Niles was often described by sophisticatd music critics as a counter-tenor, but he chose to refer to himself as a "mountain tenor." If so, then perhaps Roscoe Holcomb, also from Kentucky, representsan authentic example of the tradition that Niles emulated.

After Frank Proffitt (North Carolina) had heard Holcomb sing, I asked him what he thought of Roscoe's style. Frank thought for a quiet moment, as he was wont to do, then replied, "Well, it's real. Of course it ain't the way we sing down here, but it's real. It's good."

Sandy (getting dangerously close to thread creep!)