Misplaced Pages

#757242

58-608: Bobby Kimmel moved to Tucson as a child for his asthmatic condition. His father was a studio musician in New York City, and become the principal double bass player in the Tucson Symphony Orchestra. He also owned and operated a retail music shop near the university. Kimmel's early musical influence was jazz, especially "West Coast" jazz. He also listened to the "harder" East Coast jazz. His passion for jazz continued all throughout his high school years, and it

116-593: A Sears Silvertone from Sears Roebuck with his earnings, while his brother bought a new suit. Later in the same interview, Watson mentioned that his first high-quality guitar was a Martin D-18. Watson's earliest influences were country roots musicians and groups such as the Carter Family and Jimmie Rodgers . The first song he learned to play on the guitar was "When Roses Bloom in Dixieland", first recorded by

174-521: A few months of rehearsal (including in the local laundromat which had great acoustics), the trio played an open mike gig at The Troubador in West Los Angeles. That one performance resulted in a multi—album contract with Capitol Records . The Stone Poneys recorded three albums for Capitol in the mid-60s and had a major hit in 1967 with " Different Drum ", written in 1964 by soon-to-be Monkees member Michael Nesmith. Different Drum peaked at #12 on

232-469: A group of new songs full of possibilities for rich harmonies, and much room for Stefan to play. (Bobby and Stefan had figured out how two finger-style guitarists could play together). So along with a crop of Stefan's latest songs to work with, the band quickly developed a new repertoire and a new harmony sound. The acoustic music community in Tucson was quick to embrace them. Although BK Special only formed in

290-536: A hit, Kenny Edwards quit The Stone Poneys. That was the beginning of the end, Linda and Bobby played one more tour as The Stone Poneys with pick-up musicians, and the group disbanded at the end of the tour. After the Stone Poneys broke up, Bobby created and developed the concert series at McCabe's Guitar Shop in Santa Monica, California. It became one of the premier acoustic music venues in the country. By

348-516: A powerful lead singer and songwriter from LA who also moved there. Since Jo and Bobby had played together at parties in LA, they got the idea of forming an acoustic singing band here. They went to the 2002 Tucson Folk Festival together, and on the second day they heard Stefan George and Lavinia White. Bobby immediately approached Stefan and Lavinia and proposed that the four of them get together to play music. Stefan and Lavinia were cautious at first, but after

406-516: A proficient acoustic and electric guitar player. In 1953, Watson joined the Johnson City, Tennessee –based Jack Williams's country and western swing band on electric guitar . The band seldom had a fiddle player, but was often asked to play at square dances . Following the example of country guitarists Grady Martin and Hank Garland , Watson taught himself to play fiddle tunes on his Gibson Les Paul electric guitar. He later transferred

464-608: A relationship with Gallagher Guitars when he started playing their G-50 model. His first Gallagher, which Watson referred to as "Ol' Hoss", was on display at the Country Music Hall of Fame in Nashville before residing at the Gallagher shop until 2012, when it was auctioned through Christie's on November 27, 2012. In 1974, Gallagher created a customized G-50 line to meet Watson's preferred specifications, which bears

522-416: A tractor accident on his family farm. Two years later Merle Fest was inaugurated in remembrance of him. Arlen Roth writes, "...we can attribute an entirely new style and a whole generation of pickers to [Watson's] inspiration. He was the first rural acoustic player to truly 'amaze' urban audiences in the early 1960s with his dazzling, fast technique, and he has continued to be a driving, creative force on

580-412: A while and a number of casual living room sessions at Bobby's house, they warmed to the idea and finally 4 Corners was formed. At the beginning of 2003, the quartet began rehearsing seriously. 4 Corners sang together for 3 1/2 years and released two CDs before Jo left the group in the summer of 2006. After Jo left 4 Corners, Bobby, Stefan and Lavinia decided to try to go on as a trio. Bobby had written

638-798: Is a recipient of a 1988 National Heritage Fellowship awarded by the National Endowment for the Arts , which is the United States government's highest honor in the folk and traditional arts. In 2000, Watson was inducted into the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Honor in Owensboro, Kentucky . In 1997, Watson received the National Medal of Arts from U.S. President Bill Clinton . In 2010, he

SECTION 10

#1732790610758

696-686: The Tales of the Unexpected episode " Mrs. Bixby and the Colonel's Coat ". Greene replaced Douglas Wilmer to play Sir Denis Nayland Smith in two of Harry Alan Towers 's Fu Manchu films, The Blood of Fu Manchu (1968) and The Castle of Fu Manchu (1969). Both films were directed by Jess Franco and shot in Spain. In 1972 Greene was unwittingly embroiled in the Lewis v Averay court case, after

754-558: The Carter Family in 1930. Watson said in an interview with American Songwriter that " Jimmie Rodgers was the first man that I started to claim as my favorite." Watson proved to be a natural musical talent and within months was performing on local street corners playing songs from the Delmore Brothers , Louvin Brothers , and Monroe Brothers alongside his brother Linny. By the time Watson reached adulthood, he had become

812-664: The Seaforth Highlanders in Vancouver, but they would not give him a commission. He obtained a release from Fox and travelled to England where he enlisted in the 27th Lancers , where he distinguished himself. After three months, he went to the Royal Military College, Sandhurst and was commissioned and given the service number of 184251. He was promoted to captain in the 27th Lancers in May 1944. He

870-547: The Seeger family , Michelle Shocked , and many others. The book also covers the life, supporting role, and untimely death of Merle Watson . An updated edition was released by Sumach-Red Books in March 2012. In April 2013, Open Records released a multi-disc collection of unreleased recordings by Watson. The collection, titled Milestones , features 94 songs as well as stories, remembrances, and over 500 photographs. The collection

928-437: The 2002 Grammy Award for Best Traditional Folk Album . In 2010, Blooming Twig Books published a comprehensive biography of Watson, written by Kent Gustavson . The book, titled Blind But Now I See: The Biography of Music Legend Doc Watson , features never before published content regarding Watson's life and career, gleaned from interviews with Watson's friends and collaborators including Norman Blake , Sam Bush , members of

986-471: The Cashbox Top 100 chart on February 12, 1968. The first two Stone Poney albums mostly featured Bobby's original songs. The band toured nationally and played popular music TV shows including The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson. They toured briefly as the opening act for The Doors when " Light My Fire " was a huge hit and Jim Morrison was a pop music phenom. About the time "Different Drum" became

1044-621: The Curtain (1960), and Sword of Sherwood Forest (1960), as Robin Hood. He had a long love affair in the 1950s with Nancy Oakes, wealthy daughter of mining tycoon Sir Harry Oakes . Amongst other TV programmes, Greene was in A Man For Loving , The Doctors , The Morecambe and Wise Show , Dixon of Dock Green , Scarf Jack , as corrupt businessman Neil Turvey in The Professionals episode "Everest Was Also Conquered", and

1102-459: The Doc Watson name. In 1991, Gallagher customized a personal cutaway guitar for Watson that he played until his death and which he referred to as "Donald" in honor of Gallagher guitar's second-generation proprietor and builder, Don Gallagher. During his last years, Watson played a Dana Bourgeois dreadnought given to him by Ricky Skaggs for his 80th birthday. Another of Watson's favorites

1160-502: The Tucson Folk Festival where they had a featured spot. In July 2013 the group traveled to Santa Monica, CA to play McCabe's Guitar Shop, the club Bobby opened in 1969, and had become one of the premier acoustic venues in the country. Numbers in parentheses indicate the date of release, and also the highest position on Billboard charts Doc Watson Arthel Lane " Doc " Watson (March 3, 1923 – May 29, 2012)

1218-497: The acoustic music scene." Doc Watson played guitar in both flatpicking and fingerpicking style, but is best known for his flatpick work. His guitar playing skills, combined with his authenticity as a mountain musician, made him a highly influential figure during the folk music revival. He pioneered a fast and flashy bluegrass lead guitar style including fiddle tunes and crosspicking techniques which were adopted and extended by Clarence White , Tony Rice and many others. Watson

SECTION 20

#1732790610758

1276-806: The age of 15, with a walk-on role in Julius Caesar at the Old Vic. He did some modelling work and appeared in a stage production of Journey's End and had a small role in Sing As We Go (1934), He joined the Jevan Brandon Repertory Company in 1936 with whom he appeared in Antony and Cleopatra . He won accolades in the same year for his part in Terence Rattigan 's French Without Tears , which brought him to

1334-506: The annual MerleFest music festival held every April at Wilkes Community College in Wilkesboro, North Carolina . The festival features a vast array of acoustic style music focusing on the folk, bluegrass, blues and old-time music genres. It was named in honor of Merle Watson and is one of the most popular acoustic music festivals in the world, drawing over 70,000 music fans each year. The festival has continued after his death. Watson

1392-581: The attention of MGM, Alexander Korda and Darryl F. Zanuck , who all made offers for films. On 17 January 1938 Greene signed with Fox. At 20, he joined 20th Century Fox as a rival to MGM 's Robert Taylor . His first film for Fox was John Ford 's Four Men and a Prayer (1938). Greene was a huge success, especially with female film goers, who sent him mountains of fan mail which at its peak rivalled that of Fox star Tyrone Power . Greene co-starred with Sonia Henie in My Lucky Star (1938) and

1450-419: The beginning of 2012, Bobby retired BK Special after almost ten years together to focus on a lifelong dream of forming a quartet with a purely vocal concept and almost no instrumental presence. Bobby joined with Tucson musicians Kathy Harris, Bobby Ronstadt and Suzy Ronstadt to form I Hear Voices! and realize that dream. I Hear Voices! released their self-titled CD in the summer of 2013 during their appearance at

1508-591: The blind, the Governor Morehead School , in Raleigh, North Carolina . In a 1989 radio interview with Terry Gross on the Fresh Air show on National Public Radio , Watson spoke about how he got his first guitar. His father told him if he and his brother David chopped down all the small dead chestnut trees along the edge of their field, they could sell the wood to a tannery . Watson bought

1566-628: The family farm. Watson was born in Deep Gap, North Carolina . According to Watson on his three-CD biographical recording Legacy , he got the nickname "Doc" during a live radio broadcast when the announcer remarked that his given name Arthel was odd and he needed an easy nickname. A fan in the crowd shouted "Call him Doc!", presumably in reference to the literary character Sherlock Holmes 's companion, Doctor Watson . The name stuck. An eye infection caused Watson to lose his vision before his second birthday. He attended North Carolina's school for

1624-433: The folk music clubs around Tucson in the early 1960s. He started performing with his friend Linda Ronstadt. During that period he played bass in a folk group with Linda and her older brother and sister Peter and Suzie. In 1963, Bobby left Tucson for Los Angeles to further his music career. Quickly he called Linda to join him in LA. Linda agreed, together they formed The Stone Poneys with LA guitarist Kenny Edwards . After

1682-592: The lead role in The Adventures of Robin Hood (1955–59). He was an immediate success in it. The series and a number of related marketing products bearing his likeness, such as comic books and "Robin Hood Shoes", solved his financial problems with success both in the United Kingdom and the United States. During the series' run he made the occasional film such as Contraband Spain (1955), Beyond

1740-708: The same year. After the folk revival waned during the late 1960s, Doc Watson's career was sustained by his performance of the Jimmy Driftwood song " Tennessee Stud " on the 1972 live album recording Will the Circle Be Unbroken . As popular as ever, Doc and Merle began playing as a trio with T. Michael Coleman on bass guitar in 1974. The trio toured the globe during the late seventies and early eighties, recording eleven albums between 1973 and 1985, and bringing Doc and Merle's unique blend of acoustic music to millions of new fans. In 1985, Merle died in

1798-412: The summer of 2006, by the end of that year, they were already talking about recording their first CD. They followed through, and in March 2007 the trio went into Duncan Stitt's A Writer's Room studio to begin recording. They recorded 12 songs live in the studio over the next couple of weeks. Somewhere toward the end of the mixing process, and before Stefan's return, Bobby got a call from Linda Ronstadt who

Bobby Kimmel - Misplaced Pages Continue

1856-622: The surgery at the age of 89. He is buried in the Merle and Doc Watson Memorial Cemetery, Deep Gap with his wife and son. In 2002, High Windy Audio released a multi-CD biographical album of Watson's work, titled Legacy . The collection features audio interviews with Watson interspersed with music, as well as a complete recording of a live performance at the Diana Wortham Theatre in Asheville, North Carolina . The collection won

1914-602: The technique to acoustic guitar, and playing fiddle tunes became part of his signature sound. During his time with Jack Williams, Watson also supported his family as a piano tuner . In 1960, as the American folk music revival grew, Watson took the advice of folk musicologist and Smithsonian curator Ralph Rinzler and began playing acoustic guitar and banjo exclusively. That move ignited Watson's career when he played on his first recording, Old Time Music at Clarence Ashley 's . Also of pivotal importance for his career

1972-407: The time he left 7 years later, McCabe's was a notable concert venue attracting artists such as Jackson Browne , Odetta , Emmylou Harris , Bill Monroe , Jennifer Warnes , Doc & Merle Watson, The New Grass Revival, David Grisman , Tom Waits , Chet Atkins and Shep Cooke had all headlined there - and many others. In the mid-1970s, Bobby also teamed up with Shep Cooke (also from Tucson and who

2030-773: The trio's three-part vocals. One of the songs Bobby played was his own Into The Arms Of Love, and Linda started singing a pretty harmony part under her breath. Bobby asked if she would sing that part on the CD and Linda said, "Sure." That was it. By the time Stefan came back from Germany, the CD was nearly mixed - and Linda had agreed to sing on it. The band quickly cleaned up whatever remained to be done, Linda came into Duncan's studio and added her vocal part, Stefan mastered it with Craig Schumacher at Wave Lab, and off it went to be manufactured. In 2010, BK Special released their second CD Hope Spring, containing eight original songs by Bobby Kimmel. Both BK Special CDs remain in print and available. At

2088-623: Was Greene who was top billed. Greene had a support part in Stanley and Livingstone (1939) with Spencer Tracy and the lead in Here I Am a Stranger (1939). He co-starred with Alice Faye and Fred MacMurray in Little Old New York (1940) and supported Vera Zorina in I Was an Adventuress (1940). He had failed to become a major star but he was still playing leads in "A" movies when World War II began. Greene tried to enlist in

2146-536: Was a noted English film and television actor. A matinée idol who appeared in more than 40 films, he was perhaps best known for the lead role in the long-running British TV series The Adventures of Robin Hood , which ran for 143 episodes from 1955 to 1959. Greene was of Irish and Scottish ancestry, and was born in Plymouth , Devon , England. He was raised Roman Catholic, attending Cardinal Vaughan Memorial School ( Kensington , London), which he left at 18. His aunt

2204-486: Was actress Evie Greene . His father, Richard Abraham Greene and his mother, Kathleen Gerrard, were both actors with the Plymouth Repertory Theatre. He was the grandson of Richard Bentley Greene and a descendant of four generations of actors. It has been stated elsewhere that he was the grandson of the inventor William Friese-Greene , (credited by some as the inventor of cinematography ) but this

2262-409: Was also an accomplished banjo player and sometimes accompanied himself on harmonica as well. Known also for his distinctive and rich baritone voice, Watson over the years developed a vast repertoire of mountain ballads , which he learned via the oral tradition of his home area in Deep Gap, North Carolina . Watson played a Martin model D-18 guitar on his earliest recordings. In 1968, Watson began

2320-510: Was an American guitarist, songwriter, and singer of bluegrass , folk , country , blues , and gospel music . He won seven Grammy awards as well as a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award . His fingerpicking and flatpicking skills, as well as his knowledge of traditional American music, were highly regarded. Blind from a young age, he performed publicly both in a dance band and solo, as well as for over 15 years with his son, guitarist Merle Watson , until Merle's death in 1985 in an accident on

2378-485: Was an annual tradition for Watson to join the Nashville Bluegrass Band for a gospel set on the festival's Sunday morning. It would be his final performance. On May 21, 2012, Watson fell at his home. He was not seriously injured in the fall, but an underlying medical condition prompted surgery on his colon. Watson died on May 29, 2012, at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center of complications following

Bobby Kimmel - Misplaced Pages Continue

2436-623: Was arranging tours in Japan by American folk artists. Working in tandem with his Japanese partner Hiroshi Asada, they booked tours for three years, including tours by Jesse Colin Young , LA session guitarist Larry Carlton , The New Grass Revival and a bluegrass all-star band featuring David Grisman , Tony Rice , Richard Greene , Bill Keith , Peter Rowan and Todd Phillips. Kimmel went on several of these tours as road manager. Bobby moved back to Tucson in 2001 and connected with his friend Jo Wilkinson,

2494-453: Was awarded an honorary doctor of music degree from Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts . There is a sign on U.S. Route 421 near Deep Gap (Watson's birthplace) with the inscription, "Doc and Merle Watson Highway", where that part of the highway is named for both Doc Watson and his son. Richard Greene Richard Marius Joseph Greene (25 August 1918 – 1 June 1985)

2552-504: Was created by Watson's daughter, Nancy, and is being produced by ETSU Bluegrass and ETSU professor Roy Andrade. The popularity of the flat picking style of guitar playing has been partially credited to Doc Watson and bluegrass bands have incorporated it widely including artist such as Billy Strings . In 1986, Watson received the North Carolina Award and in 1994 he received a North Carolina Folk Heritage Award . He

2610-595: Was discharged in December 1944 and appeared in the stage play Desert Rats . After the war he starred in a British musical, distributed by Warners, Gaiety George (1946), which was a flop. He returned to Hollywood, and appeared in Fox's big budget Forever Amber (1947), but in support of Cornel Wilde . He went to Universal to play the villain in The Fighting O'Flynn (1948) with Douglas Fairbanks Jr . At Fox he

2668-547: Was found to be false, as a result of two parallel lines of genealogical research, conducted by the British Film Institute and Paul Pert respectively, the latter being subsequently published in 2009. He started his stage career as a spear carrier in Shakespeare's Julius Caesar in 1933. A handsome young man, Greene added to his income by modelling shirts and hats. His professional career began at

2726-752: Was generally joined onstage by his grandson (Merle's son) Richard, as well as longtime musical partners David Holt or Jack Lawrence . On June 19, 2007, Watson was accompanied by Australian guitar player Tommy Emmanuel at a concert at the Bass Performance Hall in Fort Worth, Texas . Watson also performed, accompanied by Holt and Richard, at the Hardly Strictly Bluegrass festival in San Francisco in 2009, as he had done for several previous festivals. Watson hosted

2784-616: Was given leave in 1942 to appear in the British propaganda films Flying Fortress (1942) for Warners and Unpublished Story (1942) with Valerie Hobson . In 1943, he appeared in the Anna Neagle thriller Yellow Canary while on leave. He also appeared in a British comedy Don't Take It to Heart (1944). He later toured in Shaw's Arms and the Man , entertaining the troops. Greene

2842-603: Was his Arnold guitar, "The Jimmie", built by luthier John Arnold as a tribute to the famous 1926 Martin 00-18 played by Jimmie Rodgers . In 1994, Watson teamed with musicians Randy Scruggs and Earl Scruggs to contribute the classic song " Keep on the Sunny Side " to the AIDS benefit album Red Hot + Country produced by the Red Hot Organization . In his later life, Watson scaled back his touring schedule. He

2900-679: Was his February 11, 1961, appearance at P.S. 41 in Greenwich Village . He then began to tour as a solo performer and appeared at universities and clubs like the Ash Grove in Los Angeles . Watson would eventually get his big break and rave reviews for his performance at the renowned Newport Folk Festival in Newport, Rhode Island in 1963. Watson recorded his first solo album in 1964 and began performing with his son, Merle in

2958-755: Was in My Daughter Joy (1950), and Shadow of the Eagle (1950). He went to Italy to make The Rival of the Empress (1951). In 1951, he divorced his wife, Patricia Medina , whom he had married in 1941. In Hollywood Edward Small asked him to play the male hero of Lorna Doone (1951). He stayed on to star in The Black Castle (1952) and support Peter Lawford in Rogue's March (1952). For Small he made The Bandits of Corsica (1953), then he

SECTION 50

#1732790610758

3016-414: Was in Tucson and wanted to visit. They went out to dinner, and during the evening Bobby was raving about how excited he was with the way the CD was turning out. Linda said, "I'd love to hear some of it." Since they were near Bobby's house, Linda stopped by and Bobby played her a few of the rough mixes. Linda was immediately impressed with the sound Duncan had achieved on the all-acoustic CD, and really liked

3074-629: Was in another swashbuckler, Captain Scarlett (1953) shot in Mexico. Greene returned to Britain looking for work. Reflecting on his career he said "I haven't had the big build-up part I expected. They turned me into a cloak-and-dagger merchant. After four dungeon pictures in a row I decided to throw it up." Greene got a role on stage in a production of I Capture the Castle with Virginia McKenna . Then Yeoman Films of Great Britain approached him for

3132-646: Was inducted into the North Carolina Music Hall of Fame in 2010. In 1947, Watson married Rosa Lee Carlton, the daughter of popular fiddle player Gaither Carlton . The couple had two children, Eddy Merle (named after country music legends Eddy Arnold and Merle Travis ) in 1949 and Nancy Ellen in 1951. On April 29, 2012, Watson performed with the Nashville Bluegrass Band on the Creekside Stage at MerleFest. It

3190-516: Was not until he discovered the guitar (at age 17) that his musical direction changed. He became aware of the folk and blues musicians such as Doc Watson , Lightnin Hopkins , Merle Travis , and Mississippi John Hurt , as well as contemporaries like Dick Rosmini , Steve Mann and Ry Cooder . Phonorecords from his father's music store at this time contributed invaluably to his musical education. At that point, Kimmel fully turned his attention toward folk music. He began playing both bass and guitar in

3248-446: Was on the final Stone Poneys tour) Andrew Gold , and LA musician Kit Alderson. They formed The Floating House Band, an acoustic singing trio. They recorded an album for Takoma Records , which was owned by folk guitarist John Fahey . In the late 70s, Bobby went out on the road playing upright bass with Doc & Merle Watson. They played the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival . Bobby's last music business endeavor in Los Angeles

3306-450: Was reunited with Ford in Submarine Patrol (1939). Zanuck put him in Kentucky (1938) with Loretta Young and Walter Brennan . Greene was the romantic male lead in the Shirley Temple vehicle The Little Princess (1939) and was Sir Henry Baskerville in the 1939 Sherlock Holmes film The Hound of the Baskervilles . The film marked the first pairing of Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce as Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson , but it

3364-412: Was third billed in The Fan (1949), based on the play Lady Windermere's Fan . Greene returned to England to appear in That Dangerous Age (1949) and Now Barabbas (1949). He went back to Universal in Hollywood to play the hero in a Yvonne de Carlo eastern, The Desert Hawk (1950). Director de Cordova said Greene was "everything a man or woman could want in a desert hero." In Britain he

#757242