Arthel Lane Watson (born March 3, 1923) in Deep Gap, North Carolina, is a guitar player, songwriter and singer of bluegrass, folk, country, blues and gospel music. The nickname 'Doc' comes from his days in radio when he needed a short name. The nickname stuck because of the reference to Sherlock Holmes's sidekick.
The first song Doc ever learned to play was "When Roses Bloom in Dixieland"; his father was so proud, he took Doc to the store and bought him his first guitar, a $12 Stella.