Wow! If this thread tried to cover any more ground it would land on the moon!

The following is a list of some USA folkies who have influenced me enough to want to learn their songs, or at least moved me.

Leadbelly, whose rythmic sense will stay with me until the day I die.

John Hurt, he of gentle soul and wonderful picking.

Doc Watson, another gentle soul with so much to say musically.

Pete Seeger, who opened my eyes to a new world of songs that commented on the state of the world.

Joan Baez, just because she had a beautiful voice did not mean she wasn't singing in the tradition.

Judy Collins, also a beautiful voice but branching into more contemporary material.

Dylan of course, you do not have to have a perfect voice to move people, I know the words to dozens of his songs because of the emotional impact they had.

Byron Berline, Dan Crary, John Hickman, I do not consider these guys commercial pop, their music seems to me to come straight from the tradition, unlike many modern "bluegrass" groups.

Earl Scruggs, who for better or worse got me playing traditional songs on the banjo!



Of the more modern performers, I like Gillian Welch and David Rawlings, who appeal to something raw in me. Kate MacLeod and Kat Eggleston are both contemporary musicians who write a range of songs about life and experience. Keb' Mo' is a blues singer in the Delta tradition who is just as much at home singing Robert Johnston or contemporary material. Chris Smither is another blues singer I also like a lot, although I have only heard him singing contemporary material.

All this is only scratching the surface. Like others I really like many performers on the fringe of folk, like Mary Chapin Carpenter, Emmy Lou, Dixie Chicks, Nickel Creek, etc., although it is hard for me to classify them as folk. I play them on my radio folk show, and I usually get a good response. Without starting a war, I would express the humble opinion that composing a song with the sole purpose of making money automatically rules it out of the definition, at least for 50 years.

Chris

(Ducking for cover!!)