I was going through my stuff and came across a March 1987 Frets magazine featuring Doc Watson. I read it again, what a cool find. Doc talks about cutting wood to earn money to buy a Sears Silvertone / Harmony guitar. Doc said if he hadn't been blind, he would not have played music. He said he knew he had to have a trade to make a living, and he could play music.
I also heard that he tuned pianos and busked in Asheville and Johnson City in his early days.
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Originally posted by chuckv97I also heard that he tuned pianos and busked in Asheville and Johnson City in his early days.
Yep, he got married at 24 to Rosa Lee Carlton, whose father was an old time fiddler. Merle was born a couple of years later. Doc made a little money playing music but supported his family by tuning pianos.
Doc had an eye disease that left him blind by the age of two. His father was a farmer, and lead singing in the Baptist church. His mom would sing him songs of the Blueridge. He got a new harmonica every year. He got a banjo when he was 10. When he heard a classmate playing a guitar at the Raleigh School for the blind, he convinced his father to help him get a guitar. A $12.00 Stella. He was 12.
A kid who would make any parent proud.
