More celebrations of Doc Watson at 100

John Nyhan's celebration of Doc Watson appeared on the BIB yesterday. Jason Verlinde, the Fretboard Journal editor, has now collected several of his 'favorite Doc-inspired moments from the magazine' to mark the occasion. They include a video (also on YouTube) of Billy Strings playing 'Tennessee Stud', plus one of 'John Henry'. Billy Strings is tonight leading a Doc Watson tribute concert in North Carolina, where in June the North Carolina Guitar Celebration will feature a Doc tribute concert led by Bryan Sutton. A story of how two young Californians made a 1966 pilgrimage across the States to see Doc can be read here; a video of Jack Lawrence playing 'Red rockin' chair' is here; Bryan Sutton and a heap of leading pickers play 'Sitting on top of the world' (also on YouTube); banjoist Tray Wellington tells in a podcast how Doc's music changed his direction; and Doc's legacy is illustrated by a video (also on Bluegrass Today) of Tommy Emmanuel and Molly Tuttle playing 'White freightliner blues'.

Smithsonian Folkways Recordings have also marked Doc's centenary with a display of the many recordings he made for their catalogue, and a video of him playing 'Deep river blues' can be seen on the Smithsonian Folkways Facebook.

© Richard Hawkins