R.I.P. Doc Watson, One of My Guitar Heroes

     It was a sad day when I read that Doc Watson passed away on Tuesday, May 29. I'll never forget checking his first record, simply called Doc Watson, out of the library after reading in the liner notes that he liked to play fiddle tunes on guitar. I'd never heard anyone do that with a pick, and I was absolutely amazed at his speed and technique.
     Then there was the fingerpicking on the guitar. That I was familiar with, but again his flawless technique had me wondering how in the world anyone could play like that. I had been playing guitar for maybe a year or two at the time, and vowed that I'd learn Doc's arrangement of Sittin' On Top Of The World. The only problem was, I couldn't figure out how he was getting that sound.
     I listened, experimented, and finally, after reading the liner notes, (duh), I found that he had tuned his guitar to a D chord. I knew about lowering the 6th string to D, but didn't know about the rest. His tuning from the low notes to the high ones was: D, A, D, F#, A, D. A couple years later I found a guitar tab book, which is still in print, and figured out how to play the song.
     If you're not familiar with Doc, check him out on You Tube, or get some of his recordings so you can appreciate the great gift that he gave to the world. His playing, his singing, and his versatility were what made me a fan from the day I heard that first album. So to Doc Watson, Rest In Peace, we're going to miss you.