Mostly Guitarists

In the mid 60's I was privileged to see Doc Watson perform live. It was his first European tour and I attended his session at the Cecil Sharp Folk House in London. The audience was small - only about thirty or so enthusiasts - as I recall. Doc was led on stage by his guide, I knew Doc was blind but this entrance still came as a surprise. Doc sat down, talked to us between numbers, and treated us to a feast of  bluegrass/old time music with all those melodic, high speed, flat picking guitar licks he was so famous for.

Doc Watson courtesy of mayapedia.me

Well what music to choose from this great guitarist? It was Autumn 1965 when I saw him at Cecil Sharp and I am sure he played "Black Mountain Rag". Follow the link to hear it performed by Doc at the Newport Folk Festival two years earlier.

In 1967 I left the kitchen for the office. As a Commis Chef I worked long hours, six days a week, for £13. As an Office Assistant I worked 9am to 5pm, five days a week, and was paid £25. Today it is probably different but in my day conditions and pay in the catering industry were very poor.

Me making puff pastry

You would think that with all this extra time on my hands I would have improved on my guitar playing but it didn't work out like that. The guitarists I admired and followed all played in the finger picking style. I tried to teach myself the technique but never mastered it. In England we had Davy Graham, Bert Jansch, John Renbourn, Ralph McTell and The Incredible String Band, to name but a few. It's hard to pick a song to represent this eclectic lot so I have selected everyone's favorite "The Streets of London" recorded By Ralph McTell in 1969.

Incredible String Band's album "Layers of the Onion" (1969)
Photograph courtesy of Wikipedia

There were of course many American guitarists and groups I admired and followed. I was intrigued by the music of the New Lost City Ramblers led by Mike Seeger. Their good musicianship and understanding of popular US songs of the 20's and 30's led to very authentic recreations. The songs were also spiced with good humour and wit.

Others artists I followed were Stefen Grossman, Leo Kotte and other emerging performers, while continuing to be faithful to the established stars like Bob Dylan, Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash, Roy Orbison and many others. As an example of Stefan's excellent finger picking style I have chosen "Mississippi Blues"

Stefen Grossman courtesy of chordmelodyguitarmusic.com 

My girlfriend, Frankie, did not share my interest in folk music preferring pop, rock and in particular progressive rock. This got me listening to many bands I might have otherwise ignored. We both enjoyed Led Zepplin, Genesis, Elton John, Paul McCartney, Procol Harum (who we got to know personally) and many others. My musical interests were broadening thanks to Frankie but my deep love for Bluegrass and Celtic music never wained.