Original Folkways Recordings: 1960-1962 (CD)

Blind North Carolina guitarist Arthel "Doc" Watson did more than anyone other than Earl Scruggs to popularize the guitar as a lead instrument in bluegrass. Watson's trademark two-fingered flatpicking style is one of the most influential in the genre, and has proven influential to all who followed in his wake. He became a professional musician in the 1950s, and was in the right place at the time for the folk boom of the '60s, which made him a star in roots music circles. For many years, Watson worked in a duo with his son Merle, but the latter was killed in a 1985 farm accident. Doc eventually soldiered on, becoming one of the most respected elder statesmen of bluegrass, earning Grammys and plaudits along the way.

• Category:  Music  »  Country  »  Bluegrass
• Format: CD   Learn more about the CD format using Tower WIKI.
• Release Date: June 23, 1994
• Label: Smithsonian Folkways Recordings
• UPC: 093074002926
• WAPI (Tower ID): 106408322
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• Tower.com Sales Rank: #41153 in Music (See Top 100 Music Bestsellers)
• #1938 in Country (See Top 100 Country Bestsellers)
• #241 in Bluegrass (See Top 100 Bluegrass Bestsellers)

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Personnel: Doc Watson (vocals, guitar, banjo, harmonica); Clarence Ashley, "New River Jack" Burchett, Dock Walsh (vocals, banjo); Jean Ritchie (vocals); Clint Howard (vocals, guitar); Garley Foster (vocals, guitar, harmonica); Arnold Watson (vocals, banjo, harmonica); Fred Price (vocals, fiddle); Ralph Rinzler (guitar); Jack Johnson (banjo); Gaither Carlton (banjo, fiddle); Tommy Moore (washboard).

Compilation producers: Ralph Rinzler, Jeff Place, Matt Walters.

Recorded between September 1960 and April 1962. Includes liner notes by Ralph Rinzler.

Includes a 36-page booklet with song-by-song annotations, biographical notes on the players, a bibliography and selected discography.

Some of the tracks on THE ORIGINAL FOLKWAYS RECORDINGS were originally released as OLD TIME MUSIC AT CLARENCE ASHLEY'S, VOLS. 1 AND 2 (Folkways 2355 and 2359).

An intriguing document of two musical generations overlapping, this Smithsonian Folkways collection presents the debut of Doc Watson, then a promising young bluegrass guitarist, and the reintroduction of Clarence Ashley, a banjo player who had become well known in the South decades before these early-1960s sessions. This two-disc, 48-track set consists almost entirely of traditional tunes, as Watson and Ashley's earnest, no-frills vocals mesh wonderfully with those of the backing ensemble. Of course, the real draw here is the deft instrumental work of Watson and Ashley, which is showcased on all of these tracks (many of which are previously unreleased), including the lightning-quick "Cumberland Gap," the driving "Fire on the Mountain," and the lilting "Footprints in the Snow." The original release of many of these songs coincided with the early-'60s folk revival, leading to success for Ashley and particularly Watson, who would go on to become one of the most influential guitarists in folk/bluegrass history.

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