Art and others,

It's not that the Beatles were folk singers. They weren't. I don't think anyone is saying that. But their music has woven into the fabric of people's lives over generations. That makes them folk songs. Songs of a period and of a culture. Songs that are easily recognized and many words are known to. Comparing to Edith Piaf and Perry Como is really way out in left field. No one plays guitar and sings songs by the likes of them.

The real question is, is that tradionalism has no time cut-off and is strictly nothing more than a state of mind.