There's a proliferation of threads on this topic, and it's getting a little much.
Active today, we have

1954 and all that
What Makes it a Folk song
What is a traditional singer
Trad Song
Steps in the folk process

Our usual policy is to have one thread active at a time on any given subject. In the future, try to continue discussions in a single thread and refrain from creating such a plethora of threads. It splits and confuses and duplicates the discussion when you do that.
"1954 and all that" doesn't fit our requirement for clarity in thread titles. I'm going to add something for clarity.
-Joe-