Homefires: Southern Music XII

(Bumped for answer write-up)

This picking legend grew up with an officer for a father and a musical instrument fashioned from the family feline.

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Second hint: A master of both flatpicking and fingerstyle, he pushed the guitar to the forefront in traditional American music, relegating the fiddle to supporting instrument.
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Congrats to Willard for guessing Doc Watson.

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Born Arthel Watson in Deep Gap, North Carolina to General and Annie Watson, Doc Watson's first stringed instrument was a banjo his brother made for him out of the skin of his grandmother's cat.
Due to infection and vascular disease, he lost his vision as a baby.
After the banjo, he tried fiddle; but he wanted to be able to sing as well. When his father heard him playing "When Roses Bloom in Dixieland" on a borrowed guitar, he got him his own. Finally everything was in place.
Fame, however, was not to come for decades. In the early 1960's, playing the fiddle tunes of Appalachia on his guitar, and singing in a rich, melodious voice, Doc Watson was heard by a pair of Folk revivalists who'd come down to record his neighbor. Doc was invited to record, and his appearance at the Newport Folk Festival catapulted him to the front of the Folk Revival.
By this time, his son Merle had also begun to play, and of Watson's 60 albums, 20 were with Merle.
As folk music waned, Watson's fame did not. His influence is felt in Country music today with the work of Ricky Skaggs, Emmylou Harris, Vince Gill, and countless others. He was, and continues to be hailed as a musician of incredible genius with a repertoire so broad and authentic, that it made other musicians want to go home and bust their guitars up for kindling.
He had won seven Grammy awards, including Lifetime Achievement; the National Heritage Fellowship from the National Academy of the Arts; was inducted into the International Bluegrass Hall of Fame in 2000, and was awarded the National Medal of the Arts in 1998. He is a national treasure.

The yearly Merlefest, started in honor of his son, is the largest festival of Americana music in the nation.

When asked how he would like to be remembered, he said, "I would rather be remembered as a likable person than for any phase of my picking. Don't misunderstand me; I really appreciate people's love of what I do with the guitar. That's an achievement as far as I'm concerned, and I'm proud of it. But I'd rather people remember me as a decent human being than as a flashy guitar player. That's the way I feel about it."

You can check for online recordings of Doc Watson's music here and here.

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Previous postings:
Homefires: Southern Music XI
Homefires: Southern Music X
Homefires: Southern Music IX
Homefires: Southern Music VIII
Homefires: Southern Music VII
Homefires: Southern Music VI
Homefires: Southern Music V
Homefires: Southern Music IV
Homefires: Southern Music III
Homefires: Southern Music II
Homefires: Southern Music