Legendary folk musician ‘Doc’ Watson dies, aged 89


Doc Watson

Photo: Peter Figen




Grammy Award winning folk musician Arthel Lane ‘Doc’ Watson has died at the age of 89, his manager Mitchell Greenhill has announced.

The songwriter passed away after undergoing abdominal surgery last week, reports AFP. He was admitted to the Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center in the US after suffering a fall.

“There may not be a serious, committed baby boomer alive who didn’t at some point in his or her youth try to spend a few minutes at least trying to learn to pick a guitar like Doc Watson,” former president Bill Clinton said when awarding Watson the National Medal of Arts.

Watson became blind when he was just a year old after suffering from an infection, but continued in his family’s musical tradition and spent much of his career recording and touring with his son Merle. In total, he won seven Grammys, including the prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award in 2004. In 2002, his album ‘Legacy‘ won the Best Traditional Folk Album.


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