Here's a couple of recent examples of the slipperiness of the word tradition(al), taken from an article on the Eliza/Norma CD "Gift" in the current issue of Properganda.

"Eliza resists the folk label, preferring to describe herself as a traditional singer. By which she means she is less concerned with a song's provenance than its quality, and that she'll sing whatever takes her fancy. 'All the real traditional singers did that,' she insists.

And later in the piece: "The Waterson family, like the Coppers, have their full-on ensemble and harmony singing tradition."

So: is Eliza Carthy a traditional singer when she's singing Amen Corner covers, or her own songs, or at any time at all? (Such as when she's singing songs she learned from her family.)

And do the Watersons "have" a "tradition"?

Who's first?