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Doc Watson and David Holt

31.12.69

, A three-disc recording that documents Watson’s history. “People were after him to write an autobiography, and I wanted him to do it, too,” Holt says. Watson refused. “So I said, ‘What if you just tell your stories? I can ask you questions and we can record it and you can tell your stories yourself,’” Holt says.

The idea grew into a Grammy-winning project. Disc one tells of Watson’s early life, while the second is a mix of interviews and his most famous material from the ’60s, like “Tom Dooley” and “Tennessee Stud.” Disc three was recorded live at Diana Wortham Theatre in Asheville, North Carolina, and the mix of impromptu stories with classics like “Train That Carried My Girl from Home” or “Freight Train” and traditional favorites like “Darlin’ Cory,” “Shady Grove,” and “Whiskey Before Breakfast/Ragtime Annie” was so popular it led Watson and Holt to develop their current “Hills of Home” concert series.

“Doc says ‘What are we going to play?’” Holt says of their concerts. “I make out a list and think about the stories I am going to ask him. I keep it focused on him. It’s about people getting to see Doc Watson. People will look back and say they saw a live concert with Doc Watson the same way people say they got to see a concert with Mark Twain.”

Source: Acoustic Guitar