'Doc' Watson, American music virtuoso, dies at 89

Arthel "Doc" Watson, the blind guitarist who "left an indelible mark on American folk and country music," according to The Washington Post, died Tuesday at 89 in his native North Carolina. Wayne Martin, executive director of the state Arts Council, told the Raleigh News & Observer, “He made musical traditions of Western North Carolina and the Blue Ridge Mountains accessible to millions."

And more than that, said Jed Hilly, executive director of the Americana Music Association. He told the Los Angeles Times, "Doc Watson sort of defined in many ways what Americana has become. He played different styles of American roots music. He played traditional country, he played what would be traditional folk, he played what was traditional bluegrass, he played gospel. . . . Nothing is more definitive than Doc Watson's appreciation for a broad spectrum of music in the Americana world." (Read more)

"Unlike most country and bluegrass musicians, who thought of the guitar as a secondary instrument for providing rhythmic backup, Mr. Watson executed the kind of flashy, rapid-fire melodies normally played by a fiddle or a banjo," William Grimes wrote for The New York Times. "His style influenced a generation of young musicians learning to play the guitar as folk music achieved national popularity." (Read more)