I think that in another thread I traced it back to my very first music teacher in elementary school who was the first person I ever heard to describe a song as a "folk" song. But after thinking about it for awhile, I have realized that it goes back to a 45 rpm record player that my brother was given when I was about four years old. My parents bought a Roy Rogers double record set which contained a few snatches of some western basics like, "Streets of Laredo" but with different words. The records were featuring Roy along with "Gabby" Hayes who were explaining all about how to be a cowboy. So the words they sang to "Laredo" were,"Mount up on the left side. Get down on the same." And later in the song, "Don't bother nothin' that don't bother you." (I was a fairly big kid before I knew that those weren't the words to the song!)

Another two-record set came soon after which featured Roy Rogers and the Sons of the Pioneers. On it were songs such as, "The Navajo Trail" which, although not a traditional folksong, captured my imagination with such lines as "I love to lie and listen to the music when the wind is strummin' a sagebrush guitar".

I nearly played the grooves off of those records.

Between those records and the songs my family always sang while taking long drives in the car, I had all I needed to flip my switch.