Miss World 1964
Date	12 November 1964
Presenters	Michael Aspel
Venue	Lyceum Theatre, London, UK
Broadcaster	BBC
Entrants	42
Debuts	Aruba and Montserrat
Withdraws	Bolivia, Cyprus, Israel, Jordan, Nigeria, and Peru
Returns	Ecuador, Gibraltar, Honduras, Italy, Lebanon, Morocco, Nicaragua, Republic of China, and Uruguay
Winner	Ann Sidney United Kingdom

Countries and territories which sent delegates and results.

Miss World 1964, the 14th Miss World pageant, was won by Ann Sidney of United Kingdom. It took place on November 12, 1964 at the Lyceum Theatre in London, UK.

Results[link]

Contestants[link]

Trivia[link]

Returning countries and Debuts[link]

• Aruba and Montserrat competed in Miss World for the first time.
• Morocco last competed in 1958.
• Gibraltar and Honduras last competed in 1959.
• Lebanon last competed in 1961.
• Republic of China, Ecuador, Italy, and Uruguay last competed in 1962.

Nations not competing[link]

•  Bolivia - Sonia Marino Cárdenas
•  Curacao
•  Israel - Ofira Margalit (military duty)

External links[link]

• Miss World official website
• Pageantopolis - Official results of Miss World 1964

Miss World
150px Logo of the Miss World event.
Formation	1951
Type	Beauty pageant
Headquarters	London
Location	United Kingdom
Official languages	English
President	Julia Morley
Key people	Eric Morley
Website	Official website

The Miss World pageant is the oldest surviving major international beauty pageant. It was created in the United Kingdom by Eric Morley in 1951.^[1][2] Since his death in 2000, Morley's wife, Julia Morley, co-chairs the pageant.^[3]

Alongside its rival Miss Universe and Miss Earth, this pageant is one of the most publicised beauty contests in the world.^[4][5][6]

The winner spends a year travelling to represent the Miss World Organization and its various causes.^[7] Traditionally, Miss World lives in London during her reign. The current Miss World is Ivian Sarcos of Venezuela.

History[link]

Miss World started as the Festival Bikini Contest, in honour of the recently introduced swimwear of the time, but was called "Miss World" by the media. It was originally planned as a one-off event. Upon learning about the upcoming Miss Universe pageant, Morley decided to make the pageant an annual event.^[8][9]

Opposition to the wearing of bikinis led to their replacement with more modest swimwear after the first contest. In 1959, the BBC started broadcasting the competition. The pageant's popularity grew with the advent of television. During the 1960s and 1970s, Miss World would normally be the highest rated programme of the year on British television, usually pulling in around 30 million viewers.

In the 1980s, the pageant repositioned itself with the slogan Beauty With a Purpose, with added tests of intelligence and personality.^[10] However, in the 1980s, the competition became seen as old-fashioned and politically incorrect in its native Britain, and despite its global appeal, stopped showing on British television until Channel 5 aired it briefly in 1998,^[11][12] then shifted between lesser-known satellite channels, and is now webcast only and little-known in Britain.

21st century[link]

Eric Morley died as the pageant entered the new century. His wife, Julia, succeeded as chairwoman of the Miss World Organization.^[13]

The century saw its first black African winner, Agbani Darego of Nigeria, in 2001. As part of its marketing strategy, Miss World came up with a "You Decide" television special during that edition, featuring the delegates behind the scenes and on the beach, and allowing viewers to either phone in or vote online for their favourites. It also sells its Talent, Beach Beauty and Sports events as television specials to broadcasters.^[14]

In 2002 the pageant was slated for choosing Abuja, the capital city of Nigeria to host its final. This choice was controversial, as a northern Nigerian woman, Amina Lawal, was awaiting death by stoning for adultery under Sharia law there, but Miss World chose to use the publicity surrounding its presence to bring greater global awareness and action to Amina's plight (see Controversies section).^[15][16]

Miss World Organization[link]

The Miss World Organization owns and manages the annual Miss World Finals, a competition that has grown into one of the world’s biggest.^[17] Since its launch in 1951, the Miss World Organization has raised more than £250 million for children’s charities.^[18] Miss World is franchised in more than 100 countries.^[19][20] Miss World, Limited is a privately held firm, and thus figures for its earnings, expenses and charitable contributions are not publicly available.

Aside from raising millions of pounds for charities around the globe under the banner of its "Beauty with a Purpose" program, Miss World is also credited with directly influencing a dramatic increase in tourism in Sanya, China, host city of the Miss World finals in 2003, 2004, 2005, 2007, and 2010.^[21]

The pageant[link]

In the year preceding the global finals, each delegate must win her national title or a specially designated Miss World national preliminary. Miss World's national preliminaries are conducted by their licence-holders, who hold the franchise to use the "Miss World" name in their country. The annual final is typically a month long event, with several preliminary galas, dinners, balls and activities, culminating in a globally telecast final show in which the field is narrowed to between 15–20 delegates.

Awards[link]

• Venezuela has won the Miss Photogenic award four times (1984, 1990, 1995, 1996).

• Four Miss World winners were awarded Miss Photogenic: Astrid Carolina Herrera (Venezuela, 1984), Aishwarya Rai (India, 1994), Jacqueline Aguilera (Venezuela, 1995) and Diana Hayden (India, 1997).

Fast track awards[link]

Since 2003 Miss World pageant also features Fast Track events during the preliminary round. The winners of Fast Track events are automatically qualified to enter the final round. Fast Track events which have been used since 2003 are:

• Beach Beauty (2003–present)
• Miss Talent (2003–present)
• Miss Sports (2003–present)
• Beauty With A Purpose (2005–present)
• Top Model (2004, 2007–present)
• People's Choice (2003)
• Personality (2003)
• Contestant's Choice (2004)

• Two Miss World winners were awarded Miss World Beach Beauty: Rosanna Davison (Ireland, 2003), Kaiane Aldorino (Gibraltar, 2009).
• Two titleholders have also won Miss World Top Model: Zhang Zilin (China, 2007), Ksenia Sukhinova (Russia, 2008).

Fast track awards by country tally[link]

Total	Country	Fast Track Awards	Winning years
3
	Canada	Miss Talent	2009
		Miss Sports	2003, 2006
	Mexico	Top Model	2004, 2009
		Beach Beauty	2008
	United States	Miss Sports	2007
		Beach Beauty	2004
		Miss Talent	2002
2
	Barbados	Miss Talent	2001, 2008
	Ireland	Miss Talent	2010
		Beach Beauty	2003
	Northern Ireland	Miss Sports	2010
		Miss Talent	2006
	Russia	Top Model	2008
		Beach Beauty	2005

Winners[link]

• Kiki Håkansson of Sweden, Miss World 1951 reigned for the longest period in Miss World history: 475 days (almost 16 months) from the time she was crowned on 29 July 1951 in London, UK.^[22][23]

• Unnur Birna Vilhjálmsdóttir of Iceland, Miss World 2005 reigned for the shortest period in Miss World history: for just 294 days (less than 10 months) by the time she crowned Taťána Kuchařová of the Czech Republic on 30 September 2006.^[24][25]

• There were three times back to back victories in Miss World history:
  • May Louise Flodin of Sweden, was crowned Miss World 1952 by Miss World 1951 Kicki Håkansson of Sweden.
  • Lesley Langley of United Kingdom, was crowned Miss World 1965 by Miss World 1964 Ann Sidney of United Kingdom.
  • Priyanka Chopra of India, was crowned Miss World 2000 by Miss World 1999 Yukta Mookhey of India.

• The longest interval between title wins belongs to Peru; Madeline Hartog-Bel won the title in 1967 and, 37 years later, María Julia Mantilla became the second recipient from Peru.

• The first Latin to win Miss World was Susana Duijm of Venezuela, crowned in 1955 in London, U.K.

• The first black African to win Miss World was Agbani Darego of Nigeria, crowned in 2001 by Priyanka Chopra, Miss World (Miss World 2000) at Sun City, South Africa.

• The first East Asian to win Miss World was Zhang Zilin of China, crowned in 2007 in Sanya, China.

Locations[link]

For the full list of venues, see List of Miss World titleholders.

• 6 winners have been crowned Miss World on their home turf:
  • 1961: Rosemarie Frankland (United Kingdom) was crowned in London, UK.
  • 1964: Ann Sidney (United Kingdom) was crowned in London, UK.
  • 1965: Lesley Langley (United Kingdom) was crowned in London, UK.
  • 1974: Helen Morgan (United Kingdom) was crowned in London, UK. (Subsequently resigned)
  • 1983: Sarah-Jane Hutt (United Kingdom) was crowned in London, UK.
  • 2007: Zhang Zilin (China) was crowned in Sanya, China.

• 5 winners have crowned their successors on their home turf:
  • 1961: Rosemarie Frankland (United Kingdom) crowned 1962: Catharina Lodders (Holland) in London, UK.
  • 1964: Ann Sidney (United Kingdom) crowned 1965: Lesley Langley (United Kingdom) in London, UK.
  • 1965: Lesley Langley (United Kingdom) crowned 1966: Reita Faria (India) in London, UK.
  • 1983: Sarah-Jane Hutt (United Kingdom) crowned 1984: Astrid Carolina Herrera (Venezuela) in London, UK.
  • 1990: Gina Tolleson (United States) crowned 1991: Ninibeth Leal (Venezuela) in Atlanta, USA.

• Outside United Kingdom, South Africa has hosted the most Miss World pageants, with seven. The various locations were:
  • South Africa: Sun City (1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 2001), Johannesburg (2008, 2009)
• Apart from the United Kingdom and South Africa, the other states to host the pageant more than once are:
  • China: Sanya and Ordos (2003, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2010 and 2012)
  • Seychelles: Mahé (1997, 1998)

Titleholders[link]

The following is a list of winners from 2000 to 2011. See List of Miss World titleholders for the full list of titleholders.

For the full details. see Full Country Rankings for Miss World.

Year	Country/Territory	Miss World	Location	Pageant Date
2015	TBA	TBA	Bali, Indonesia	TBA
2014	TBA	TBA	Ordos, China	TBA
2013	TBA	TBA	Bali, Indonesia	TBA
2012	TBA	TBA	Ordos, China	18 August
2011	Venezuela	Ivian Sarcos	London, United Kingdom	6 November
2010	United States	Alexandria Mills	Sanya, China	30 October
2009	Gibraltar	Kaiane Aldorino	Johannesburg, South Africa	12 December
2008	Russia	Ksenia Sukhinova	Johannesburg, South Africa	13 December
2007	China	Zhang Zilin	Sanya, China	1 December
2006	Czech Republic	Taťána Kuchařová	Warsaw, Poland	30 September
2005	Iceland	Unnur Birna Vilhjálmsdóttir	Sanya, China	10 December
2004	Peru	María Julia Mantilla	Sanya, China	4 December
2003	Ireland	Rosanna Davison	Sanya, China	6 December
2002	Turkey	Azra Akın	London, United Kingdom	7 December
2001	Nigeria	Agbani Darego	Sun City, South Africa	16 November
2000	India	Priyanka Chopra	London, United Kingdom	30 November

Winners gallery[link]

• 

  Miss World 1967
  Madeline Hartog-Bel, Peru

• 

  Miss World 1977
  Mary Stävin, Sweden

• 

  Miss World 1978
  Silvana Suárez, Argentina

• 

  Miss World 1982
  Mariasela Álvarez, Dominican Republic

• 

  Miss World 1994
  Aishwarya Rai, India

• 

  Miss World 1997
  Diana Hayden, India

• 

  Miss World 1999
  Yukta Mookhey, India

• 

  Miss World 2000
  Priyanka Chopra, India

• Eurovision 2004 Postcards.jpg

  Miss World 2002
  Azra Akın, Turkey

• 

  Miss World 2003
  Rosanna Davison, Ireland

• 

  Miss World 2004
  Maria Julia Mantilla, Peru

• 

  Miss World 2006
  Taťána Kuchařová, Czech Republic

• 

  Miss World 2007
  Zi Lin Zhang, China

• 

  Miss World 2008
  Ksenia Sukhinova, Russia

• 

  Miss World 2009
  Kaiane Aldorino, Gibraltar

• 

  Miss World 2011
  Ivian Sarcos, Venezuela

By number of wins[link]

Winners of Miss World by country.

Country/Territory	Titles	Winning years
Venezuela	6	1955, 1981, 1984, 1991, 1995, 2011
India	5	1966, 1994, 1997, 1999, 2000
United Kingdom		1961, 1964, 1965, 1974 (resigned), 1983
United States	3	1973, 1990, 2010
Sweden		1951, 1952, 1977
Jamaica		1963, 1976, 1993
Iceland		1985, 1988, 2005
Russia	2	1992, 2008
Peru		1967, 2004
Austria		1969, 1987
Germany		1956, 1980 (resigned)
Argentina		1960, 1978
South Africa		1958, 1974 (took over title in November 1974)
Australia		1968, 1972
Netherlands		1959, 1962
Gibraltar	1	2009
China		2007
Czech Republic		2006
Ireland		2003
Turkey		2002
Nigeria		2001
Israel		1998
Greece		1996
Poland		1989
Trinidad & Tobago		1986
Dominican Republic		1982
Guam		1980 (took over title on 28 November 1980)
Bermuda		1979
Puerto Rico		1975
Brazil		1971
Grenada		1970
Finland		1957
Egypt		1954
France		1953

Number of titles by continental region[link]

• NOTE - Helen Morgan (United Kingdom) and Gabriella Brum (Germany) resigned and were replaced by their respective 1st runners-up: Anneline Kriel of South Africa in 1974 and Kimberley Santos of Guam in 1980.

Continental queens of beauty[link]

The following is a list of Continental Queens of Beauty winners since 2004.

Year	Americas	Africa	Asia & Oceania	Caribbean	Europe
2011	Venezuela Ivian Sarcos	South Africa Bokang Montjane	Philippines Gwendoline Ruais	Puerto Rico Amanda Vilanova	England Alize Lily Mounter
2010	United States Alexandria Mills	Botswana Emma Wareus	China Xiao Tang	St. Lucia Aiasha Gustave	Ireland Emma Britt Waldron
2009	Mexico Perla Beltrán	South Africa Tatum Keshwar	Korea Kim Joo-ri	Barbados Leah Marville	Gibraltar Kaiane Aldorino
2008	Venezuela Hannelly Quintero	Angola Brigith dos Santos	India Parvathy Omanakuttan	Trinidad & Tobago Gabrielle Walcott	Russia Ksenia Sukhinova
2007	Mexico Carolina Morán	Angola Micaela Reis	China Zhang Zilin	Trinidad & Tobago Valene Maharaj	Sweden Annie Oliv
2006	Brazil Jane Borges	Angola Stiviandra Oliveira	Australia Sabrina Houssami (as Asia-Pacific)	Jamaica Sara Lawrence	Czech Republic Taťána Kuchařová (as Northern Europe)  Romania Ioana Boitor (as Southern Europe)
2005	Mexico Dafne Molina	Tanzania Nancy Sumari	Korea Oh Eun-young (as Asia-Pacific)	Puerto Rico Ingrid Marie Rivera	Iceland Unnur Birna Vilhjálmsdóttir (as Northern Europe)  Italy Sofia Bruscoli (as Southern Europe)
2004	Peru María Julia Mantilla	Nigeria Anita Uwagbale	Philippines Maria Karla Bautista	Dominican Republic Claudia Cruz	Poland Katarzyna Borowicz

Queens of beauty titles[link]

These are the countries with the most Continental Queen of Beauty titles per continental group (region in bold) throughout the years:

Country	Titles	Awarded as	Winning years
Venezuela	12	Americas	1981, 1984, 1987, 1988, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1999, 2008, 2011
South Africa	11	Africa	1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2009, 2011
Jamaica	8	Caribbean	1990, 1991, 1993, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2003, 2006
Australia	6	Oceania	1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1988, 1989
	1	Asia & Oceania	1991
	1	Asia-Pacific	2006
India	6	Asia & Oceania	1994, 1996, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2008
Philippines	2	Asia	1982, 1986
	3	Asia & Oceania	1993, 2004, 2011
China	5	Asia & Oceania	2001, 2002, 2003, 2007, 2010
Israel	5	Europe Asia	1998, 1999 1983, 1984, 1985
Korea	4	Asia & Oceania	1988, 1995, 2005, 2009

Pageant controversies[link]

The Miss World pageant has been the target of many controversies since its inception.

• In 1970, feminist protesters threw flour bombs during the live event at London's Royal Albert Hall, momentarily scaring the host, Bob Hope.^[26][27]
• In 1973, Marjorie Wallace, the first American to win the title was forced to relinquish the title 104 days into her reign. Pageant officials stated that Ms. Wallace "had failed to fulfill the basic requirements of the job." The responsibilities and duties not the title have been offered to the 1st runner-up and was turned down by Evangeline Pascual of the Philippines.
• The 1974 winner Helen Morgan representing the United Kingdom was forced to resign four days later after it was discovered she was an unmarried mother.^[28]
• In 1976, several countries went on a boycott, because the pageant included both a Caucasian and African representative for South Africa.^[29] South Africa competed for the last time in 1977, before it was welcomed back in 1991 as that policy disintegrated.^[30]
• The 1980 winner Gabriella Brum of Germany resigned one day after winning, initially claiming her boyfriend disapproved. A few days later it emerged that she had been forced to resign after it was discovered that she posed naked for a magazine.^[31]
• In 1996, wide-scale protests took place in Bangalore, India over the hosting of the beauty contest. The swimsuit shootings were moved to the Seychelles, and heavy security was placed. Despite the chaos, the pageant's live telecast went on smoothly.^[32][33][34]
• Just days after her 1998 crowning, Israel's Linor Abargil revealed that she had been raped only two months before the pageant. The man who raped her was later convicted.^[35]

The 2002 Nigeria contest[link]

In the year leading up the finals in Nigeria, several European title holders lobbied their governments and the EU parliament to support Amina Lawal's cause.^[36][37] A number of contestants followed the lead of Kathrine Sørland of Norway in boycotting the contest (despite the controversy Sørland would go on to become a semifinalist in both the Miss World and Miss Universe contest), while others such as Costa Rica were instructed by their national governments and parliaments not to attend the contest. Among the other boycotting nations were Denmark, Spain, Switzerland, Panama, Belgium and Kenya. There was further controversy over the possibly suspended participation of France and South Africa, which may or may not have been due to the boycott.^[38] For her part, Lawal asked that contestants not suspend their participation in the contest, saying that it was for the good of her country and that they could, as the representative of Sweden had earlier remarked, make a much stronger case for her on the ground in Nigeria.^[39]

Despite the increasing international profile the boycott was garnering in the world press, the contest went ahead in Nigeria after being rescheduled to avoid taking place during Ramadan, with many prominent nations sending delegates. Osmel Sousa of Venezuela, one of the world's most influential national directors, famously said "there is no question about it (the participation of Miss Venezuela in the contest)." The trouble did not end there, however. A ThisDay (Lagos, Nigeria) newspaper editorial suggesting that Muhammad would probably have chosen one of his wives from among the contestants had he been alive to see it, resulted in inter-religious riots that started on 22 November in which over 200 people were killed in the city of Kaduna, along with many houses of worship being burned by religious zealots.^[40] Because of these riots, the 2002 pageant was moved to London, following widely circulated reports that the representatives of Canada and Korea had withdrawn from the contest and returned to their respective countries out of safety concerns. A fatwa urging the beheading of the woman who wrote the offending words, Isioma Daniel, was issued in Nigeria, but was declared null and void by the relevant Saudi Arabian authorities.^{[41][42][43][44]} Upon the pageant's return to England, many of the boycotting contestants chose to attend, including Miss Norway, Kathrine Sørland, who was ironically tipped in the last few days as the number one favourite for the crown she had previously boycotted.^{[45][46][47][48][49]}

The eventual winner of the pageant was Azra Akın of Turkey, the first predominantly Muslim country to hold the title since Egypt in 1954.^[50]

References[link]

host MW 2013 2014 1015 http://globalbeauties.com/blog/2012/04/official-indonesia-to-host-miss-world-2013-2015/

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Miss World

• Miss World Official Website

Ann Sidney, a native of Poole, England, won the 1964 Miss World contest, representing the United Kingdom.^[1] She became the second woman from her country to win the title; after Rosemarie Frankland had won the title in 1961.

The pageant was held in London, United Kingdom. Both before and during her reign, Sidney was dating Bruce Forsyth, who at the time was married to Penny Calvert.^[2] During her reign as Miss World, she travelled around the world five times and joined Bob Hope on his USO tour of Asia.

After relinquishing the Miss World title, Sidney had many small acting roles on TV, including the The Avengers and Are You Being Served?, and in films, notably Nicholas Roeg's Performance and the Bond movie You Only Live Twice, as well as forming a touring cabaret act.

Sidney also featured in the Australian-based comedy series Birds In The Bush (1972) and later co-hosted an Australian version of the game show, The Better Sex (1978).^[3]

References[link]

This biography article about a contestant in a beauty pageant is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. v t e

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Kiriaki "Corinna" Tsopei (Greek: Κυριακή Κορίνα Τσοπέη; born June 21, 1944) is a beauty pageant winner and actress. In 1964, Tsopei became the first Greek winner of the Miss Universe pageant.

Career[link]

On June 20, 1964, Corinna was crowned Miss Star Hellas, (Greek: Μις Σταρ Ελλάς), and moved on to represent Greece at the 1964 Miss Universe pageant in Miami, Florida. She beat out Miss Israel, Miss Great Britain and Miss Sweden to be crowned Miss Universe,^[1] bringing the title to Greece for the first time. She has since returned several times to judge the pageant. After the event she went on to pursue a movie career, appearing in a few Hollywood movies and television series such as A Man Called Horse, Daniel Boone, Lost in Space, Valley of the Dolls and A Guide for the Married Man. Apart from her beauty pageant work and acting career, Corinna also is a chairman for an organisation for children with leukemia. Tsopei was married to Hollywood Super Agent Freddie Fields, brother of band leader Shep Fields.

References[link]

External links[link]

• Corinna Tsopei at the Internet Movie Database

Doc Watson
Doc Watson at Sugar Grove Music Festival in 2009
Background information
Birth name	Arthel Lane Watson
Also known as	Doc Watson
Born	(1923-03-03)March 3, 1923 Deep Gap, North Carolina
Died	May 29, 2012(2012-05-29) (aged 89) Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Genres	Blues, bluegrass, country, folk, gospel
Occupations	Musician, singer-songwriter
Instruments	Vocals, guitar, banjo, harmonica
Labels	Folkways, Vanguard, United Artists, Flying Fish, Sugar Hill

Arthel Lane "Doc" Watson (March 3, 1923 – May 29, 2012) was an American guitarist, songwriter and singer of bluegrass, folk, country, blues and gospel music. Watson won seven Grammy awards as well as a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. Watson's flatpicking skills and knowledge of traditional American music are highly regarded. He performed with his son Merle for over 15 years until Merle's death in 1985, in an accident on the family farm.^[1][2][3]

Biography[link]

Early life[link]

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 sidekick Doctor Watson. The name stuck ever since.^[4]

An eye infection caused Doc Watson to lose his vision before his first birthday. Despite this, he was taught by his parents to work hard and care for himself. He attended North Carolina's school for the visually impaired, The Governor Morehead School, in Raleigh, North Carolina.^[5]

In a 1989 radio interview with host Terry Gross on the Fresh Air show of National Public Radio (NPR), Watson explains how he got his first guitar. His father told him that if he and his brother (David Watson) chopped down all the small, dead, chestnut trees along the edge of their field, he could sell the wood to the tannery and make money. The brothers did the work and Watson bought a $10 Stella guitar from Sears Roebuck while his brother bought a new suit.^[6] Later in that same interview, Watson explained that his first high quality guitar was a Martin Guitar D-18.^[7]

Watson's earliest influences were the roots of country, including the Carter Family and Jimmy Rodgers. The first song he learned to play on the guitar was "When Roses Bloom in Dixieland", first recorded by the Carter Family in 1930. Watson stated in an interview with American Songwriter that, "Jimmy Rodgers was the first man that I started to claim as my favorite."^[8] 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 a proficient acoustic and electric guitar player.^[9]

Career[link]

In 1953, Watson joined the Johnson City, Tennessee-based Jack Williams' 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 Les Paul electric guitar. He later transferred the technique to acoustic guitar, and playing fiddle tunes became part of his signature sound.^[1][10] During his time with Jack Williams, Doc also supported his family as a piano tuner.

In 1960, as the American folk music revival grew, Watson took the advice of folk musicologist Ralph Rinzler and began playing acoustic guitar and banjo exclusively.^[5] 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 was his February 11, 1961 appearance at P.S. 41 in Greenwich Village.^[11] He subsequently 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 the same year.

After the folk revival waned during the late 1960s, Watson's career was sustained by his performance of "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, recorded nearly fifteen albums between 1973 and 1985, and brought Doc and Merle’s unique blend of acoustic music to millions of new fans. In 1985, Merle died in a tractor accident.^[10]

Doc Watson sculpture on the corner of King and Depot Streets in Boone, North Carolina. The plaque on the bench reads "Just one of the People".

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. Watson 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 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. His affable manner, humble nature and delightful wit endeared him to his fans nearly as much as his musical talent.

Watson played a Martin model D-18 guitar on his earliest recordings. In 1968, Watson began a relationship with Gallagher Guitars when he started playing their G-50 model. His first Gallagher, which Watson refers to as "Old Hoss", is on display at the Country Music Hall of Fame in Nashville, Tennessee. In 1974, Gallagher created a customized G-50 line to meet Watson's preferred specifications, which bears 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. ^[12] For the last few years, Doc had been playing a Dana Bourgeois dreadnought given to him by Ricky Skaggs for his 80th birthday.

In 1986, Watson received the North Carolina Award and in 1994 he received a North Carolina Folk Heritage Award. Also in 1994, Watson teamed up 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.

Later life[link]

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.^[13] In 2010, he was awarded an honorary doctor of music degree from Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts.^[14]

In his later life, Watson scaled back his touring schedule. Watson was generally joined onstage by his grandson (Merle's son) Richard, as well as longtime musical partners David Holt or Jack Lawrence. On one occasion, 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, California in 2009, as he had done in several previous years.

Watson hosted 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.^[15]

In 2010, Blooming Twig Books published "Blind But Now I See" by Dr. Kent Gustavson, the first comprehensive biography of the seminal flatpicking guitarist.

Personal life[link]

In 1947, Doc married Rosa Lee Carlton, the daughter of popular fiddle player Gaither Carlton. Watson and Rosa Lee had two children — Eddy Merle (named after country music legends Eddy Arnold and Merle Travis) in 1949 and Nancy Ellen in 1951.^[5]

In late May 2012, Watson was listed in critical condition but was responsive at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, after undergoing colon surgery.^[16] Watson fell at his home earlier in the week, after which he was sent to Watauga Medical Center in nearby Boone, NC. Watson was not seriously injured in the fall, but an underlying medical condition prompted the surgery which required him to be airlifted to Winston-Salem.^[17] Watson died on May 29, 2012 at Wake Forest Baptist at the age of 89.^[18]

Discography[link]

Awards & honors[link]

Grammy awards[link]

• 1973 Best Ethnic Or Traditional Recording (Including Traditional Blues): Doc Watson for Then And Now
• 1974 Best Ethnic Or Traditional Recording: Merle Watson & Doc Watson for Two Days In November
• 1979 Best Country Instrumental Performance: Doc Watson & Merle Watson for Big Sandy/Leather Britches
• 1986 Best Traditional Folk Recording: Doc Watson for Riding The Midnight Train
• 1990 Best Traditional Folk Recording: Doc Watson for On Praying Ground
• 2002 Best Traditional Folk Album: Doc Watson & David Holt for Legacy
• 2004 Lifetime Achievement Award
• 2006 Best Country Instrumental Performance: Bryan Sutton & Doc Watson for Whiskey Before Breakfast track from Not Too Far From The Tree by Bryan Sutton

References[link]

External links[link]

• Doc's Guitar : A site dedicated to the guitar and music of Doc Watson
• Podcast of Doc Watson and Jack Lawrence performing live at the 1996 Florida Folk Festival from the Florida Folklife Collection (made available for public use by the State Archives of Florida)
• Live 1977 recording of "The Cuckoo Bird" by Doc and Merle Watson from the Florida Folklife Collection (made available for public use by the State Archives of Florida)
• Live 1996 recording of "Shady Grove" by Doc and Jack Lawrence from the Florida Folklife Collection (made available for public use by the State Archives of Florida)
• MerleFest
  • MerleFest official website
  • "Doc's orders: No heavy metal at MerleFest" 2007 article in the Hook weekly
• National Public Radio
  • Guitarist Arthel 'Doc' Watson Interview on NPR's Fresh Air
  • Morning Edition's Bob Edwards interview Doc Watson from 1985
  • Morning Edition's Bob Edwards interview Doc Watson from 1989
• Prairie Home Companion
  • Doc Watson & Taj Mahal August 9, 1986 (db.etree.org)
  • October 23, 1999
  • February 14, 2004

Article on Doc Watson and other western NC guitar players [2]