Eddy Merle Watson, Bluegrass Guitarist, Accidentally Killed at 36

LENOIR, N.C. — Bluegrass guitarist Eddy Merle Watson, son of country music star Doc Watson, was killed Wednesday when a tractor he was riding slipped down an embankment, overturned and pinned him under it, officials said.

Relatives said Watson, 36, who was lead guitarist in his father’s band, had injured himself while cutting wood on a table saw at his home and drove the tractor to a nearby house for treatment. As Watson returned home later, the tractor overturned and trapped him.

Watson’s father added his son, then 15, to his act in 1965 and they jointly produced such records as “Ballads From Deep Gap” and “Doc Watson & Son.” They won Grammy awards in 1974 for “Two Days in November” and in 1978 for “Big Sandy/Leather Britches.”