It's a matter of semantics again -- should the thread title be "the best folksinger you KNOW" or "the best folksinger you know OF". Entirely different answers to each question.

I've weighed in with my favorite male and female singers whose recording I listen to. (Oh, short list, Ewan MacColl, Lou Killen, Jeannie Robertson, Norma Waterson, Frankie Armstrong, Joan Sprung, etcet etcet.)

Now, the best singers I KNOW -- well, Jay Smith for starters, but unfortunately he died last year, mostly unrecorded. And that's the tragedy. Such an incredible voice. I loved singing harmony with him.

And Curmudgeon -- known in the real world as Tom Hall. Still very much alive and kicking and I'm, of course, not the slightest bit prejudiced because I'm his wife and singing partner. And talk about being knowledgable about his material! And he makes the audience -- and other musicians around him -- love the history and the background to the songs as well. He's probably the person I most enjoy singing with, too.

Linn