Folk singer 'Doc' Watson in critical condition, hospital says
By David Ariosto, CNN
updated 11:55 AM EDT, Fri May 25, 2012
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
- Folk singer "Doc" Watson remains in critical condition, according to hospital officials
- Watson, 89, is currently receiving treatment at the Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center
- Watson, who born in Deep Gap, North Carolina, was blinded from an eye infection as a baby
- He credits his own father for helping him get his start in music
(CNN) -- Folk singer Arthel Lane "Doc" Watson, a Grammy winning North Carolina native known for his flatpicking and fingerstyle technique on the guitar, remains in critical condition, according to hospital officials.
Watson, 89, is currently receiving treatment at the Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center in his home state.
Jumping onto the music scene in the early 1960s, he's considered influential among folk musicians for his brand of bluegrass, blues, country and gospel music, winning seven Grammy awards and a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.
Born in Deep Gap, North Carolina, Watson was blinded from an eye infection as a baby. He toured with his son Merle before he died from a farming accident in 1985, and has continually played at an annual festival called MerleFest in his son's honor.
Watson also credits his own father for helping him get his start in music.
"One day he brought (a banjo) to me and put it in my hand and said 'Son, I want you to learn how to play this thing real well," Watson told National Public Radio's Terry Gross in 1988. "It might help you get through the world."
It is not clear what prompted Watson's hospitalization.
CNN's Jane Caffrey contributed to this report