Where did this ridiculous idea come from, of some sort of folk-nazi trad police "hi-jacking" folk song and prescribing how it should be sung? There might have been few people like that about in the 1960s, but hello, it's 2007 now!

There's no harm done and a lot to be learned from listening to the old recordings of traditional singers, but nobody said you should sing exactly like they do, and if you really listen to all of them you'll soon hear why that's a laughable thing to ask. They're so different from each other, the only thing you learn is to do what you like. Of course if there's anything you like about what any of them do, why not incorporate that into your singing style?

I'm sure that's what they did when they were learning to sing in 1870 or whenever: listened to others and stole ideas.

Anahata