Selby,

Listen to Frank Hamilton here and you won't go wrong. I agree with him.

The idea that the oral tradition is a process---one which songs must go through as they move from person to person via recordings or radio or "mouth to mouth"------all, wherein, the songs might be learned incompletely so the hearer must create what can't be remembered and therefore changed. These are folksongs. They've gone through the process and become a part of the oral tadition as a result of having endured through the time that took---and beyond...

Many today use the folk scene (and the Folk Alliance) as a springboard to Nashville and pop success. The songs they make are not folksongs, no matter what anyone here (or there) tries to tall you.

Art Thieme