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Doc Watson dies
Published: 5/30/2012 7:52 AM
Last Modified: 5/30/2012 7:52 AM

One of the true greats of American music, Arthell "Doc" Watson, died Tuesday at age 89.

A full biography is here.

I grew up listening to Doc Watson and always loved and appreciated his effortlessly smooth, sweetly melodic style of playing -- clean, fast and, no matter how many notes he might managed to pack into a phrase, uncluttered. Every note was there for a purpose.

He played show tunes (one of his signature songs was "Summertime" from "Porgy and Bess"), country blues, bluegrass songs -- just about anything. Here's a video of a performance of the old fiddle tune "Black Mountain Rag" that demonstrates some of what Doc Watson could do.

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ARTS

James D. Watts Jr. has lived in Oklahoma for most his life, even though he still has people saying to him, "Don't sound like you're from around these parts." A University of Oklahoma Phi Beta Kappa graduate, Watts has received the Governor Arts Award, Harwelden Award and the National Conference of Christians and Jews Beth Macklin Award for his writing. Before coming to the Tulsa World, Watts worked for the Tulsa Tribune.

Contact him at (918) 581-8478.

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Past Articles By James D. Watts Jr

2/15/2013		'Concept/OK' exhibit ends Saturday
2/14/2013		Symphony to host piano soloist
2/14/2013		Broadway tours bring 'Shrek,' improv musical to Tulsa area this weekend
2/14/2013		Arts roundup: Improv reigns at several upcoming theater events
2/14/2013		'Lion King' returns to Tulsa PAC June 4
2/12/2013		Review: Signature Symphony reprises '100 Years of Oklahoma Music'
2/11/2013		Tulsa Symphony's concert salutes diverse American music
2/10/2013		Cherokee artist weaves messages into baskets
2/10/2013		Tesla Quartet set for Tulsa residency next week with variety of activities
2/10/2013		Jim Murphy wins 2013 Anne Zarrow Award
2/10/2013		LBJ chronicler Robert Caro to speak at TU on Tuesday
2/9/2013		Theater review: Playhouse makes "Barefoot in the Park" believable

James D. Watts Jr's Blog Archive:

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