Earl Scruggs and Doc Watson – American Virtuosos

The legendary Doc Watson passed away on Tuesday, coming just months after the death of the legendary Earl Scruggs. Both men had such a huge influence on American music that it would be impossible to talk about the development of Folk or Bluegrass music without mentioning each man by name. Both changed music forever as innovators and originators of their styles, with techniques that they each developed on their own individual instruments.

Earl Scruggs
Tim Mosenfelder/Getty

Earl Eugene Scruggs (January 6, 1924 – March 28, 2012) invented the three-finger banjo-picking style that is a signature sound of Bluegrass. It’s hard to overstate his contribution to the genre.

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AP file photo, April 28, 2001 – Music legend Doc Watson performs at the annual Merlefest at Wilkes Community College in Wilkesboro, N.C.

Arthel Lane “Doc” Watson (March 3, 1923 – May 29, 2012) took what should have been solo fiddle parts for Country-type songs, and adapted them to a unique flatpicking technique he developed for acoustic guitar, forever elevating the status of the guitar as a solo instrument, rather than just providing the rhythm. He helped create what we think of as American Folk Music today. He was also an amazing guitar fingerpicker and singer.

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Here are some library materials featuring their techniques:

Doc’s Guitar (DVD): The Fingerpicking and Flatpicking of Doc Watson
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The Songs of Doc Watson (score) – “30 favorites as sung and played by the … folk musician of the Smokies. With transcriptions of guitar instrumentals and accompaniment patterns in standard music notation and tablature.”
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Earl Scruggs and the 5-String Banjo – According to the publisher Hal Leonard, this is “the best-selling banjo method in the world.” It includes sections on the history of the 5-string banjo, how to build a banjo, how to read tablature, autobiographical notes, and more.

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Here are a few biographies of Doc:

Blind but Now I See: The Biography of Music Legend Doc Watson by Kent Gustavson.
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The Life Work and Music of the American Folk Artist Doc Watson by Fred Metting.

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For your immediate enjoyment, I found this completely charming You Tube video of Earl and Doc, with their sons, playing music in Doc’s backyard. It brought a tear to my eye  – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DUzVUNJKiDc&feature=fvst

-Joelle

Steve Martin Appreciation Day

“Isn’t Steve Martin just great?”

This thought enters my mind whenever I see one of his old movies (emphasis on the older ones), pick up a novel he wrote, or simply hear about him in the news. I just finished tearing through The Pleasure of My Company, and it’s wonderful.

I’m impressed with the fact that Martin has stayed relevant throughout a career that spans four decades now, and that he has in no way remained static.  I wanted to take a quick moment just to highlight some of my favorites from the man that is much more than a comedian.

For example, he started his film career with The Jerk, which he both wrote and starred in.  Not only is Martin at his personal best here, but the film at large is considered one of the finest comedic efforts of all time.  You would think that might cause an actor dismay, but it apparently didn’t faze Martin, who went on to do Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Roxanne, and Planes, Trains and Automobiles. I must also, of course, mention Three Amigos, which I have basically watched once a week from the age of five until now. L.A. Story is the finest of his later films; once again written and starred in by Steve himself, this movie is essential viewing before any visit to Hollywood.

As his movie career has been less stellar in recent years, my enjoyment of Martin’s other work has increased.  Because of Pure Drivel, the devestatingly beautiful Shopgirl, and the aforementioned The Pleasure of My Company, I think fiction may be where his talent truly lies.  Of course, it doesn’t end there either:  Martin is also an accomplished banjoist — dude has won a Grammy for his collection entitled The Crow, played at Bonnaroo and the New Orleans Jazz Festival, and jammed with Earl Scruggs. That’s not just playing around.

On top of all that, Steve Martin has remained remarkably candid and aimiable.  This is a guy who has received the Kennedy Center Honors for lifetime achievement in the arts, hosted the Oscars and SNL multiple times, and yet still seems genuine and down to earth. Oh, and of course, if you don’t want to hear any more about Steve Martin from me, you can always get it straight from the source in his memoir, Born Standing Up.

–Tony