Well, first up, I'm older than dirt.

I had a nodding acquaintance with folk music, having heard Burl Ives on the radio, heard Susan Reed sing in a movie, and The Weavers on juke boxes before they were blacklisted. That was leading up to the early 1950s.

At university, in 1951-52, I started dating a young woman who was avidly interested in folk music. She had heard a local singer named Walt Robertson sing at a party (Walt had a television show at the time, and shortly thereafter cut a record for Folkways). Claire was teaching herself to play the guitar and learning songs. It looked like fun, and I could sing a bit, so I bought a cheap guitar and had her teach me a few chords.

Shortly thereafter, she and I attended a concert that Walt Robertson sang. It was in a restaurant near the university—seated mayby 75 people. That evening, Walt sang for about two or two and a half hours, some songs I was familiar with, but most I had never heard before. During that couple of hours, he wove many stories in song and evoked all kinds of images new to me. I was totally enthralled. So were most of the others in the audience. During that evening, I caught the same bug that Claire had caught a few months before.

I wanted to do what Walt did.

I redoubled my efforts, learned songs—and read up on their backgrounds. I practiced assiduously on the guitar. I met Walt, and through him, I met a few other people who were also interested in folk music. I began singing at parties. Then a few years later, I began getting hired to sing at other events. And in 1959, having developed a reputation as being somewhat of a ballad scholar as well as a singer, I was asked to do a series of television shows on my local educational channel (now a PBS affiliate). This, in turn, led to singing in clubs and coffeehouses, doing concerts, more television. . . .    I began making my living that way, and thoroughly enjoying it.

It is immensely satisfying to spend an evening entertaining people by doing something you enjoy doing, something you would do for free. And then being paid to do it.

Why folk songs? Because, in addition to the poetic and musical appeal of the songs themselves, they each have a history. They have substance. You dig into the background of a particular song, where it came from, who sang it, and why it exists at all, and you will learn aspects of history and of life in general that you might not learn any other way.

The songs have roots.

In addition to all this, I've met a whole bunch of very talented people, some famous, many not so famous, who share my interest. And among them, I've found a lot of lifelong friends.

And that's just for openers.

Don Firth