The Doc Watson Family

The Doc Watson Family

ASIN: B000001DGJ

Track Listings

1. Ground Hog

2. Every Day Dirt

3. Bonaparte's Retreat

4. House Carpenter

5. I'm Troubled

6. Your Long Journey

7. When I Die

8. That Train That Carried My Girl From Town - Doc Watson & Family

9. Down the Road

10. Lone Pilgrim

11. Texas Gales/Blackberry Rag

12. Darling Corey

13. Triplett Tragedy

14. Muddy Roads

15. Lost Soul

16. Keep in the Middle of the Road

17. Old Man Below

18. Pretty Saro

19. Cousin Sally Brown

20. Look Down That Lonesome Road

See all 26 tracks on this disc

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
This is spine-shivering music of unparalleled authenticity and sincerity. Before Ralph Rinzler ventured to North Carolina to seek out and record old-time musician Clarence Ashley in 1960, Doc Watson played swing and rockabilly on electric guitar. In this moment of great fortune, Rinzler stumbled upon the key to a veritable treasure of traditional music in Watson, his kinfolk, and his neighbors. Soon after, the music of his home, his family, and his childhood began to pour out of Watson. Wife Rosa Lee, father-in-law Gaither Carlton, brother Arnold, and son Merle all contribute as Doc shifts from acoustic guitar (flatpicked and fingerpicked) to banjo to mandolin to autoharp. In the hands of a master and his closest relations, the age-old songs convey delight and despair--in short, reality--with unwavering honesty. --Marc Greilsamer

Tracks:

Ground Hog
Every Day Dirt
Bonaparte's Retreat
House Carpenter
I'm Troubled
Your Long Journey
When I Die
That Train That Carried My Girl
Down the Road
Lone Pilgrim
Texas Gales/Blackberry Rag
Darling Corey
Triplett Tragedy
Muddy Roads
Lost Soul
Keep in the Middle of the Road
Old Man Below
Pretty Saro
Cousin Sally Brown
Look Down That Lonesome Road
Doodle Bug
Rambling Hobo
Cuckoo Bird
Frosty Morn
Shady Grove
Southbound

Amazon.com

This is spine-shivering music of unparalleled authenticity and sincerity. Before Ralph Rinzler ventured to North Carolina to seek out and record old-time musician Clarence Ashley in 1960, Doc Watson played swing and rockabilly on electric guitar. In this moment of great fortune, Rinzler stumbled upon the key to a veritable treasure of traditional music in Watson, his kinfolk, and his neighbors. Soon after, the music of his home, his family, and his childhood began to pour out of Watson. Wife Rosa Lee, father-in-law Gaither Carlton, brother Arnold, and son Merle all contribute as Doc shifts from acoustic guitar (flatpicked and fingerpicked) to banjo to mandolin to autoharp. In the hands of a master and his closest relations, the age-old songs convey delight and despair--in short, reality--with unwavering honesty. --Marc Greilsamer

Customer Reviews:

An absolute gem of the raw and pure beauty of pre-bluegrass.......1998-11-08

Anyone remotely interested in Doc Watson, bluegrass, or early folk/mountain music do not hesitate to buy this album. This cd is as soulful and compelling as any I've ever heard in the genre of mountain music. One can still hear the echo of Celtic/European roots but with the unmistakable earthiness of American Appalaccia. The influence of African blues forms on traditional European folk songs could never be more evident than in this collection. This is Leadbelly meets Bill Monroe meets fourteenth century villages in both Ireland and Africa. Cannot recommend this album enough!

You will think you have died and gone to heaven.......1998-08-07

This CD is old-time country (some call it "mountain" or "traditional") music originally recorded in 1963 (Folkways)and contains all 15 songs from the original release along with 11 new ones. Of all the Doc Watson albums I had, this was the first one I rebought on CD. It brings tears of sorrow and of joy. The music is unrefined, but powerful and clean.

Ground Hog, Bonaparte's Retreat, House Carpenter, I'm troubled, Your Long Journey, When I die, That train the carried my girl from town, down the road, the lone pilgrim, etc. Also has ccukoo bird, shady grove, and southbound -- among other new cuts.

Tracks:

Georgie
Fish In The Mill Pond
Children's Songs
I Heard My Mother Weeping
Reubin's Train
Biscuits
Tucker's Barn
Give The Fiddler A Dream
And Am I Born To Die?
Marthy, Won't You Have Some Good Old Cider
A-Roving On A Winter's Night
Arnold's Tune
Pretty Saro
Early, Early In The Spring
Little Maggie
Bill Banks
Rambling Hobo
One Morning In May
The Faithful Soldier
Omie Wise
Jimmy Sutton

Amazon.com

The importance of kinship to Doc Watson's music cannot be overestimated. He learned everything about the guitar from the records his parents owned and the playing of his nearby relatives, one of whom, Gaither Carlton, is featured on this collection, a superb companion piece to the early Folkways album The Watson Family. These are songs Watson played and sang his whole life, and it's a joy to hear him with his wife and sons. Stand outs include the mysterious "Am I Born to Die?", "Omie Wise," "Little Maggie," and "Faithful Soldier." --Roy Francis Kasten

Customer Reviews:

Just Like the Old Front Porch.......2006-01-23

Music is all around us. Pouring out from the radio and the concert halls. Dripping from the internet stream and the pod cast. Booming from the crowded discothèque and blues bars. Music is everywhere.

Some of the best music comes from places few have ever seen. In the empty pool halls, the back yards, the living rooms and thousands of garages there is beautiful, passionate, amazing music being played. Right now, from every corner of the globe, someone is playing a tune, singing a song.

Before there was DVD audio, CDs, 8 tracks and even vinyl records, there was a caveman sitting around a fire howling out a song about his battles to his cavewoman. Through time we moved out of the cave into cozier dwellings, but we're still sitting around a fire, singing about our lives, loves, and losses.

Years ago I had the experience of sitting around in a living room with a bunch of people and singing and playing. And it was like a spiritual experience. It was wonderful. I decided then that was what I wanted to do with my life was to play music, do music. In the making of records I think over the years we've all gotten a little too technical, a little too hung up on getting things perfect. And we've lost the living room. The living room has gone out of the music. -Emmylou Harris

In 1977 Doc Watson released Tradition, a record designed to put the living room back into the studio. It is not so much of a studio record, as a family sing a-long - quite literally since Watson uses his real family as a band. Doc is playing grandpa here, picking the guitar and singing songs older than the entire family put together. Dolly Greer is the grandmother singing silly children's songs on the porch and lonesome fiddle tunes in the kitchen. The rest of the family pitches in on guitar and banjo singing old timey tunes while we gather round to listen.

The record is like an old photograph found buried in the back of the closet in your great grandmother's closet. It's not the prettiest picture ever taken, nor something to take out and hang on your living room wall. It's a little tattered and worn, faded by the sun. Yet there is something familiar, comforting and beautiful about it.

Simple tunes like "Reuben's Train", and "Biscuits" will surely put a smile on your face, and if they don't make you get up and dance, you'll at least be tapping your foot along to the tune.

There are lots of little half-songs and snippets of tunes. Dolly Greer sings a medley of four children's songs that lasts less than three minutes in total. Her country accent is so heavy that you can hardly understand what it is exactly, that she's singing, but she does it with such a happy zeal you can hardly fault her for any of it. There are other half-played fiddle tunes and songs that seem so spur of the moment and forgotten halfway through that the album really does feel like a family sitting on the back porch watching a lazy summer day float away.

It is definitely not an album for everyone. Fans of tightly wound, well crafted pop songs will surely find disappointment in the casual feel of the songs. I suspect even bluegrass and country music fans may find themselves looking back at the record bin through part of the 45 minutes of music here. But for anyone interested in traditional music, for a patient listener willing to wait for something special, there is a wealth of beautiful music in this disk.

For more reviews on everything pop culture go to www.midnitcafe.blogspot.com

Songs with a lasting and immortal kind of effervescent quality.......2005-12-16

With very unpretentious authenticity, "Tradition" was recorded by Ralph Rinzler and Daniel Seeger in 1964 and 1965. Besides featuring Doc himself, this album has an interesting mix of solo, duo and trio offerings with Doc's wife Rosa Lee Watson, father-in-law Gaither Carlton, cousin Dolly Greer, cousin Tina Greer, brother Arnold Watson, son Merle Watson, and others. As song carriers, the extended family kept their mountain music vibrant. In finest folkloric tradition, songs commonly shared among family and friends would be passed down through many generations.

I listened to a remastered edition of this album (wtih 24 tracks) that was released by Rounder on 10/25/05. Nine of the offerings on "Tradition" are simply presented as unaccompanied vocals. Many of the other songs are only accompanied by guitar, banjo or fiddle. With the exception of "The Faithful Soldier," don't expect any vocal harmony. And don't expect all the fiddling or singing to be perfectly in tune either. That's how they keep it gleefully rustic and down-home mountainous. However, there are plenty of joyful surprises to cherish. "Reuben's Train," for example, has the twin banjos of Arnold and Doc frailing along to Gaither's sawing on the fiddle. Gaither doesn't sing much, but when he does on Pretty Saro, Little Maggie, and Jimmy Sutton, he demonstrates the heartfelt charm of a true hillbilly musician.

The Rounder label is to be commended for the reissuance of this significant and important traditional mountain music. The songs represent a special chapter in this family's musical heritage. View the album as a timeless gift of songs, ballads, and instrumentals. Copious liner notes from A.L. Lloyd and Ralph Rinzler speak to the objectives of the record as a sampling of local tradition and as an illustration of a family's music. Doc's repertoire represents the three strands of traditional folk, rural professional, and even a commercial sense that grew from the former and other genres. Thus, we are given a sense of lineage and able to explore the roots of Doc Watson's legendary music. Sung and re-sung again, the songs have a lasting and immortal kind of effervescent quality.

Rinzler's notes say that some of the tunes at these mid-60s sessions had rarely been heard outside of the extended family circle. Youngsters and old timers alike came to listen and show appreciation during the recording in the sitting room at Doc's house. Now, with this album, folks of all ages can again relax and delight in the Watson Family's traditional music treasure chest. (Joe Ross, staff writer, Bluegrass Now)

uncluttered country music.......2003-06-05

it's a relief to hear the voices and instruments of the country musicians without the clutter of modern techno stuff that only masks the talent of these peoples artistry! thank you!

Old Time Mountain Music at Its Purest.......2002-05-29

This stuff is raw, real raw. This album doesn't pretend to show off in any way, the sound quality is a bit muffled, the picking a bit choppy and at one point, Doc's wife starts giggling, "Thats all I know" right in the middle of a song. But its all real beautiful stuff. The whole album is a hodgepodge of various acapella ballads, banjo tunes, fiddle tunes, etc., all passed down orally, by generations within the Watson family. Doc's wife highlights the album with some great old English-Appalachian ballads ("One Morning in May", "Early, Early in the Spring", "Children's Songs") sung with a alot of heart, soul and twang. Gaither's fiddle is haunting and Doc's more refined sound holds it all together. If you looking for some purely authentic mountain music with traditional tunes sung and played by real people who learned them in the traditional way, then definitely check this out.

Average customer rating:

The one and only
"This guy..."
Finally, Old Southern Mountain Music As I Remember!
The music

Songs From the Southern Mountains
Doc Watson & Family
Manufacturer: Sugarhill [Country]
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Country | Styles | Music

Old-Time Country | Traditional Country | Country | Styles | Music

General | Traditional Country | Country | Styles | Music

General | Bluegrass | Country | Styles | Music

General | Folk | Styles | Music

Traditional Folk | Folk | Styles | Music

General | Country | Indie Music | Stores | Music

Bluegrass | Country | Indie Music | Stores | Music

Traditional Country | Country | Indie Music | Stores | Music

Traditional Folk | Folk | Indie Music | Stores | Music
Similar Items:

Watson Family Tradition
Doc Watson at Gerdes Folk City
Favorites of
Clarence Ashley And Doc Watson: The Original Folkways Recordings, 1960-1962 [2-CD Set]
The Doc Watson Family

ASIN: B000000F3Q
Release Date: 1994-10-19

Tracks:

Rye Cove - Doc Watson
Twilight Is Stealing - Doc Watson/Arnold Watson/Mrs. G.D. Watson
Fisher's Hornpipe - Doc Watson
Anniversary Blue Yodel (Blue Yodel No. 7) - Doc Watson
A Tiny Broken Heart - Doc Watson/Rosa Lee Watson
Honey Babe Blues - Doc Watson/Arnold Watson/Gaither Carlton
Brown's Dream - Doc Watson/Gaither Carlton
When The Roll Is Called Up Yonder - Doc Watson/Arnold Watson/Gaither Carlton/Almeda Riddle
My Little Woman, You're So Sweet - Doc Watson
Will My Mother Know Me There - Doc Watson/Arnold Watson/Mrs. G.D. Watson
Go Shoot Old Davey Dugger - Doc Watson/Gaither Carlton
My Wandering Boy - Rosa Lee Watson/Doc Watson
Somebody Touched Me - Doc Watson/Arnold Watson/Gaither Carlton/Almeda Riddle
Grandfather's Clock - Doc Watson
Lonely Tombs - Doc Watson/Arnold Watson/Gaither Carlton
Just A Friend - Rosa Lee Watson/Doc Watson

Customer Reviews:

The one and only.......2005-09-22

I've been a big fan of Doc and his music for more than 20 years and I just love him. He's not only an amazing picker and singer but also a wonderful and kindhearted human being. I can hardly put into words how much joy he have brought into my life with his music. He really is the true voice of America, and this album is just great and wonderful!

"This guy...".......2003-07-19

This "guy" is Doc Watson, the one and only. Never was there a more genuine North Carolina mountain picker and singer! These songs are wonderful!

Finally, Old Southern Mountain Music As I Remember!.......2002-07-17

This is the music I remember from my youth. Sounds authentic, rough, guitar playing is excellent, some of the vocals are truly "country". If you want a real sample of real music, this is it. I checked online about this guy ... he really is from the southern mountains (western North Carolina) and nearly 80 years old now, though apparently these recordings are 35 years old or so.

The music.......2000-03-18

The music is okay, but the guy who sings does not sound Southern. This CD is not for those looking for songs from the former Southern Confederacy.

Average customer rating:

One of the best old-time records ever
Excellent Appalachain Music

The Watson Family
Doc Watson & Family
Manufacturer: Sfw
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Country | Styles | Music

Old-Time Country | Traditional Country | Country | Styles | Music

General | Traditional Country | Country | Styles | Music

General | Bluegrass | Country | Styles | Music

General | Folk | Styles | Music

Traditional Folk | Folk | Styles | Music

Country | Imports | Stores | Music

Folk | Imports | Stores | Music
ASIN: B00000AWEH
Release Date: 1994-10-30

Tracks:

Ground Hog
Every Day Dirt
Bonaparte's Retreat
The House Carpenter
I'm Troubled
Your Long Journey
When I Die
That Train That Carried My Girl From Town
Down The Road
The Lone Pilgrim
Texas Gales/Blackberry Rag
Darling Corey
The Triplett Tragedy
Muddy Roads
The Lost Soul
Keep In The Middle Of The Road
That Old Man Below
Pretty Saro
Cousin Sally Brown
Look Down That Lonesome Road
Doodle Bug
Rambling Hobo
The Cuckoo Bird
Frosty Morn
Shady Grove
Southbound

Amazon.com

Album Description

The recordings of the Watson Family, the most famous of whom is legendary guitarist Arthel "Doc" Watson, are classic examples of Anglo-American folk tradition. Some of the songs performed here go back many generations' others were written about recent events. Many members of the Watson family are musical, and this sampling of their rich repertoire includes songs learned at home and in church. Whether through their vocal style or instrumental ability, the Watson family created a musical environment that influenced Doc Watson throughout his career.

This album includes both fifteen songs from 1963 Folkways album of the same title, as well as eleven new cutes on the compact disc and cassette (eight new cuts on the LP) from the original recordings, never before released. New liner notes, written from hours of conversations with Doc Watson and Ralph Rinzler, provide important background on the recording and on Doc Watson's subsequent musical career.

Customer Reviews:

One of the best old-time records ever.......2006-04-18

To the non-musicologist, listening to this album feels like opening a door to a world that existed a million years ago. The songs aren't quite that old, it turns out, but they still evoke an era that long predates Blackberries and flush toilets. Watson's guitar playing is, as always, astounding. The participation of wives, uncles, and kids makes this seem less like a commercial album than a family album in music.

Excellent Appalachain Music.......2000-02-06

If you like mountain music, you'll love this album

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