The Blue Ridge Music Center is celebrating a music legend with the release of a new video series titled Legacies: Doc Watson Musical Tribute highlighting performances and stories from artists who were influenced by the music of the late bluegrass pioneer Doc Watson. The series features T. Michael Coleman, Jack Lawrence, Wayne Henderson, and Jack Hinshelwood performing during the Doc at 100 tribute concert hosted at the venue in 2023.
The series is available at BlueRidgeMusicCenter.org and on the Music Center’s YouTube channel.
Born in 1923 near Deep Gap, N.C., Watson was blind from infancy. He learned to play guitar at the encouragement of his father and went on to develop a flat-picking style that redefined the sound of traditional music. In his more than 70-year career, Watson became one of the most influential acoustic guitar players in the world and was a noted influence on scores of musicians from across genres.
The four artists featured in the video series have deep ties to Watson, having played, recorded, and toured with him for a combined 40-plus years.
Coleman toured with Doc and his son Merle Watson from 1974 to 1986. Several years before Watson’s death in 2012, Coleman rejoined him on the road. The pair’s many years of traveling and playing together amassed a trove of stories and music.
Lawrence began playing with Watson in 1983, filling in for Merle as he pursued other interests. After Merle’s death in 1985, Lawrence and Watson became full-time musical partners. They played side-by-side for more than 25 years in a “guitar partnership” that capitalized on both of their strengths.
Henderson is well-known for his guitar playing and instrument building. He and Watson first met in the late 1960s and went on to form a long friendship, one that was especially strong in Watson’s later years when he would make regular visits to Henderson’s luthier shop in Rugby, Va. Henderson also made instruments for Watson, including a mandolin and guitar.
Hinshelwood began playing bluegrass guitar in the early 1970s and was strongly influenced by Watson’s guitar picking and repertoire.
Ten of Watson’s most recognizable and well-loved songs are featured in the video series:
- “Eight More Miles to Louisville” performed by Coleman and Lawrence
- “Sittin’ On top of the World” performed by Henderson and Hinshelwood
- “Nothin’ To It (I Don’t Love Nobody)” performed by Henderson and Hinshelwood
- “Old Camp Meeting Time” performed by Henderson and Hinshelwood
- “Steel Guitar Rag” performed by Henderson and Hinshelwood
- “Deep River Blues (I Don’t Love Nobody)” performed by Coleman, Lawrence, Henderson, and Hinshelwood
- “My Creole Belle” performed by Coleman, Lawrence, Henderson, Jack Hinshelwood.
- “I Know What It Means To Be Lonesome” performed by Coleman, Lawrence, Henderson, and Hinshelwood
- “Windy and Warm” performed by Coleman,Lawrence, Henderson, and Hinshelwood
- “Tennessee Stud” performed by Coleman, Lawrence, Henderson, and Hinshelwood
In addition to the new series, viewers can watch the Music Center’s series, Deep Roots, Many Voices: Diversity and Inclusion in American Roots Music and A Place in the Band: Women in Bluegrass and American Roots Music on the YouTube channel.
