Jim, thank you very much for your comments at 07 Jul 06 - 04:01 AM.

I first heard of Ewan MacColl when, in 1958, I took a course called "The Popular Ballad" in the English department at the University of Washington in Seattle. During classes, the professor, David C. Fowler (later, author of A Literary History of the Popular Ballad 1968), played many cuts from the nine record collection of "English and Scottish Popular Ballads" by Ewan MacColl and A. L. Lloyd. A couple of years later, I attended the 1960 Berkeley Folk Festival where Peggy Seeger and Ewan MacColl were among the featured performers. I had a chance to hear them live in concert (both separately and together) and in workshops. During the festival, I had the good fortune of attending an informal after-concert party that was also attended by Peggy and Ewan. I had a chance to talk with them for awhile, and although we didn't get into any really deep discussions about folk music, I found them friendly and outgoing.

I respect them both very highly and to my mind there is no question as to the huge contribution they have made to the field of folk music. Mike Lieb, a friend of mine, was also attending the festival. He didn't sing himself, and had no plans for getting involved in folk music other than just being a listener. But at this festival, he became so intrigued with MacColl and his singing that a short time thereafter, at a song fest back in Seattle he broke into song—a Scottish ballad he had learned from one of MacColl's recordings. Mike, it turned out, was a darned good singer! Interestingly enough, he sang while straddling a chair backwards and cupping a hand behind his ear, but later on, when he taught himself to play 5-string banjo, he dropped this mannerism. He soon became one of the more prominent singers of folk songs and ballads in the Pacific Northwest. And I'm quite sure that Mike was not the only one that MacColl—and Peggy Seeger—have inspired to participate actively.

I have no idea what the background beef between Lizzie Cornish and Fiona might be and I don't really care. That's their business. But I am glad that Lizzie started this thread because it's turned out to be a very interesting discussion.

Don Firth