Official Luthiers Forum!

Doc Watson, right here in Ithaca at the State Theater. 83 years old and, man, can he still play guitar and sing! He got just a bit shakey in a couple songs, but other than that, one could have closed one's eyes and easily have believed it was 50 years ago. Amazing. What an incredible musician that guy is. And what an incredible treat to get to see him again. Among his many talents, he is surely one of the greatest rhythm guitarists ever. The way he backs up his singing or another player's leads is so, so great - full of all kinds of creative runs and harmonies and rhythmic kicks, driving the music with irrepressible energy while never drawing too much attention to itself. There's just nothing like his playing. A highlight for us was a despairing minor key song he fingerpicked and sang that was just achingly gorgeous. We felt truly blessed to be sitting there in the same room with this amazing artist, getting to soak up his music, his stories, his presence... one more time. May it not be our last opportunity.

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Todd Rose
Ithaca, NY

https://www.dreamingrosesecobnb.com/todds-art-music

https://www.facebook.com/ToddRoseGuitars/

Thats cool you got to see him at 83 years old..Truely Amazing.

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Anderson Guitars
Clearwater,Fl. 33755

Todd R, i agree with Todd S, this is not off topic, I bought my first vinyl record of him and Merle when i was 15 and they both were the main reasons i still play guitar today, i always envied the music the Americans have on a daily basis and Doc Watson has the warmest voice of country folk i ever heard. i didn't know how old he was before you mentioned it and it reduces my chances to see him perform one day but who knows, i might be able one day!

Thanks for sharing these moments with us, i could not have chosen better words to describe his huge talent!

SergeSerge Poirier38858.3997569444

Well, okay, you're right. Doc is really at the heart of the matter, isn't he.

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Todd Rose
Ithaca, NY

https://www.dreamingrosesecobnb.com/todds-art-music

https://www.facebook.com/ToddRoseGuitars/

He sure is, he's got such a presence when you listen to him, his hands are a gift to humanity to say the least!

I too got to see the Doc. It was last fall and he was great. I couldn't believe how good he was at 83. I kind of thought he would just do a couple of songs but he was right there with every song. Then after the concert he came out and signed autographs (with help) for over an hour. I even had a picture taken with him. I just love the man and his great talent.

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Joe Beaver
Maker of Sawdust

I first saw Doc and Merle at the University of California at Riverside on
2/22/71...

That concert completely changed everything about the way I looked at
music. Seeing someone that powerful who wasn't weilding a Strat or
Les Paul was a real eye-opener...

Doc let me tape the performance, and I recently dug up the recording and
remastered it.

Here's "Ramblin' Hobo" from that evening, with Doc telling a story that
every luthier can relate to:

action=download&ufid=8CD511C0056C1833">"Ramblin' Hobo"

I ran into Oakie Adams' son recently, and sent a copy of this show to him.
Needless to say, he was tickled to put it on unannounced on his car
stereo so his dad could have a listen.
He apparently was pretty glad to be able to have another listen to that
evening, and hear Doc playing his banjo...

And that banjo really does sounds great.....

spruce38858.5637384259

Bruce, that link doesn't work for me!

Yeah, for some reason those hyperlinks aren't working...

Try cut and pasting this:

http://www.yousendit.com/transfer.php?
action=download&ufid=8CD511C0056C1833

The hyperlink/text isn't working right...
Anyone else having this problem?

Anyway, it's worth the listen...    spruce38858.5985648148

Doc also showed flatpickers that they didn't HAVE to play a Martin to make great music.

Still doesn't work Bruce, do you have the dot com address?