Legendary folk guitarist Doc Watson, whose fast, flat-picking style has influenced several generations of musicians, passed away Tuesday at a hospital in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.  He was 89.  The cause of death, according to a hospital spokesperson, was complications that arose from a recent abdominal surgery.

Blind from the age of 1, Doc Watson developed a unique flatpicking style that helped make the guitar a lead instrument during the 1950s and 1960s, at a time when it was primarily viewed as a backup instrument to the violin, banjo and other stringed instruments.