward. Chet Atkins, Jerry Reed, and now Doc, gone, and their likes will NOT be seen again. Yes sure, there are giants of guitar playing following in their footsteps; people like Cody Kilby, Josh Williams, and Chris Eldridge are all fabulous bluegrass players, but they were all influenced in some way by Doc Watson, Chet, and Jerry.

Doc was my first introduction to bluegrass guitar, and after hearing him I was a fan for life. I loved Doc's approach to his array of styles, and his vocal style was unequalled. Thank God we still have Tony Rice as a link to the early days of bluegrass guitar. Unfortunately I had planned to visit the Doc Watson annual MerleFest in North Carolina, USA, next April, and now my big regret is that it is too late to see the great Doc live on stage. May you rest in peace, Doc, and I'm sure I speak for all guitarists when I say: You will be sadly missed. .

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