popularity is not the same as influence. Kingston Trio were popular, but they certainly had no influence on me. I hated their arrangements and white bread versions of 'folk songs'. The first time I heard Leadbelly, the first time I heard Woody, the first time I heard Odetta, the first time I heard Koerner, Ray and Glover, the first time I heard Jean Ritchie, the first time I heard Susan Reed, etc. THOSE were life changing events for me. I really don't see any direct influence of any kind on modern folk music from the Kingston Trio. I don't accept the argument. They were not that big an influence. Nor were P, P and M. Both groups filled a pop music void and made money for a lot of industry people, and spawned a lot of imitators, and were wildly popular, but it was the early recordings of the Weavers and Pete Seeger in particular, that put banjos and guitars in a lot of hands, and contrary to what was posted above Pete Seeger spent years and years on the college folk circut in the 50s,. spawning folk music clubs, concerts, festivals, etc. He really got it going here in the states, as far as I am concerned. Got the audiences singing along, as well, and comfortable remembering and sharing songs from the childhoods of everyone. AND HOW CAN YOU NOT AGREE THAT THE MOST INFLUENTIAL FOLK MUSIC RECORDINGS OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY IN THE USA WERE MADE BY THE CARTER FAMILY? Everyone heard them, with the exception of some high society types, but 100000 watt radio from Mexico put them in more homes then the Kingston Trio could count to.

Lonnie Donegon and the skiffle craze can NOT be overlooked in the development of British folk and later rock.

Ramblin' Jack and Derroll Adams likewise influenced a lot of later British folk artists.

Sean O Riada started the Chieftains who encouraged the Dubliners, who inspired Planxty, etc. Throw in the Clancy Brothers' recordings coming back to Ireland from the states, as well.

Burl Ives, the Almanac Singers, etc. all big influences on later artists in the US.

as for the original impetus of this post, the UK folk revival might have been most influenced by one recording: Liege and Leaf by Fairport COnvention. individual UK folk artists were certainly influenced by Martin Carthy, the Copper family, the Collins sisters, Ewan McColl, etc. too many to mention and to easy to leave out someone, like Vashti Bunyan, or Anne Briggs, Bert Jansch, John Renbourn, etc.

I don't think these exercises are at all instructive, except as Joe Offer mentioned in regards personal tastes, and I get awfully tired of the posters who claim to be the final authority on this or any other topic. I haven't listened to the Kingston Trio in over 40 years, and wouldn't begin to think about doing so. I avoid P, P and M for the same reasons, though they occassionally hit the spot live, they were a bit to crafted and polished for me and if I NEVER hear 'the fanciful fire breathing creature that rhymes with fluff, whose name shall never be uttered by me' sung about again in my lifetime it will have been heard 100 times too many at least. Puke and gag. Judy Collins likewise, I've seen her in recent years and her voice is better than ever, but her material is still a mixed bag. SHe should NEVER be allowed to sing 'City of New Orleans' for example. She butchers it every time, not a song for her.

I still never tire of Blues, Rags and Hollers, or older Ramblin Jack Elliot recordings, or Susan Reed, or Jean Ritchie, and though I would have to admit they may not have influenced the larger culture, they certainly appealed to me.