I recall sitting with a couple of friends in The Folklore Center in Seattle back about 1960 when the proprietor of the shop was playing some records from a shipment that had just come in. One was a recording of Win Stracke singing folk songs and ballads, accompanied on the guitar by Richard Pick.

Win Stracke was deeply involved in folk music, had appeared on Studs Terkel's program many times, and was one of the co-founders, with Frank Hamilton, of the Old Town School of Folk Music in Chicago. I don't know if Stracke had studied voice or not, but he had a very smooth, rich baritone and he sounded trained. Richard Pick was a classic guitarist, had established his own classic guitar school in Chicago, and had written a couple of excellent manuals for beginning and intermediate guitar students. Indeed, my first classic guitar teacher started me with one of Richard Pick's books, First Lesson for Classic Guitar (I've always thought it a touch ironic that a classic guitarist—who uses his right-hand fingers to play with—should have a surname like "Pick."). Pick, of course, was playing a classic, nylon-string guitar, and his accompaniments struck me as tastefully restrained as befit the songs, with no classical pyrotechnics. It was a very well done recording with good songs well sung. But—it was obviously not a field recording.

As we sat and listened, a singer who had just blown in from Berkeley (hitchhiked up with his guitar) walked in, listened for about thirty seconds, then turned purple and had a temper tantrum. He pointed at the turntable and shouted, "That man" (having no idea of who "that man" was) "has no right to sing those songs! He's an opera singer!" (which he wasn't, nor was he singing like one, but his voice was smooth and rich) "People like that shouldn't be allowed to sing folk songs!"

Well, now! And this from a guy who was a self-proclaimed anarchist!

And later, at a song-fest, he took off on me the same way. I've taken voice lessons, but I don't think I sound like an opera singer. And I play a nylon-string classic guitar. I'm a bass, and a few people have told me that I sound a bit like Gordon Bok, but that's probably because I've stolen a lot of songs from Gordon's records and I can sing then in the same keys he sings them in. I've always thought I probably sound more like Johnny Cash without the southern accent, but then I've inside my own head and I can't really hear me.

So what was I supposed to do, fall on my knees, beg his forgiveness, and cut my throat on the spot?

Tough Nabiscos, Charlie!

Sting does not have the greatest voice in the world, but he does sing pretty well. So he wants to take a shot at playing the lute and singing songs from the Renaissance period. More power to him, say I! He probably sounds more authentic singing these songs than a whole regiment of highly trained counter-tenors. I'm very glad that he's doing this, and I put those who say he shouldn't in the same category as that yo-yo from Berkeley.

Music Nazi.

(mutter mutter)

Don Firth