When Folkways sought in 1960 to return banjo man Ashley to the public eye, he brought along his neighbor Watson, a blind, flat-picking guitarist then playing in an electric rockabilly band. To say that Doc and his easy-going grace stole the show would be an understatement. It wasn’t just his crystal-clear picking style that so astonished, but also the encyclopedic bag of licks that enabled Doc to seemingly play all night without repeating any, and the equally infinite number of traditional songs he carried in his head. From Ashley’s calling-card “The Coo Coo Bird” to Watson’s solo “Sittin’ on Top of the World,” these are among the most essential sides of the folk revival.

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