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Show The Daily L'tah Chronicle, Wednesday, January 18, 1978 Page Two enfortainmeri , JANUARY SPECIAL Spend $35 or more and get a $10 SHIRT 10 discount with Student I.D. on FREE All Purchases OPEN 10 am to 9 pm 261 41 47 889 East 3900 So. 272-006- 2 4705 Holladay -- presents du)iri Lo mm Master Hypnotist in Union Ballroom One of the unexjK-- ted benefits of both the urban folk imisk revival of the 19ti0s and the country music resurgence of the 1970s has been the discovery and rediscovery of a one of gentleman from North Carolina who has emerged as of our time. the preeminent folk artists As Doc Watson tells it, his name came about "quite by accident." There was "an ole boy" that he used to play music with, Paul Green. Doc was about 19, and their group used to do a radio show fiom a furniture store on Saturdays. The announcer for the show liked Paul's name because it was short. But Arthel. (Doc 'steal name) he said, wouldn't cut it. A young lady who was listening to all dm patter outside the furniture store (a loudspeaker had been set up so that outside the store window could hear the show) shouted out "call him Doc " and it stuck. Doc more than made up for the bland tyjx of folk the singing groups that came to epitomie, for many, s boom. At its worst, the folk craze brought i collegians artlessly harmonizing on Irish drinking songs. At its best, it offered us performeis of the stature of Jean Rite hie and Pete Seeger, Dock Boggs and Clarence Ashley, Maybelle Carter and Dorsey Dixon. And Doc Watson. He virtually burst upon the scene as a walking repository of Southern music after his first discovery in 19(i0. He was not, as many insisted, a purist or traditionalist; not some rustic who wandered down out of the hills with a homemade guitar and a sheaf of original songs that resembled Elizabethan ballads out of Child's collection. What he was, instead, was a professional musician with one foot in the country and the other in the c ity, a man who had listened to and drawn from many diverse sources and developed a distinctive style of his Always Entertaining, Always Mystifying Always Different SPECIAL TEASER SHOW: Jan. 25 at 12:30 in the Huddle area e ! hat-broth- fuzzy-cheeke- d LAW SCHOOL? Attend a Discussion with BYU Law Faculty about BYU's Law School Doc and Merle He was both an amateur folklorist and a musical populist; he drew from hymns his father led at the Mt. Parron Baptist Church, from lullabies his mother sang to him, from sacred songs his grandfather taught him, from songs he heard on WCYB in Bristol, from broadcast performances of the Grand Ole Opry. Watson's Blue Ridge mountain home was well tuned into the pipeline of Southern music gospel, blues, bluegrass, music and ballads and he learned his lessons well, as his later recordings and performances indicate. Watson was born in 1923 in Stoney Fork, N.C., to General Dixon and Mrs. Annie Watson. Blind from birth, he was educated at the State School for the Blind in Raleigh. His mother was an accomplished ballad singer and his father a banjo picker and singer. Each evening, his father would gather the family for Bible reading and hymn singing. On Sundays, Doc and his brothers and sisters walked to the Mt. Parron Baptist Church, where General Dixon led the old-time- y Doc's first real musical instrument was a harmonica, and he received a new one each Christmas. He wasn't satisfied with just one instrument and his musical ingenuity began to manifest itself, as he later recalled: "After I had learned to play the harmonica a little bit, my dad built a big new woodshed and granary which had a sliding door at the front. I attached a piece of steel wire to the staple driven into the doorpost and fastened the other end to the door. Then by pushing the door, I could put tension on the wire thus tuning it to a bass tone, the same key as my harmonica. I sure had a lot of fun pickin' on the wire and playing the harmonica along with it, but I guess it had a kind of primitive sound." He soon had the opportunity to graduate to a more complex instrument. When Watson was about nine, his father made him a fretless banjo from hickory, maple and atskin. He started learning old banjo tunes and also learned to play fiddle tunes on the harmonica. About three years later he heard a cousin play guitar and was fascinated with it. "Son, if you learn a tune when I get c back from work this evening, or maybe this week, I'll add whatever it needs to your sav ings and buy you a guitar," his father said. By nightfall, Doc had taught himself to pick "When the Roses Bloom in Dixieland" as he had heard it played on a Carter family recording. It's been a strong love affair since. As the '60s rolled through and folk music was largely discarded and replaced with a rock resurgence, Watson continued to play his music, regardless of whether or not it was fashionable. And he got better and better. If he gets any better, it'll be impossible to dispute the claim made by some critics (and many fans) that Watson is the finest guitar picker working in America today. He's already an invaluable contribution to this country's musical history and I keep having the nagging feeling, as I compare old and new recordings, that this man hasn't yet even reached his stride. What would be perfection to others is but a warm-uto Watson. He will be in concert Saturday at 8 p.m. in the Union Ballroom. 'Chel Fhppo, author of this story, writes for Rolling Stone Magazine. The story is a courtesy of Folklore Productions. p SPECIAL ENGAGEMENT! SAM EIVERS Dave Holland, Suede & Leather Cleaning Barry Altschul Leather items should be cleaned before storing for summer months. Stains will H CONCERT set FRIDAY, JAN. 20 MEETING: THURSDAY, JAN. 19 BUSINESS LECTURE HALL 12 NOON- -2 permanently if left for a period of time. PM, UNION BALLROOM 4 CONVENlEN T LOCATIONS Originally scheduled to play at the Club Blue Note, Sam Rivers has played jazz with such notables as Miles Davis, Walker Jimmy Witherspoon, & T-Bo- 205 2 to 4 PM Watson h singing. INTERESTED IN a jx-opl- own. 8:00 PM $1.50 at the Door - Great folk artist Watson to perform through-and-throug- WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 25 """- ne DON'T MISS THIS ONE! the Presented by Jaa Dept., Union Programs, ASUTJ & EUER Country Club Cleaners Olympus Cleaners Martinizing Cleaners West Jordan Cleaners 1331 E. 3900 S. 6095 Highland Dr 6157 Highland Dr 1593 W. 7800 S. 272-053- 1 277-31- 81 278-16- 16 566-31- 92 Leather Cleaning by Norman Harsin 31 Years Experience |
