Sorry to drift the thread a little, but it is kind of relevant. I like their music irrespective of whether they are thought by some to be "sellouts." Remember that not all "roots" musicians are all that easy to listen to. Some "roots" music is of interest more to musical academicians than to a wider audience who might make them wealthier in monetary terms. All performers have to decide how much to cater to popular demands versus what they themselves want to play in the way they want to play it.

PPM, The Weavers, The Kingston Trio, Judy Collins, and others have all made some sort of decisions regarding this dynamic. Some manage to "play it their way" and be happy with the money and fame that come with that decision. It is not an easy call, and I do not feel I can judge a performer for not making the decision the way I would have had them make it.

And remember that if some folk performers did not go for "the popular way," then folk music would stay in relative obscurity. Two vignettes relevant to the discussion. One is that Tom Paxton has said that his "favorite Tom Paxton song" is "My Dog Is Bigger Than Your Dog" because it made him enough money to do all the other songs that he wanted to do. "My Dog..." as you might remember, was used in a dog food commercial.

The second vignette is about another musical thing. Leopold Stokowski worked with Walt Disney to make a movie called "Fantasia" that I still think is grossly under-appreciated. However, it made classical music more accessible to a much larger audience than just the usual snooty arts types. Stokowsky took a lot of criticism for "going popular" and diminishing the musical form. But I think that bringing it to a larger audience was a *good thing.*

Saul