DOC WATSON: LIVE AT THE BOTTOM LINE (March 28 & August 31 2002)

A SYMPHONY OF HUMANITY - ON THE BACK PORCH OF THE BOTTOM LINE

“For never anything can be amiss, when simpleness and duty tender it.”  – Shakespeare

I think that, like me, many people long for a time when things were simpler and more direct. 

Straight- From-the-Heart Sincerity (always a valuable currency) is becoming more and more valuable by the minute. It seems to me that people, now more than ever, wish for quality and authenticity in their daily lives. Arthel Lane “Doc” Watson possessed all of this in excesss, along with a sweetly endearing and strikingly humble stage presence. In short, Doc was the genuine article, and the very human act of sharing music with others was truly what he was all about. 

Thanks to these 2002 live recordings captured at Doc’s home away-from-home, The Bottom Line in New York City, Doc’s wit, charm and musical gifts live on - bursting with a rare honesty, and a kinder, gentler way of viewing the world. This music, from Doc’s two final Bottom Line engagements was captured just before, and shortly after, his 79th birthday. He had played the club over 30 times before. (Doc was even booked to play the club in February 2004, but the venue closed its doors just a month before.) 

Doc and the guys arrived at The Bottom Line in the front part of 2002, on the heels of his 6th Grammy - this time for Best Traditional Folk Album for the triple-disc, Legacy. (Doc would garner a total of 8 Grammys during his career, including a Lifetime Achievement Award in 2004.) As was usual at that time, Doc was joined by loyal compatriots Jack Lawrence, and grandson Richard Eddie Watson. (Don’t miss the trio of chums’ between-songs banter, and their playful palling-around. It is priceless.) 

Doc had developed an adoring New York following during the previous 28 years of playing the nightclub, and you can hear it in the overwhelmingly warm response laced throughout both sets. They love him, and what’s not to love? Doc’s easy-going good nature and his expressive virtuosity resonated with audiences who were drawn to, and deeply affected by the simple treasures held within his voice and guitar. Doc’s frequent visits to The Bottom Line were equal parts music history lesson and concert performance, and Doc sought a real connection to his audience. In some variation, he’d always say, “Pretend like you’re with me in my living room, or on my back porch.” And the easy feeling of intimacy that Doc shares puts you right there, on the imaginary back porch of The Bottom Line. 

Growing up in Deep Gap, North Carolina during the Great Depression, Doc loved the Grand Ole Opry broadcasts, but never thought he’d have a shot at a music career when he didn’t fit the spit-shine grandiosity of that operation. He preferred a smaller, more intimate gathering, and when Doc and the 1960s folk music revival found each other, it was a match made in heaven. Doc began to emerge as a touring performer, and in these first years would often take the bus, by himself, from North Carolina to New York, to perform at Gerde’s Folk City. 

The brilliant ethnomusicologist Alan Lomax has described bluegrass as “folk music with overdrive,” and Doc delighted in the work of its progenitor, Bill Monroe - both on the radio, and in person. Now, Doc never thought of himself strictly as a bluegrass player, but it is a generally accepted fact among aficionados that any guitarist playing fast lead lines in a bluegrass band today owes a large debt to Doc Watson. 

It’s impossible to overstate the importance of Doc Watson’s contributions to the development and preservation of that uniquely American art form, alternately known as “folk”, “old-time”, or “country.” The ingredients are myriad, and the roots run deep - from Appalachian and Celtic folksong, to the blues and gospel, to work songs, and the fiddle tunes played for folk dances, such as clogging and square dancing. The gene pool that brought forth this music reveals a fascinating and complex amalgam, proudly falling under that broad banner of Country Music. 

Folk Art, writ large, reveals to us so much of our own humanity - in this case, through the direct channeling of images and emotions traveling upon a mere melody with words attached. In speech or in song, Doc delivered tender snapshots of life, and freely shared deep background on the origins of the music he played. Doc’s vivid performances were no less than an act of transmission. As much folk tale, as folk song – his music depicts scenes of love and courting, struggle and faith, trains (of course), and humorous stories of country life - all cut from the fabric of early, rural America. How lovely that Doc made this a moveable feast, allowing we lucky few to gaze into another world, and another time, through the songs he’d inhabited for more than seven decades! 

And, there are so many songs - from so many places. There were the ballads he’d learned from his father and family, the beloved Jimmy Rogers’ songs he’d heard on 78s as a kid, blues and swing tunes, Opry radio, Bill Monroe’s picking, and Doc’s singular relationship with those fiddle tunes. Doc is the first guitarist known to play popular fiddle tunes of the day as guitar showpieces, a situation that evolved when the dance band that employed him lacked a fiddle player. He didn’t fully realize at the time that he was making significant contributions to the Bluegrass movement (and later, Newgrass) by developing a not-so-simple linear approach to folk song. Doc’s meticulous flat-picking phrasing would be a point of inspiration and education for future generations of plectral-enthusiasts, including Tony Rice, Ricky Skaggs, Jerry Douglas, Mark O’Connor, and Marty Stuart - all of whom brought their own brand of country music to the Bottom Line stage over the years.

Of his special admiration for Doc, Bottom Line curator Allan Pepper muses: “There are a handful of artists that are so special that I would play them anytime there was an opportunity, and because they were so unique it was never about the business for me. That was certainly Doc. I noticed that Doc had started attracting a younger audience in the latter part of his career. The early show’s audience was different from the later shows. The first would be older, more tried and true fans - but that later show audience was the younger, newer fans that drank and had a great time, enjoyed the music and were so respectful and loving toward Doc. I always looked forward to him coming to play the club. To me, Doc was ageless, and I was totally in awe of him.”

And now folks, we welcome you to your chair on The Back Porch of The Bottom Line. Sit back for a spell, and enjoy a friendly hang with Doc Watson, Richard Eddy Watson, and Jack Lawrence. They’ll be playing country music for you - in its most splendid finery.