Despite his blindness, his parents taught him to work hard and be self-sufficient. An eye infection caused him to lose his vision before his first birthday. The plaque on the bench reads: "Just One of the People."Ĭountry and Western, Bluegrass, Gospel, and Folk Musician. A sculpture of him playing his guitar on a park bench sits at the corner of King and Depot Streets in Boone NC. He was also known for Merlefest, which was an annual gathering of musicians in Wilkesboro NC, named in memory of his son. He also won seven Grammy awards during his career for ethnic, folk, and country recordings. In 1997, he received the National Medal of Arts from President Bill Clinton. Also in 1994, he teamed up with Randy and Earl Scruggs to contribute "Keep on the Sunny Side" to the AIDS benefit album "Red Hot + Country." In 2000, he was inducted into the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Honor. In 1986 he received the North Carolina Award and in 1994 he received a North Carolina Folk Heritage Award. After the folk revival waned in the late 1960s, his career was sustained by his performance of "Tennessee Stud" on the 1992 live album recording "Will the Circle Be Unbroken." He toured the world during the late 1970s and early 1980s, and recorded over fifty albums between 19. They toured and recorded together until 1985 when Merle was tragically killed in a farming accident. He recorded his first solo album in 1964 and started performing with his son Merle the same year. In 1963, he received his big break along with rave reviews for his performance at the renowned Newport Folk Festival. His musical career ignited when he played on his first recording "Old Time Music at Clarence Ashley's." He began to tour as a solo performer and appeared at universities and clubs like The Ash Grove in Los Angeles CA. In 1960, as America revived its interest in folk music, he began playing the acoustic guitar and banjo exclusively. He later transferred the technique to the acoustic guitar, and playing fiddle tunes became part of his unique signature sound. Because the band rarely had a fiddle player and was often requested to play for square dancers, he taught himself to play fiddle tunes on his electric guitar. In 1953, he joined the Johnson City TN-based Jack Williams' country and western swing band on electric guitar. Someone in the audience shouted "Call him Doc!" presumably in reference to fictional detective Sherlock Holmes' assistant, Doctor Watson, and the name stuck with him. According to him, he received his nickname "Doc" during a live radio broadcast when the announcer remarked that his given name, Arthel, was odd and that he needed an easy nickname to go by.
By the time he became an adult, he had become a proficient acoustic and electric guitar player, as well as the banjo. Growing up, he learned to play the guitar and performed on the local street corners with his older brother. He attended North Carolina's school for the visually impaired, The Governor Moorehead School, in Raleigh NC. Country and Western, Bluegrass, Gospel, and Folk Musician.
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