Come on, PapaG!! First there were the Almanac Singers, the Weavers, Josh White, and Burl Ives back in the late '40's/'50's --- and that was it until 1956. Then Lonnie's version of "Rock Island Line" hit and climbed to number 3 on the hit parade! He was brought over and did a guest shot on the Perry Como TV show. He had a number of other releases that didn't chart as well---"Lost John", "Aunt Rhody" and a couple of others. "Chewing Gum" made a small but solid splash in the charts. "Rock Island Line" laid some of the ground work for a renewed interest and the Kingston Trio's "Tom Dooley reaped the benefits.
    The mere fact that he inspired Seamus Kennedy and Jerry Rasmussen is enough to credit him with some influence. Jerry is a friend and we have discussed Lonnie on several occsions. I don't know Seamus personally (darn it!), but I have collected some of his records and CD's and play them on my radio show, along with Lonnie's stuff, on a fairly regular basis.
    In my own case, I listened to Lonnie and was influenced by him. As he recorded stuff, I broadened my knowledge by finding out about who these people behind his songs were, as well as where the songs came from.
    Lonnie will be missed by me, and I'm sure I am not alone.