Shady Grove – Doc Watson and David Holt

In Memoriam: Doc Watson 1923-2012

Uploaded by banjofolk on May 14, 2008

David Holt and Doc Watson perform the song Shady Grove on December 5, 1998 at the Valborg Theatre on the campus of Appalacian State University. David asks Doc about the song as a courting song. Doc talks about the days he courted Rosalie, his wife of 62 years.

Long past time for a musical interlude. Hadn’t seen this one before but did today on a Doc hunt at the tube. Doc is a hero since childhood, as I’ve very probably said here before. I’m digging David Holt, now, too. I think finding it today is Forteanically interesting, as a side note, since I had not been aware of David, a real master of claw hammer banjo until yesterday from a Deering Banjo email. Hmm.

I tend to hold this song in my mind for a reason that is strikingly similar to it’s significance to Doc. She likes metal, though. Sigh.

At any rate, the tubular Doc search of a little while ago was initiated by the following…

I heard this awful news today via my friend Mike Hughes, who saw this article in the New York Times, in Arts Beat.

May 25, 2012, 8:57 AM

Doc Watson in Critical Condition After Fall

By JAMES C. MCKINLEY JR.

Doc Watson, the virtuoso folk guitarist, remained in critical condition at a North Carolina hospital on Friday after undergoing surgery to remove a blockage in his colon, his longtime manager, Mitch Greenhill, said.

“His condition remains critical but he’s better,” Mr. Greenhill said. “He’s in the intensive care unit and he’s probably going to be there for a while.”

Mr. Watson, who is 89, became ill and fell down at at his home in the hamlet of Deep Gap earlier in the week. He was taken to a hospital in nearby Boone, but doctors there determined he needed surgery and sent him to Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center in Winston-Salem, where he underwent abdominal surgery on Thursday, Mr. Greenhill said.

Mr. Watson, who is blind, is widely regarded as one of the greatest guitarists and singers the American folk tradition has ever produced, a master not only of bluegrass flat-picking but also of alternating-bass finger-picking styles. He has won seven Grammy Awards and was presented the National Medal of the Arts for his contributions to American Music. Among his hits are “Deep River Blues” and “Windy and Warm.” He also founded Merlefest, an annual gathering of folk musicians in North Wilkesboro, N.C., named after his son, a musician who died in a tractor accident in 1985.

Doc, Sir, you’re not done yet, so get well soonest, yes?

Peace.