I wasn't dissing Bill Monroe above: I could listen to him all day (so long as I didn't have to think about the words). He was a great singer and a fantastic mandolin player--only David Grissman is close (I saw Ralph Stanley and the Clinch Mountain Boys in Berkeley a few years ago--Grissman was playing mandolin, and the highlight of the show was Grissman dueling fiddler Art Stamper on Kansas City Railroad Blues. I think that was the name of it). Monroe usually sang the verses of songs solo, and his voice was clearly the lead voice in the harmonized choruses, and the lyrics were always crisp and clear. A lot of imitators--so it seems to me--emphasize harmony to the point that it's often difficult to understand the lyrics or to even follow the melody.

And Doc Watson is primarily a solo artist--he was accompanied by his son and some of his other relatives on a lot of his recordings, and of course by lots of other musicians. But his playing, his voice, and his personality almost always dominate. He could certainly play bluegrass but people would be deeply disappointed if he did--they wouldn't get as much pure Doc (and in most bluegrass bands, the guitar is primarily a rhythm instrument: it's hard to play it loud enough to compete with mandolins, fiddles, and banjos...guitar breaks often seem like nothin's goin' on (I believe, heretic that I am, that a good guitar player ought to amplify his instrument when playing bluegrass breaks). Of course players like Doc and Tony Rice and Norman Blake (I almost typed Bates) keep their bands in control so their great guitar work can be appreciated.

--seed (imitating the world's greatest authority)(what was his name?