Doc Watson Biography

Quick Facts

NAME: Doc Watson
OCCUPATION: Guitarist, Singer
BIRTH DATE: March 03, 1923
DEATH DATE: May 29, 2012
PLACE OF BIRTH: Stoney Fork, North Carolina
PLACE OF DEATH: Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Full Name: Arthel Lane Watson
Nickname: Doc Watson

Best Known For

Doc Watson was a blind American guitarist/singer and folk music pioneer whose unprecedented flat-picking style and interpretations of traditional American songs influenced generations of musicians.

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Arthel Lane Watson

APA Style

Arthel Lane Watson. (2013). The Biography Channel website. Retrieved 08:43, May 25, 2013, from http://www.biography.com/people/doc-watson-20844877.

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Arthel Lane Watson. [Internet]. 2013. The Biography Channel website. Available from: http://www.biography.com/people/doc-watson-20844877 [Accessed 25 May 2013].

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"Arthel Lane Watson." 2013. The Biography Channel website. May 25 2013, 08:43 http://www.biography.com/people/doc-watson-20844877.

MHRA Style

"Arthel Lane Watson," The Biography Channel website, 2013, http://www.biography.com/people/doc-watson-20844877 [accessed May 25, 2013].

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"Arthel Lane Watson," The Biography Channel website, http://www.biography.com/people/doc-watson-20844877 (accessed May 25, 2013).

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Arthel Lane Watson [Internet]. The Biography Channel website; 2013 [cited 2013 May 25] Available from: http://www.biography.com/people/doc-watson-20844877.

Bluebook Style

Arthel Lane Watson, http://www.biography.com/people/doc-watson-20844877 (last visited May 25, 2013).

AMA Style

Arthel Lane Watson. The Biography Channel website. 2013. Available at: http://www.biography.com/people/doc-watson-20844877. Accessed May 25, 2013.

One of Watson’s most notable contributions to American music was his rapid-fire, flat-picking guitar style, which has influenced generations of folk and rock guitarists. Fellow folk pioneer Bob Dylan once compared Watson’s guitar picking style to “water running,” while the artist himself modestly called it “country pickin.”

Death

Doc Watson died on May 29th, 2012 in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, following complications from abdominal surgery. He was 89. In addition to his guitar mastery, Watson’s song interpretations and echoes of the Appalachian “mountain” music of his childhood captivated audiences around the world and across generations.