Then and Now (Doc Watson album)
Encyclopedia
Then and Now is the title of a recording by Doc Watson
and Merle Watson, released in 1973.
At the Grammy Awards of 1974
, this father and son collaboration won the 1973 Grammy Award for Best Ethnic or Traditional Folk Recording
.
Sugar Hill records re-issued versions — that excluded some tracks — of both Then and Now and Two Days in November in 1994. BGO Records released both with additional tracks from The Elementary Doctor Watson! in 2002.
Doc Watson
Arthel Lane "Doc" Watson is an American guitar player, songwriter and singer of bluegrass, folk, country, blues and gospel music. He has 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...
and Merle Watson, released in 1973.
At the Grammy Awards of 1974
Grammy Awards of 1974
The 16th Grammy Awards were held March 2, 1974, and were broadcast live on American television. They recognized accomplishments by musicians from the year 1973.- Award winners :* Record of the Year...
, this father and son collaboration won the 1973 Grammy Award for Best Ethnic or Traditional Folk Recording
Grammy Award for Best Ethnic or Traditional Folk Recording
The Grammy Award for Best Ethnic or Traditional Folk Recording was awarded from 1960 to 1986. During this time the award had several minor name changes:*From 1960 to 1961 the award was known as Best Performance - Folk...
.
Sugar Hill records re-issued versions — that excluded some tracks — of both Then and Now and Two Days in November in 1994. BGO Records released both with additional tracks from The Elementary Doctor Watson! in 2002.
Reception
Writing for Allmusic, music critic Lindsay Palmer called the Watson's style an "inimitable blend of acoustic folk and traditional country" and wrote "Their somewhat stylized selection of material is derived not only from the traditional genres, but also from the Watsons' native southeastern United States and its rich Piedmont blues heritage. The results are uniformly brilliant..."Track listing
- "Bonaparte's RetreatBonaparte's Retreat (Pee Wee King song)"Bonaparte's Retreat" is the title of a song written by American country music artist Pee Wee King. Various versions of the melody themes exist as traditional fiddle tunes dating back to before the turn of the 20th Century, and probably well before that. King's version was released as a single in...
" (Pee Wee KingPee Wee KingJulius Frank Anthony Kuczynski , known professionally as Pee Wee King, was an American country music songwriter and recording artist best known for co-writing "The Tennessee Waltz"....
, Redd StewartRedd StewartHenry Ellis Stewart , better known as Redd Stewart, was an American country music songwriter and recording artist who co-wrote "The Tennessee Waltz" with Pee Wee King in 1948.-Biography:...
) – 2:02 - "Milk Cow Blues" (Kokomo ArnoldKokomo ArnoldKokomo Arnold was an American blues musician.Born as James Arnold in Lovejoy's Station, Georgia, he got his nickname in 1934 after releasing "Old Original Kokomo Blues" for the Decca label; it was a cover of the Scrapper Blackwell blues song about the city of Kokomo, Indiana...
) – 2:16 - "Bottle of Wine" (Tom PaxtonTom PaxtonThomas Richard Paxton is an American folk singer and singer-songwriter who has been writing, performing and recording music for over forty years...
) – 2:06 - "Match Box Blues" (Blind Lemon JeffersonBlind Lemon Jefferson"Blind" Lemon Jefferson was an American blues singer and guitarist from Texas. He was one of the most popular blues singers of the 1920s, and has been titled "Father of the Texas Blues"....
) – 3:33 - "If I Needed YouIf I Needed You"If I Needed You" is a single written by Townes Van Zandt, most famously performed by American country music artists Emmylou Harris and Don Williams. Released in September 1981, it was the first single from Harris' album Cimarron. The song reached #3 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart and...
" (Townes Van ZandtTownes Van ZandtJohn Townes Van Zandt , best known as Townes Van Zandt, was an American Texas Country-folk music singer-songwriter, performer, and poet...
) – 2:36 - "Frankie and JohnnyFrankie and Johnny-Films:*Frankie and Johnny , 1936 film co-starring Lilyan Tashman*Frankie and Johnny , a film starring Elvis Presley*Frankie and Johnny , a 1991 film based on McNally's play-Other:...
" (Traditional) – 3:09 - "That's All" (Merle TravisMerle TravisMerle Robert Travis was an American country and western singer, songwriter, and musician born in Rosewood, Kentucky. His lyrics often discussed the life and exploitation of coal miners. Among his many well-known songs are "Sixteen Tons", "Re-Enlistment Blues" and "Dark as a Dungeon"...
) – 2:58 - "Corrina, Corrina" (Traditional) – 2:49
- "Meet Me Somewhere in Your Dreams" (Cook) – 1:58
- "Old Camp Meetin' Time" (Traditional) – 2:11
- "Rain Crow Bill" (Traditional) – 1:30
Personnel
- Doc Watson – guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
, harmonicaHarmonicaThe harmonica, also called harp, French harp, blues harp, and mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used primarily in blues and American folk music, jazz, country, and rock and roll. It is played by blowing air into it or drawing air out by placing lips over individual holes or multiple holes...
, vocals - Merle Watson – guitar, banjoBanjoIn the 1830s Sweeney became the first white man to play the banjo on stage. His version of the instrument replaced the gourd with a drum-like sound box and included four full-length strings alongside a short fifth-string. There is no proof, however, that Sweeney invented either innovation. This new...
- Norman BlakeNorman Blake (American musician)Norman Blake is an instrumentalist, vocalist, and songwriter. In a career spanning more than 50 years Blake has played in a number of folk and Country groups...
– dobroDobroDobro is a registered trademark, now owned by Gibson Guitar Corporation and used for a particular design of resonator guitar.The name has a long and involved history, interwoven with that of the resonator guitar... - Vassar ClementsVassar ClementsVassar Clements was a Grammy Award- winning American jazz, swing, and bluegrass fiddler. Clements has been dubbed the Father of Hillbilly Jazz, an improvisational style that blends and borrows from swing, hot jazz, and bluegrass along with roots also in country and other musical...
– fiddleFiddleThe term fiddle may refer to any bowed string musical instrument, most often the violin. It is also a colloquial term for the instrument used by players in all genres, including classical music... - Bobby Seymour – pedal steel guitarPedal steel guitarThe pedal steel guitar is a type of electric guitar that uses a metal bar to "fret" or shorten the length of the strings, rather than fingers on strings as with a conventional guitar. Unlike other types of steel guitar, it also uses pedals and knee levers to affect the pitch, hence the name "pedal"...
- Joe Allen – bassDouble bassThe double bass, also called the string bass, upright bass, standup bass or contrabass, is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra, with strings usually tuned to E1, A1, D2 and G2...
- Kenny Malone – percussion
Production notes
- Produced by Jack Clement
- Executive producer – Kevin Eggers
- Mastered by Paul Zinman
- Design by Milton Glaser
- Photography by Mike Salisbury