Wobo - you probably meant it as a joke, but I would not doubt that 20 years from now you will hear people talk about Barney the Dinosaur as their first exposure to folk music. My daughter was hooked on the show, and while the dinosaur was obnoxious as hell, I was glad that they did incorporate a few folk songs in the mix.

For me, my first memory of "folk" music was when Captain Kangaroo shared folk songs on his show. (Aside from my mother singing songs.)