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In a career spanning seven decades, North Carolina native Arthel Lane “Doc” Watson (1923-2012) brought the sounds of Appalachia to the world at large.  A towering figure in Americana, the guitarist was dedicated to the sounds of folk, blues, gospel, bluegrass, and country.  Now, a comprehensive collection will salute his remarkable legacy.  On December 3, Craft Recordings will release Life’s Work: A Retrospective.  The anthology features 101 key tracks from his discography including collaborations with Flatt and Scruggs, Chet Atkins, Ricky Skaggs, Alison Krauss, Bill Monroe, The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, and Watson’s son Merle.  The 4-CD set (also available digitally) features an 88-page book with new liner notes by author and compilation co-producer Ted Olson plus previously unpublished photos.

An eight-time Grammy Award winner and recipient of the National Medal of Arts and National Heritage Fellowship, Doc Watson was born into a musical family.  After having lost his vision as a toddler, he began playing the guitar.  As an adult, he accompanied dance bands and dazzled audiences by playing the fiddle parts on guitar, a technique he would incorporate into his solo work.  He called his music “traditional plus,” as it couldn’t be boxed into one style or genre.  He played harmonica and banjo as well as guitar, was a persuasive vocalist, and improvised with the skill of a jazz artist.

Vanguard Records was among the first labels to recognize Watson’s talent as a solo artist and sign him to an LP contract.  He was already over 40 when Vanguard released the eponymous Doc Watson in 1964.  Life’s Work draws upon many of his classic Vanguard recordings as well as subsequent work for an array of labels.  He gained a new audience with his appearance on The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band’s 1972 United Artists release Will the Circle Be Unbroken, represented here by “Tennessee Stud” and “Way Downtown.”  Watson’s appearance on the LP grew his fan base to encompass the counterculture whose heroes including Bob Dylan, Jerry Garcia, and Stephen Stills (just to name a few) already counted him as a pivotal influence.  Watson’s setlists often reflected a mutual admiration society as he recorded songs from younger writers including Dylan (“Don’t Think Twice, It’s Alright”) and Tom Paxton (“The Last Thing on My Mind”).  The new collection also features songs from such disparate authors as the Gershwins (“Liza/Lady, Be Good,” “Summertime”) and The Moody Blues’ Justin Hayward (“Nights in White Satin”), all rendered in Watson’s singular style.

Numerous tracks feature Watson’s son named for country songwriter Merle Travis.  Merle Watson (1949-1985) began performing with his father while still a teenager.  They went on to record over a dozen albums together, and they scored two hits on the U.S. Country chart (both of which are included here): “Don’t Think Twice,” and “Bottle of Wine.”  Merle tragically lost his life in a 1985 tractor accident; he was just 36 years old.  Doc kept his son’s memory alive by founding MerleFest.  The music festival held every year in Wilkesboro, North Carolina presents traditional and contemporary Americana/roots artists in the Watsons’ tradition.  In his later years, Doc also began performing with Merle’s son Richard.  Their collaboration is represented with the track “Turn the Lamps Down Low.”

Life’s Work: A Retrospective marks arguably the most significant anthology of Watson’s work since 1995’s The Vanguard Years box set.  It’s due on December 3 from Craft Recordings.  You’ll find pre-order links and the track listing below.

Doc Watson, Life’s Work: A Retrospective (Craft Recordings, 2021) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

CD 1

1. The Precious Jewel (previously unreleased)
2. Pharaoh – The Jack Williams Band with Doc Watson
3. I Saw A Man At The Close Of Day
4. Rambling Hobo
5. Darling Corey
6. Your Long Journey
7. The Cuckoo Bird
8. Everyday Dirt
9. Doc’s Guitar (Tickling The Strings)/Black Mountain Rag
10. Storms Are On The Ocean – Jean Ritchie & Doc Watson
11. What Would You Give In Exchange For Your Soul – Bill Monroe & Doc Watson
12. And Am I Born To Die
13. My Little Woman, You’re So Sweet
14. Little Orphan Girl
15. Wanted Man
16. Sitting On Top Of The World
17. Intoxicated Rat
18. Country Blues
19. Talk About Suffering
20. Little Omie Wise
21. James Hospital
22. Tom Dooley
23. Beaumont Rag – Doc Watson & Merle Watson
24. Muskrat – Doc Watson & Merle Watson
25. Weary Blues – Doc Watson & Merle Watson
26. We Shall All Be Reunited – Doc Watson & Merle Watson

CD 2

1. Southbound
2. Blue Railroad Train
3. Walk On Boy
4. Sweet Georgia Brown
5. Alberta
6. That Was The Last Thing On My Mind
7. Windy And Warm
8. Riddle Song
9. Georgie
10. Rain Crow Bill
11. Winter’s Night
12. Matty Groves
13. Dill Pickle Rag
14. Willie Moore – Doc Watson & Merle Watson
15. Peach Picking Time In Georgia
16. Memphis Blues
17. The Train That Carried My Girl From Town
18. Lost John – Doc Watson featuring Merle Watson
19. Brown’s Ferry Blues – Doc Watson featuring Merle Watson
20. The Clouds Are Gwine To Roll Away – Doc Watson featuring Merle Watson
21. Life Gits Teejus Don’t It – Doc Watson featuring Merle Watson
22. Banks Of The Ohio – Doc Watson featuring Merle Watson
23. Spikedriver Blues – Doc Watson featuring Merle Watson
24. Deep River Blues – Doc Watson featuring Merle Watson

CD 3

1. Nothing To It – Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs with Doc Watson
2. Streamlined Cannonball – Earl Scruggs with Doc Watson
3. Tennessee Stud – Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
4. Way Downtown – Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
5. Freight Train Boogie
6. Summertime
7. Peace In The Valley
8. That’s All – Doc & Merle Watson
9. Match Box Blues – Doc & Merle Watson
10. Bottle Of Wine – Doc & Merle Watson
11. Corrina, Corrina – Doc & Merle Watson
12. Doc’s Rag – Doc & Merle Watson
13. Poor Boy Blues – Doc & Merle Watson
14. Wake Up, Little Maggie
15. Peartree
16. Shady Grove
17. Miss The Mississippi And You
18. Steel Guitar Rag
19. Cypress Grove Blues
20. Wayfaring Stranger – Doc & Merle Watson
21. Look Up, Look Down That Lonesome Road – Doc & Merle Watson
22. Minglewood Blues – Doc & Merle Watson
23. Don’t Think Twice, It’s Alright – Doc & Merle Watson
24. Let The Cocaine Be – Doc & Merle Watson
25. Don’t Monkey ‘Round My Widder – Chet Atkins & Doc Watson

CD 4

1. Red Rocking Chair – Doc & Merle Watson with T. Michael Coleman
2. John Hurt – Doc & Merle Watson with T. Michael Coleman
3. Below Freezing – Doc & Merle Watson with T. Michael Coleman
4. Along The Road – Doc & Merle Watson with T. Michael Coleman
5. Liza/Lady Be Good – Doc & Merle Watson
6. Going To Chicago Blues – Doc & Merle Watson
7. Guitar Polka – Doc & Merle Watson
8. Gonna Lay Down My Old Guitar – Doc & Merle Watson
9. Bright Sunny South – Doc & Merle Watson
10. Twin Sisters – Doc & Merle Watson
11. How Long Blues – Doc & Merle Watson with James Cotton
12. Freight Train Blues – Doc & Merle Watson
13. Riding That Midnight Train
14. What Does The Deep Sea Say?
15. Tough Luck Man
16. George Gudger’s Overalls
17. Risin’ Sun Blues
18. Salt Creek – Norman Blake & Tony Rice
19. You Must Come In At The Door
20. Your Lone Journey
21. Grandfather’s Clock
22. Bird Dog
23. Turn The Lamps Down Low – Doc & Richard Watson
24. Nights In White Satin – Doc Watson with Frosty Morn
25. Down In The River To Pray – Doc Watson with Alison Krauss & Ricky Skaggs
26. Amazing Grace