Grammy
award-winning folk and bluegrass guitarist Arthel "Doc" Watson has
died in North Carolina aged 89.
The American musician died following abdominal
surgery, and had been in a critical condition for several days, his manager
said.
Watson, who was blinded as a child, was known for his
lightning-fast style of flatpicking which influenced guitarists around the
world.
He won eight Grammy Awards including a lifetime
achievement prize in 2004.
Watson died at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center in
Winston-Salem, where he was admitted recently after falling at his home.
"Doc was a legendary performer who blended his
traditional Appalachian musical roots with bluegrass, country, gospel and blues
to create a unique style and an expansive repertoire," his management
company, Folklore Productions, said.
"He was a powerful singer and a tremendously
influential picker who virtually invented the art of playing mountain fiddle
tunes on the flattop guitar."
Blinded by an eye infection before his first
birthday, he learned to play the banjo at the age of five before picking up a
guitar in his early teens.
He got his musical start in 1953 playing lead guitar
in a country-and-western swing band and became a full-time professional
musician in the 1960s.
Watson's mastery of flatpicking helped make the
guitar a lead instrument in the 1950s and 1960s, when it was often considered a
backup for the mandolin, fiddle or banjo.
For much of his career he toured and recorded with
his son, Merle Watson, who died in a tractor accident in 1985. He set up an
annual fundraising musical event, Merlefest, in his memory.
The musician played at events across the US from folk
festivals to the prestigious Carnegie Hall in New York and recorded some 60
albums, with his most popular songs including Tom Dooley, Shady Grove and
Rising Sun Blues.
Country and bluegrass singer Ricky Skaggs paid
tribute to Watson saying: "An old ancient warrior has gone home."
"He knew he wouldn't last forever, he did his
best to carry the old mountain sounds to this generation," he added.
Neil Portnow, the president of the Recording Academy,
praised Watson for his "masterful skills as a musician and his beautiful,
emotion-filled voice".
"Watson's immense talent and spirit will be
deeply missed, and our sincerest sympathies go out to his family, friends and
all who were inspired by his music."
