Hi Jim,

Wonderful post! I enjoy the insight that you share. That is an amazing story about Martin Howley and it makes me wonder how many other songs of the type were lost, and also thankful that collectors saved such cherished songs.

However, I don't think that my original question was quite clear. I understand completely about the interest in the traditional songs on both yours and Walter Pardon's part - but my question is more hypothetical and trying to get to some sort of "common ground" about the issue of catagorizing.

Again, I understand and agree with the definition and conditions that you apply to traditional music. Just for the sake of discussion - IF anyone were to compile a CD of only the Music Hall songs as performed by Walter Pardon - would it be more appropriate to place such a CD in a bin marked "folk" or would a store owner place it under "popular" or perhaps "Musicals"(which in our country incorporates film and forms of musical theater).

The point I am trying to make is that someone interested in the repetoire of Walter Pardon might be more inclined to check for such a mythical CD under "folk" as opposed to another catagory.