Back when I was a naieve lad of fifteen I bought a record of "the Ballad Book of John Jacob Niles" and listened to it endlessly. My mother thought I had gone totally insane! She'd sort of gotten used to Woody, Huddie, and Flatt and Scruggs, and even though she thought the early Bob Dylan had been gargling with brick dust, tried to be respectful of my musical tastes. "That man sounds like he's being hanged"! (Later I found out that in concert, he did indeed hang himself while singing "Maid Free'd From The Gallows"....sort of an early Alice Cooper)
The thing that struck me was that Mr. Niles said he'd collected all these songs from mountain folk. Well if he did, they all had HUGE vocal ranges and did more decorating than a Macy's employee at Christmas.
I still listen to him, and weirdness and all, think he's a hoot. I have an album where he's talking to one of the Clancy Brothers about his ability to lie on a bed and spit onto the ceiling! In his photos he always has great boots.

Rick