I don't think you can argue that they weren't folk musicians. And I don't think you can argue that the popular performers weren't folk musicians. That's what everybody called them, and that's what a lot of people think of now when you say "folk music".

To be honest, I don't know what point there is in saying that something that everyone calls something is something else. As far as "legitimate genres"--I'd be hard pressed to figure out what an illegitimate genre was.

I liked that music. It was funny. Maybe it wasn't intended to be funny, but the funniest things aren't--