Jack Lawrence (born 1953) is a flatpicking guitarist from Charlotte, North Carolina. He played beside Doc Watson for more than 25 years, from 1983 until Watson died in 2012. Before that he replaced Tony Rice in the Bluegrass Alliance in 1972. He owns and plays the 1945 Martin D-18 that Watson used on his early Vanguard records.
Why Lawrence matters
Every picker who saw Doc Watson after 1985 saw Jack Lawrence too. Watson needed a guitarist who could match his drive on fiddle tunes and stay out of the way on ballads. Lawrence did both for a quarter century, night after night, and he did it without copying Watson’s licks. His job was the hardest one in flatpicking: play a duet with Doc Watson and hold up your end.
Life and career
Lawrence was born on October 5, 1953, in Charlotte, North Carolina, and grew up there. He got his first paid job in 1970, working with Carl Story through a connection with luthier C.E. Ward. In 1971 he joined the New Deal String Band. In 1972 he took the guitar chair in the Bluegrass Alliance, the band that had held Tony Rice and Dan Crary before him. He stayed until 1974 and recorded Tall Grass with the group in 1973.
In 1978 Lawrence formed a folk duo with Joe Smothers, and through Smothers he met Doc and Merle Watson that year. He began working concerts and recordings with Doc in 1983. After Merle Watson died in 1985, Lawrence became Doc’s full-time partner. He played on Watson’s On Praying Ground, which won a Grammy, and on Watson albums for Sugar Hill and other labels through the 1990s and 2000s.
Lawrence recorded on his own during those years. About Time came out in 1997 and I Don’t Need the Whiskey Anymore in 2002, both on G Run, the second with guests Sam Bush, Jerry Douglas, and Doc Watson. After Watson died in 2012, Lawrence released Arthel’s Guitar (2013) on the Little King label. The album includes two studio tracks with Watson and T. Michael Coleman from 1986 that had not been released before. He lives in Harrisburg, North Carolina, and plays with the ToneBlazers.
Playing style
Lawrence plays with power and a bright, driving tone. Watson set the pace on fiddle tunes, and Lawrence answered with solos of his own rather than echoes of Doc’s. His breaks are fast, but the phrasing stays clear, and he does not fill every beat. On a ballad he pulls back to rhythm and a few fills.
His main guitar is a 1945 Martin D-18 he calls “Arthel,” after Doc Watson’s given name. Watson played it on his early Vanguard records and later gave it to Lawrence. The guitar is on the cover of Arthel’s Guitar, and Lawrence used it on the record. He also plays an Eastman E20D and appears on that company’s artist roster.
Influences and legacy
Lawrence’s first bands put him in the same chair as Tony Rice and Dan Crary. His long run with Doc Watson is the center of his career, and he learned Watson’s repertoire from the inside. He has recorded with Sam Bush, Jerry Douglas, Curtis Burch, Wayne Benson, and Shad Cobb. He has shared stages with Steve Kaufman, Tony Rice, and Dan Crary on tribute shows. He teaches guitar at acoustic music camps.
Signature tunes and songs
Black Mountain Rag Arthel’s Guitar I Don’t Need the Whiskey Anymore.
Essential recordings
About Time (G Run, 1997) I Don’t Need the Whiskey Anymore (G Run, 2002) Arthel’s Guitar (Little King, 2013)
Watch and listen
Watson and Lawrence play Black Mountain Rag as a duet. Watch how Lawrence keeps the rhythm tight under Doc, then takes his own break.
Watson, Tony Rice, Dan Crary, Steve Kaufman, and Lawrence share the same tune on one stage. Compare how each player handles it.
What to learn from Lawrence
Learn Black Mountain Rag from the duet video, but learn Lawrence’s break, not Doc’s. It shows how to take a second solo on a tune the crowd knows without repeating the first one. The technique to steal is his backup. Play rhythm behind a fast fiddle tune player and keep the bass notes clean and the strums short. Lawrence did that behind the most famous flatpicker alive for 25 years. It is the skill that gets you asked back to a jam.
Sources
Jack Lawrence (bluegrass), Wikipedia Arthel’s Guitar, Jack Lawrence, Bluegrass Today Jack Lawrence, Eastman Guitars Lawrence, Jack, BluegrassBios.com
Related players
See the guitar players hub and the guitar guide for more flatpickers. Lawrence spent his career beside Doc Watson. He followed Tony Rice and Dan Crary in the Bluegrass Alliance. Steve Kaufman shared tribute stages with him.