I don't have any details. I heard on the radio he was in critical condition.

[bluegrasstoday.com]

Scheduled for up to 8 hours of surgery here today (impacted colon)

Love seeing him here in Asheville. Often playing with David Holt. He's not been well for awhile. Didn't even play at this years Merle Fest.

Bummer!

I have to be one of Doc's longest term fans. Back in the late 50's and early 60's I shared an office with a top notch electrical engineer name Eugene Earle. Gene's hobby was collecting old time music. Weekends he traveled up and down the east coast looking for old records to buy. He spent his vacations driving though Appalachia and knocking on doors. He would ask the old timers to sing for him and record what he could. One day he brought a tape into the office of a blind guy named Doc that he had just found somewhere in North Carolina. I was blown away then and I still love his music. I have managed to see him perform live a number of times over the years but unfortunately I never made it to a Merle Fest.