"O.J. Abbott"
Many years ago somebody gave me a mass of Canadian field recordings collected by Edith Fowke - several hundred songs, O J Abbott featured on these, but he was only one of many wonderful singers with many beutiful songs.
Cheesy - what have you done to your beautiful tradition - all those beautiful songs that probably originated over this side of the pond alongside those home-made ones???
You ought to be ashamed of yourselves!!
Not that we can be too proud of the mess that calls itself folk song over here, mind you (I now live in Ireland where there are plenty of good songs but not (yet) enough singers who are interested in them).
Dig out the real stuff from wherever it is locked away and enjoy it as much as I did
Fowke's and Helen Creighton's books are invaluable, but they are a small tip of a very large iceberg.
If your interests extends to the real thing, you might try John L Campbell's collection o Scots Gaelic songs from Cape Breton, 'Songs Remembered in Exile' or the two albums compiled by John Shaw and issued on Toopic, 'Songs and Music of Cape Breton' - or any of the Fowke and Creighton stuff issued still available (I believe) from 'Folkways'.
'Real' is an acquired taste, but one well worth acquiring.
It's a shame Bobad's passing comment is a no-go area on a forum that styles itself as about 'folk and traditional music' - the fact we can't dicuss such things is probably one of the main contributory factors in turning beautiful and important music 'Cheesy'
Jim Carroll