Don, what you said about simplicity apropos of folk song accompaniment is right on.
Anything that's played should enhance and not subtract from the melody, words and feeling.

One person who is not mentioned too much who played lovely accompaniments to his songs is the late Sam Hinton, from La Jolla, California whose recordings were done by the Library of Congress Folkarts Division and through the aegis of my friend, Adam Miller,
showing Sam's incredible harmonica playing, the best straight style harp I've ever heard.

I suspect that Sam had heard Burl sing many times and carried the sense of the story/song as Burl would have done. Sam's voice was plain and honest, with a lilt in his rhythm.

The songs reflect his Texas background. I think that a thread on Sam would be in order, the most likely person to start it would be Adam Miller who knew Sam intimately.
Sam started me off in a concert in 1952 at San Diego State College, the first full length
concert I did. I was about seventeen or so.

When I think of the simplicity of Burl and the appropriate accompaniments on guitar,
I often think of Sam and how he was not well known outside of California, a shame.