Doc Watson (1923-2012) defined modern flatpicking guitar — and his Folkways and Sugar Hill recordings made traditional Appalachian material accessible to a generation. His material spans old-time ballads, country, gospel, and blues — anything that fit his approach of playing fiddle tunes on the guitar. The Watson Family recordings with father Arthel and son Merle Watson are foundational. These twenty-nine songs are the recordings on this site whose canonical version is Doc’s.
Each song’s page on Picker’s Guide has chord charts, lyrics, recordings, and song history.
- 1. Columbus Stockade Blues
- 2. Crawdad Song
- 3. Dream of the Miner’s Child
- 4. Greenville Trestle High
- 5. Little Orphan Girl
- 6. Pallet on the Floor
- 7. My Dear Old Southern Home
- 8. Omie Wise
- 9. Shady Grove
- 10. Sitting on Top of the World
- 11. Streamline Cannonball
- 12. Tennessee Stud
- 13. Tom Dooley
- 14. Train that Carried My Girl From Town
- 15. Walk On Boy
- 16. Way Downtown
- 17. Your Lone Journey
- 18. Alberta
- 19. Nashville Blues
- 20. Grandfather’s Clock
- 21. Muskrat
- 22. Deep River Blues
- 23. Freight Train Boogie
- 24. Sweet Heaven When I Die
- 25. Give Me Back My 15 Cents
- 26. All About You
- 27. What Does the Deep Sea Say
- 28. You Won’t Be Satisfied That Way
- 29. Foggy Mountain Top