Bill Monroe & Doc Watson Duet – Rare Video

This is a video that was shot at the Delaware Valley Bluegrass Festival , Salem County Fairgrounds, NJ back in 1990 when Doc Watson and Bill Monroe were still alive and kickin’ here on this earth. (and who said that New Jersey wasn’t hillbilly country!).

This combination of Doc and Bill is rare like the title says- I certainly have never seen both Bill and Doc together on the same stage let alone a duet.

You might ask the reason why … Well, Bill Monroe is bluegrass and Doc Watson is, well, a lot of other things which also includes folk and blues. So the circles that the two Icons traveled in may not have crosses as much as we might have thought. Yea, I’ve seen Doc at Bluegrass Festivals and they probably have played together a bunch. But this is a first for me and might be a one of a kind video.

For those of you that don’t know, Monroe wasn’t a big fan of the flatpicking guitar per se, and as far as I know never really featured that style in his bands. I heard him say on many occasions throughout the years “if you can keep that guitar in line” meaning, nothin’ fancy and just rhythm.

Please let me know if you have seen or heard of any other “Bill & Doc” duet videos… and thanks for stopping by. Do check out our other videos by hitting home or choosing a category on the right of this page. Suggestions, comments all welcome!