On March 3, 2023, legendary songwriter and performer Doc Watson (born Arthel Lane Watson) would have been 100 years old. Watson, who died in 2012, won seven Grammy Awards (including a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award) and earned 23 nominations.
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To celebrate his life in music, Watson is getting some love from his peers, including Dolly Parton and Steve Earle, via a new album I Am A Pilgrim: Doc Watson At 100, which is set to release on April 28.
With that news, Parton has shared a tribute song to Watson, “The Last Thing On My Mind,” originally written by Tom Paxton in the early 1960s. The song was a staple of Watson’s catalog. It was also recorded and performed by Parton throughout her career. She even released a recording of it in 1967 with Porter Wagoner. Watson and Parton performed it together in 2001 at MerleFest.
“Doc Watson is everyone’s hero and a great guitar player,” says Parton of Watson. “Some say he is the absolute best, and I was honored to get to work with him a few times in my career.”
Watson was known for his folk, blues, and bluegrass tunes that still live on today. And, well, even though the artist is no longer with us, he’s getting a big celebration on his milestone birthday later this year.
According to a press statement, “I Am A Pilgrim is bursting with the influence of Watson’s talent and charisma. A mix of vocal and instrumental tracks, it finds a host of musicians—including Rock And Roll Hall of Fame Inductees, numerous Grammy Award winners, countless NPR Tiny Desk alumni, and recipients of countless other awards and accolades—interpreting his work through a prismatic lens of not only folk and bluegrass but blues, jazz, and influences of experimental and rock music as well.”
The tribute for Watson, a trailblazing North Carolina guitarist, singer and songwriter, and folk hero, who was awarded the National Medal of Arts in 1997, also includes Bill Frisell, Valerie June, and many more.
The new album is set to be released in conjunction with the 2023 MerleFest, the festival named after Watson’s longtime songwriting partner and son, Eddy Merle Watson. MerleFest is slated for April 27-30, 2023
Photo by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
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