Sandy and Frank. Your discussion about the late Bob Gibson is fascinating, and it brings several thoughts and questions to my mind. When I was a teenager and first starting to read Sing-Out and Little Sandy Review, I remember Bob Gibson as being perceived somewhere in between Pete Seeger and the Kingston Trio in regards to the "commerciality" of his music, but still mentioned in pretty positive terms. In those days Sing-Out was my bible and if they tended to hold anyone in contempt, I probably figured they had good reasons for it. Josh White and Burl Ives were non-persons because of their "House co-operations", and many snide remarks were made about some of the "new folk", like the "New Christy Minstrels", Joe and Eddie, Bud and Travis, Judy Henske, The Brothers Four etc.
After a few years I realised that there was indeed a dividing line that sliced the "good folks" from the "commercial folks" and it didn't seem to have ANYTHING to do with musical ability. Or even presentation for that matter.
When I purchased my first Bob Gibson album I was amazed to find that he had Joe Puma, a JAZZ guitarist, backing him up with some of the most tasteless pyrotechnics I'd ever heard. Mr. Puma had not the slightest clue about the music, but played on SEVERAL Gibson albums. Oh and the drums.. I forgot. As well as the "brand new folksongs" written by Shel Silverstein, Gibson did some total rip-offs of trad material, and claimed copyright for songs like "Brandy Leave Me Alone", "Abbiyoyo"(!!) and "Oh Babe it Ain't No Lie". Surely Libba Cotten, if not Seeger and Marais, could have used a few royalty bucks.
I occasionaly listen to those old Gibson albums today, and they're fun. He had a nice high voice and probably could have found a way to throw a 1,6,2,5 chord pattern into the Lord's Prayer, but he's rarely ever mentioned in the same breath as the much-maligned "Trio" or Bob Dylan for his "folksong updating". In fact the first time I saw the name "Paul Campbell" as composer(s) of many traditional songs, I figured there might just be a hint of double standard at work here.

Bob was a close friend of Gordon Lightfoot's and I got a chance to meet him a couple of times in Toronto during the late 60s. I remember him as being super friendly and encouraging to neophyte folkies, and happy to play and sing along with us.
I sometimes wonder if that "line" I mentioned earlier was drawn with more attention to who was part of an "in crowd" rather than strictly on musical content or stage presentation.

As I mentioned in the "Don't Pick So Fast" thread, I'm probably seen as a bit of a "narrow focus" guy in Toronto, when it comes to the kind of music I love, and in something like bluegras, I'm pretty much of a traditionalist, so I do understand the "circle the wagons" approach at times. I just think that a lot of the time, when it comes to who's doing right by the music, we make our decisions on who we personally like and who we don't know.

Any feedback would be welcome.

Rick