I call it a folk "error" because there was a tremendous amount of jumping on the bandwagon and many saw a quick way to make a buck. While there was a lot of great music, and the time inspired many people, I think it was a time that divided and saw the genre implode on itself. Commercialism has a tendancy to do that - some look to get rich off of the hotest trend, and the opposite side of the spectrum looks down at anything that isn't "pure" - a sense of snobishness and ownership that runs against the spirit of the music. Too many people fell on one side or the other - the purists versus the songwriters. Too many people forgot the joy of sharing music.

"Elmer Fudd" in his post said "Who knew "John Henry" could be a pleasure to listen to once more". Well, that song and many others became cliche and I feel it is because of all the division among the fans and the overcommercialism.   Hearing someone like Trini Lopez sing that song without any feeling or thought to the words created a terrible image of the style. Songwriters would feel a song like that would be beneath them. Purists, if they would sing such a popular song at all, would turn it into a museum piece and argue about the style in which it was performed.   No wonder people did not want to sing it anymore!

What Springsteen has done is EXACTLY what should have happened 30 or 40 years ago. He has captured the spirit, the fun, and made it enjoyable to sing. You can see that the musicians are enjoying themselves and in turn the audience will join in the celebration. Nothing has been lost and everything has been gained.