" . . . its high time all this nonsense about traditional singers being somehow superior [just because they learned orally, and regardless of singing abilty] is done and destroyed."

Not a question of quality, Cap'n. Traditional singers and revivalists are different animals, Bob Blake is the exception that proves the rule. How many other revivalists can you name who fooled collectors? Technology has changed, traditional lifeways have changed/evolved/withered and the context within which the anglo-speaking folksong developed simply does not exist anymore. Doesn't mean that we can't sing the songs, play the tunes, but let's not pretend we're all sturdy lumberjacks, muleskinners, and milkmaids.