Doc Watson Given Honorary Degree

I saw a press release on a couple of mailing lists today that mention that Doc was given an honorary Associate in Arts degree by Wilkes Community College, on whose campus the great Merlefest takes place every year. The only link I could find on news.google.com was to this snippet on the Winston-Salem Journal. Not much of a write-up.

Congratulations Doc! If you just keep working hard enough at this "inspiring people with Americana music thing", well, then maybe some four-year institution will give you an honorary Bachelors degree, and then the sky's the limit!

Seriously folks, I'm really happy for Doc. Any and all recognition that could be thrown his way should be, without doubt. I've never seen a more genuine, soulful, or heartfelt artist of any medium of any time. I just feel good listening to him, like I was sitting and listening to my Papaw again. He gives me a serious "grandfather" vibe that I guess I just can't get enough of. I'm just a little sad that Ralph Stanley, whose contributions I consider equal to Doc's, was given an honorary Ph.D., while Doc only an Associates. I know that Wilkes was giving him the highest degree they could, though, and I thank them for that.

It's hard going to Merlefest every year and seeing him age more and more. He's still got it, that's for sure. His Sunday morning gig with the Nashville Bluegrass Band testifies to that clearly. He's still got the beat, the guitar chops, and the voice to send you to the river a believer and begging to be saved. But every year he plays a little less than the year before, and every year you're more aware of how old he's getting. Every year you hope it's not the last you'll see him there.

I was saddened this weekend that we lost Jimmy Martin. I'm worried that we'll lose Vassar Clements soon, one of my fiddle heroes. However, losing Doc will be worse than how I felt when we lost Johnny Cash, which was really really bad. Losing Doc at some point will be like losing my grandfather all over again, and I'll also be losing a cherished connection with my Dad. We love seeing Doc Watson together.

Let's cherish the man and his art while we've got him! God bless you Doc Watson, and congratulations on your degree! Lord knows you deserve so much more!

On a lighter note, my favorite part of the press release was left out of the article I linked to above. It read, "Watson expressed his gratitude to the college for keeping Merle Watson's memory alive and then delighted the commencement audience of some 2000 by flipping the tassel on his mortarboard to the 'graduate' side." A true Doc moment if I've ever heard one! I can just see him grinning ear to ear!