Watson's simple, unadorned voice conveyed an unexpected amount of emotion, but it was his guitar playing that always amazed — and intimidated.

Arthel "Doc" Watson's mastery of flatpicking helped make the case for the guitar as a lead instrument ...

Doc Watson, Folk Guitar Icon, Dies at 89 The Grammy-winning musician, blind since the age of 1, recently had abdominal surgery that resulted in his hospitalization.

Watson's simple, unadorned voice conveyed an unexpected amount of emotion, but it was his guitar playing that always amazed — and intimidated.

Guitar maker Wayne Henderson plays the guitar his daughter, Jayne, was making for Doc Watson on Wednesday, April 24, 2013.

Arthel “Doc” Watson’s mastery of flatpicking helped make the case for the guitar as a lead instrument in the 1950s and 1960s, when it was often considered a backup for the mandolin, fiddle ...

Arthel "Doc" Watson's mastery of flatpicking helped make the case for the guitar as a lead instrument in the 1950s and 1960s, when it was often considered a backup for the mandolin, fiddle or ...

Doc Watson, whose lightning-fast style of flatpicking influenced guitarists around the world for more than a half-century, died Tuesday ...

In this April 17, 1998 photo, Doc Watson performs with kids on stage at the MerleFest in Wilkesboro, N.C. Watson, the Grammy-award winning folk musician whose lightning-fast style of flatpicking ...

Arthel "Doc" Watson's mastery of flatpicking helped make the case for the guitar as a lead instrument in the 1950s and 1960s, when it was often considered a backup for the mandolin, fiddle or banjo.

Watson learned a few guitar chords while attending the North Carolina Morehead School for the Blind in Raleigh, and his father helped him buy a Stella guitar for $12.

Doc Watson died at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center in Winston-Salem, where he was hospitalized recently after falling at his home in Deep Gap.