I suppose I've been singing for about 50 years now, man and dog, but I don't consider myself a "folk singer". That label is best applied to people like the Stewarts of Scotland, Harry Cox or the Copper family, who learned their songs by family osmosis. On the other hand, I learned most of my stuff either from books or recordings - not a traditional learning method. The only stuff I learned through the folk process are the ragbag of bits and pieces I learned on the school yard.
Not only that, I tend to slip in modern(ish) pop stuff like Janis Joplin's "Mercedes Benz" and the theme song for the Robin Hood TV series - definitely not trad. But people like them, even in today's folk club equivalents - does that make me an entertainer, or what?

Chris B.