Red Rocking Chair was recorded in December 1980 and January 1981 at Crimson Sound in Santa Monica, California, and released by Flying Fish in 1981 (FF 252). Mitch Greenhill produced it. Doc Watson and Merle Watson are joined by T. Michael Coleman on bass, Ron Tutt on drums and Gene Estes on percussion, with Herb Pedersen singing harmony on several songs.
Doc plays guitar, banjo and harmonica and Merle plays guitar, slide guitar and banjo. On the title song Doc plays guitar and Merle banjo, and on “Mole in the Ground” the instruments are reversed. Guests include Byron Berline on fiddle, Al Perkins on pedal steel, Tom Scott on clarinet, Charlie Musselwhite on harmonica and Hank “Bones” Kahn on bones. The twelve tracks include “Sadie,” the fiddle-tune pairing “Fisher’s Hornpipe / Devil’s Dream,” “Along the Road” (credited to Fogelberg), two songs credited to Rodgers, “Any Old Time” and “California Blues,” and two traditional songs, “Red Rocking Chair” and “Mole in the Ground.” Merle Watson died in a tractor accident in October 1985.
Tracklist
- 1 Sadie 2:29
- 2 Fisher's Hornpipe / Devil's Dream 1:45
- 3 Along The Road 2:52
- 4 Smoke, Smoke, Smoke 2:48
- 5 Below Freezing 2:23
- 6 California Blues 3:23
- 7 John Hurt 2:31
- 8 Mole in the Ground Source Recording 2:30
- 9 Any Old Time alt version 2:27
- 10 Red Rocking Chair Source Recording 2:05
- 11 How Long Blues 2:50
- 12 Down Yonder alt version 3:34
