# Music by Genre > Bluegrass, Newgrass, Country, Gospel Variants >  Favorite Doc Watson albums

## Kevin Winn

Been listening to 'Riding The Midnight Train' a lot.  Loving Sam Bush's playing on there, but also really enjoying the songs and Doc's voice.  I want to get some more of Doc's albums, but there's a ton of them.

What are your favorites?

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## tmsweeney

All of them I guess, I was of course introduced by Folkways "The Essential Doc Watson" and his appearances on The Circle Album  "_have to compliment that bass player back there..._"  - but I am very partial to "Down South" with Merle and Sam (on a couple of tracks ) "Sliding Delta", "Bright Sunny South", "Solid Gone",   There was a live album with T Micheal Coleman and the Frosty Morn band, can't think of the name if it "Doc and the boys" maybe, they did "Southern Lady" and "Tennessee Stud" and "Little Maggie". "Pickin the Blues"_ that's why I'm cryin, can't keep from cryin Mississippi Heavy water blues_ with Merle, Sam is on one or two there as well. Red Rockin Chair with the T. Micheal Coleman group was another one we played the grooves off,  I remember we had very worn vinyl - "Square Deal in Nashville" where Doc is holding up a deck of cards, pretty sure that was intentional, and of course Doc driving the Cadillac on the cover of "Doc-a-Billy".  I saw him play a few times with Jack Lawrence and with Tony and Norman, always a little closer to the sunny side of the mountain when you hear Doc singing and playing.

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## David Lewis

Chalk the live album with Bill Monroe. It’s a nice collection. And well played.

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## Denny Gies

Doc and Dawg.

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David Lewis, 

William Smith

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## William Smith

I was going to say Doc and Dawg, On the last track be sure to let it play as there is a hidden tune quite a few seconds after the last tune! David on his Acoustic Disc label released a live 2 cd set of Him and Doc, also the great Jack Lawrence, maybe called live at Watsonville? There may be others on his label? YouTube is a treasure trove of different Doc stuff!

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## Kevin Winn

Thanks, guys!

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## Pete Martin

Memories

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Jeff Mando

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## Gary Leonard

The first self titled album. Doc Watson. Simply the best, this recording has everything going for it, it is Doc at his purest.

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allenhopkins, 

Martin Jonas

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## Timbofood

Just get them all!

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Mark Gunter

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## Paul Kotapish

I really like _Doc Watson - On Stage_. Learned a bunch from that one. 

And I think that _The Watson Family_ is pretty essential listening, too.

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Bob Buckingham

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## Mark Gunter

Theres no bad one; you cant go wrong. Ive got about half of his catalog! Most recent acquisition is the Bears Sonic Journals set. Great audio on a full week of live performances by Doc & Merle.

Doc and Merle Watson: Never The Same Way Once

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Pete Martin, 

Skip Kelley, 

Timbofood

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## RobP

Ditto "On Stage"  - one of my favs.   Doc and Dawg too.


Doc is my all-time musical hero.  I was lucky enough to see him in concert in 2001.  I will always treasure that ticket stub.

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## CarlM

For me it is a tie between the untitled first Doc Watson album and Southbound.  But I have never heard a bad one.

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## fentonjames

Often overlooked is "Doc and Merle Watson's Guitar Album" from 1983. Doc, Merle, Michael T are joined by Mark O'Connor on fiddle and mandolin.

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Timbofood, 

Westbrook

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## RandyC

I just downloaded Old Timey Concert with Doc Watson, Clint Howard and Fred Prince. As the title suggest, they are playing some old time favorites.

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## Drew Egerton

I really like the "Legacy" record with David Holt. There is a lot of story telling and interesting bits here and there about Doc's early years. Lots of good tunes as well.

"Doc and Dawg" of course. "Southbound" has lots of great tunes.

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MandolinAl17

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## kegcrowe

This isn't about a particular album, but a love for Doc Watson.  Just the other day, this song came on the radio in the car and I sat in the car until it was done




edited to add that his version of Tennesse Stud (thems good hosses) is my fav!

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## Martin Jonas

While I agree that for pure essence of Doc, the early albums are essential, in particular the self-titled first Vanguard album and Southbound, I am also partial to the somewhat obscure "Portrait", a 1987 album on Sugar Hill with a fuller sound compared to his usual solo acoustic guitar style, and with a stellar backing band: Sam Bush, Jerry Douglas, Mark O'Connor, Mike Compton and (for the first time) Jack Lawrence.  The main reason is that this was the first Doc Watson album I bought, picked up more or less at random from a used record bin, but it also has wonderful versions of two Jimmie Rodgers songs (Blue-Eyed Jane and Nobody Knows But Me) as well as his definitive versions of Country Blues, Storms on the Ocean and I'm Worried Now.  There's a nice review here.

Martin

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## kegcrowe

If you belong to a music service such as Amazon music unlimited, you can try out a great many albums for free.  If you really like them, I would advise to purchase them. The music that’s included in Amazon unlimited varies, so what is free today may not be available at all tomorrow. 

I’ve just put the porrait album in “my music”

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## ralph johansson

Watson+Ritchie and Good Deal

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## Mark Gunter

I'm a sucker for tragic ballads: Murder ballads, hangin' tunes, etc. One of my favorites is to hear Doc do Mattie Groves. 



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9SwOCf4My2o

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Drew Egerton, 

Simon DS

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## Gina Willis

From a pure pickin' standpoint, I always liked the instrumental trio album Doc did with Lester & Earl. Good one to study and learn from if you're a guitarist trying to learn his style.

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## Drew Egerton

Gina's post reminded me of another great one, The Three Pickers! Doc, Earl and Ricky Skaggs. Lots of guests as well. Available in CD or DVD of the concert. Very cool show!

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## Simon DS

Not an album, and no mandolin content as such, but plenty of potential.

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Kevin Winn, 

Steve Weeks

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## allenhopkins

For early Doc, the two Folkways albums, _Old Time Music at Clarence Ashley's_ and _The Watson Family,_ are really interesting, with Rosa Lee Watson and Gaither Carlton _et. al._ as well as Ashley.  Just when Rinzler was about to drag Watson from playing Saturday dances into touring as a "folk singer."  And I love that first eponymous album; it came out just about the time I saw him for the first time, at Club 47 in Cambridge.  You could tell the guitar players in the audience, they all stood up for a better look when he did _Black Mountain Rag._

I saw him later in Rochester with Fred Price and Clint Howard, and that was special too.  I really liked his takes on traditional material; when I read his bio, _Blind But Now I See,_ I learned that he had to learn the traditional songs in order to be accepted as a "folkie" as he did his first college/coffeehouse gigs.  They weren't songs that came down in his family; he was used to playing country, rockabilly, dance music on the electric guitar.  The fact that he played with the "rediscovered" Clarence Ashley for northeastern folk song collectors, directed his performance path into folk and traditional music.  Later, of course, he played whatever he liked, lots of newer, even pop material -- but I still have a soft spot for _A-Roving On a Winter's Night, Down In the Valley to Pray, Omie Wise, Deep River Blues,_ and the other songs I heard in the 1960's.  Plus, his banjo playing, which got generally downplayed as his career advanced -- and, his mandolin playing (_Muddy Roads_ on the _Watson Family_ LP).

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Bill Findley, 

Bob Gnann, 

Simon DS

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## grassrootphilosopher

It´s funny that everybody has their own favorite album and that there is hardly any overlap.

My dearest to my heart Doc Watson record is "Ballads From The Deep Gap". It was one of my first records that I ever owned (the other being an Okeh Western Swing compilation). The "Texas Gales" version is still one of my favorites and one of my favorite fiddle tunes. Go and try to chuck that at some banjo (or mandolin) slinger at a jam session. The reactions are priceless.

The self titled "Doc Watson" album is a close second as are "Home Again", "Southbound", "Doc Watson and Son", "Doc Watson and Jean Ritchie at Gerde´s Folk City" and practically all albums that do not have the magnetic pickup sound. Of the later ones the "Pickin´The Blues" album is magic. And the list goes on and on.

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allenhopkins, 

Simon DS

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## Simon DS

The Cuckoo, for me. It’s that oak floorboard stomping, creaking chair legs, storm’s abrewing, pine forest fragrance, breeze in the tree tops acoustic sound, simple and slow. And fast, just easy and not hurried.

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## giannisgrass

For guitar pickin only nothing beats sugar hill instrumental collection..only Beaumont Rag is missing.

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## Westbrook

Any with his son Merle! They played soooo good together.

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## Bob Gnann

The old Vanguard label Two fers on vinyl.  The Essential Doc Watson.  Bought it at a record store in Albany back in my college days.  A cut out (remember those, if you do you're as old me) $1.99.  First time I heard Black Mountain Rag and Beaumont Rag.  And his soulful ballads too.  A complete game changer for me musically.
And of course Doc Watson on Stage with Merle.  4 sides of acoustic heaven recorded live.
My very favorite is Old Timey Concert with Fred Price and Clint Howard.  Again recorded live. He seems so relaxed playing the old songs with those boys like they were playing on some one's front porch.  Lots of cool banter.  I Say, I Say let's play a little of that Fire on the Mountain!  Dare you to play it along with Doc at that speed. I can't!
Have just about all the others mentioned here but those are my favorites.  Over and out!

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tmsweeney

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