Having trouble accessing government information? See the Libraries’ guide to Alternative Sources for Federal Information and Data.
Doc Watson Research Guide: Readings
Doc Watson sitting at a table with Peete Seeger, undated, John Edwards Memorial Foundation Records (#20001), Southern Folklife Collection, Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Books
Blind But Now I See: The Biography of Music Legend Doc Watson by
From the day Doc Watson stepped off the bus in New York City, the North Carolina music legend changed the world forever. His influence has been recognised by presidents and by the heroes of modern music. This is the first comprehensive biography of Doc Watson, with never before released details about the American guitar icons life. This book includes new interviews with popular musicians: Ben Harper, Michelle Shocked, Warren Haynes, Sam Bush, Bela Fleck, Tom Paxton, Maria Muldaur, John Cohen, Mike Seeger, Peggy Seeger, Abigail Washburn, Ketch Secor, Marty Stuart, Norman Blake, Tony Rice, Pat Donohue, Peter Rowan, Si Kahn, Tommy Emmanuel, Tony Trischka, Greg Brown, Guy Clark, Don Rigsby, David Grisman, Alice Gerrard, Alan O Bryant, Edgar Meyer, Guy Davis, Jack Lawrence, Tao Rodriguez-Seeger, Jean Ritchie, Jerry Douglas, Jonathan Byrd, Larry Long, Paddy Moloney, and many more. . .
Call Number: CB W3375gISBN: 9781937753009Publication Date: 2012-02-29
The Life, Work and Music of the American Folk Artist Doc Watson by
Despite Arthel Doc Watson's importance to American acoustic music and the richness of his music, a full study of his music has not been realized until now. This book explores the musical culture of Watson's family and his contributions to the folk revival of the 1960s when he helped change the role of the acoustic guitar in American music. This book will be important to students of American music and folk culture.
Call Number: ML419.W37 M48 2006ISBN: 0773458409Publication Date: 2006-06-01
Step It Up and Go: The Story of North Carolina Popular Music, from Blind Boy Fuller and Doc Watson to Nina Simone and Superchunk by
This book is a love letter to the artists, scenes, and sounds defining North Carolina's extraordinary contributions to American popular music. David Menconi spent three decades immersed in the state's music, where traditions run deep but the energy expands in countless directions. Menconi shows how working-class roots and rebellion tie North Carolina's Piedmont blues, jazz, and bluegrass to beach music, rock, hip-hop, and more. From mill towns and mountain coves to college-town clubs and the stage of American Idol, Blind Boy Fuller and Doc Watson to Nina Simone and Superchunk, Step It Up and Go celebrates homegrown music just as essential to the state as barbecue and basketball. Spanning a century of history from the dawn of recorded music to the present, and with sidebars and photos that help reveal the many-splendored glory of North Carolina's sonic landscape, this is a must-read for every music lover.
Call Number: ML3477.7.N85 M45 2020ISBN: 9781469659350Publication Date: 2020-10-19
North Carolina String Music Masters: Old-Time and Bluegrass Legends by
North Carolina musicians pioneered and mastered the genres of old-time and bluegrass music. The roots of American music are deeply grounded in North Carolina's music history. Doc Watson played mountain fiddle tunes on guitar. He emerged as the father of flatpicking and forever changed the role of the guitar in American music. Charlie Poole created techniques that eventually defined bluegrass, and folks around the state heard his banjo on some of the most important old-time recordings. Rising star Rhiannon Giddens keeps the music alive today through new interpretations of classic old-time and bluegrass songs. Elizabeth Carlson profiles these and other masters of string music in this fascinating record of North Carolina's musical past, present and future.
Call Number: ML3520 .C375 2016ISBN: 9781609498535Publication Date: 2016-02-08
In the Country of Country: People and Places in American Music by
From the author of the bestselling The Catcher Was a Spy comes an exhilarating exploration of the performers, places, and experiences which form country music--a genre which is uniquely and authentically American. 40 photos.
Call Number: ML3524 .D39 1997ISBN: 067941567XPublication Date: 1997-03-11
Articles
Serials and Magazines:
Recommended Articles:
- “Doc Watson’s Folk Concert Is All Folk Song” by Robert Shelton, The New York Times, 20 February 1967
- “Doc Watson Appears in Run at the Ash Grove” by Robert Hillburn, Los Angeles Times, 24 September 1968
- “Doc Watson’s Positive Tonic” by Kenneth Turan, The Washington Post, 29 Jan 1973
- “Doc Watson & His Tall Drink O’ Water Merle” by Chet Fillpo, Rolling Stone, 21 June 1973
- “Doc Watson’s Still Pick of the Crop” by Lynn VanMatre, Chicago Tribune, 02 August 1974
- “Doc Watson, Strumming Home: After a Quarter-Century On the Road, the Guitar Guitar Legend Chooses to Retire” by Richard Harrington, The Washington Post, 25 January 1988
- “Faith Keeps Doc Watson Pickin’” by Jim Washburn, The Los Angeles Times, 20 October 1990
- “The Three Doc(k)s: White Blues in Appalachia” by William E. Lightfoot, Black Music Research Journal, Spring/Autumn 2003
- “Discovering Doc Watson” by Keith Fitzgerald, American Heritage, September 2022
- “Doc Watson at 100: The Virtuoso Guitarist Brought Appalachian Music to a Worldwide Audience and Influenced Generations of Musicians” by Ted Olsen, The Conversationalist, 28 February 2023
- Articles PlusIndex to hundreds of millions electronic resources, including journal and newspaper articles, e-books, dissertations, and media in campus library collections.
Further Reference Materials
Blue Ridge Music Trails of North Carolina: A Guide to Music Sites, Artists, and Traditions of the Mountains and Foothills by
The Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina are the heart of a region where traditional music and dance are performed and celebrated as nowhere else in America. This guide puts readers on the trail to discover many sites where the unique musical legacy thrives, covering bluegrass and stringband music, clogging, and other traditional forms of music and dance. The book includes stories of the legendary music of the Blue Ridge Mountains, maps, and contact information for the featured sites, as well as color illustrations and profiles of prominent musicians and music traditions. Chapters are organized county by county, and sidebars include interviews with and profiles of performers, information about various performance styles, and a brief history of Blue Ridge music. The updated second edition adds three new music venues, along with updated information on the almost sixty music sites in Western North Carolina profiled in the previous edition. Also included are new full-color photos, two new artist profiles, and a CD of twenty-six classic songs from the mountains and the foothills.
The Folk Music Revival, 1958-1970: Biographies of Fifty Performers and Other Influential People by
This is the second in a series of books focusing upon the history of folk music. This volume concentrates on the period that continues to fuel popular music to the present. It was an exciting time, one that changed the complexity of folk music. Included are biographies and discographies of such noted personalities as Harry Belafonte, Buffy St. Marie, Gordon Lightfoot, Joni Mitchell, Simon and Garfunkel, and Peter, Paul and Mary. With information on influential artists from other countries (the Clancy Brothers, Miriam Makeba and others), people "behind the scenes" and major political figures, here is a solid representation of an epoch that still generates enormous enthusiasm.
Artists of American Folk Music: The Legends of Traditional Folk, the Stars of the Sixties, the Virtuosi of New Acoustic Music by
"Except for original pieces about Bob Dylan and Peter, Paul and Mary, the articles compiled here about folk, bluegrass and new acoustic musicians first appeared in Guitar Player and Frets magazines. Most pieces have been updated; they profile the artists' backgrounds, careers and contributions to their musical forms. (The articles on Odetta, Pete Seeger, Bill Monroe and Richie Havens include interviews with the musicians.) Subjects represent different eras of modern folk music: from the early days (Woody Guthrie and Malvina Reynolds) to the height of popularity 25 years ago (the Kingston Trio, Joan Baez and Arlo Guthrie) to new acoustic artists (David Grisman and Tony Trischka). Also of note: an article about the Lomax family, the archivists who have made extensive recordings of folk music that might otherwise have been lost. Although this book gives the novice a general background, it adds little new information."-- Publishers Weekly.
