Burl and Josh's records, as far as I can recall, were the first recorded folk songs I ever heard. This was back in around 1948 when I was 14. Woody and Pete were already making records back then, but they were on obscure labels and they didn't show up in as many record stores. I listened to what my mother bought. Aside from classical music, she bought Josh and Burl. She also ordered a lot of LIbrary of Congress field recordings. Burl and Josh's stuff was a lot more commercial than the L of C stuff, but not nearly as commercial as most of the stuff Pete was doing with the Weavers for Decca with Gordon Jenkins in the early 50s. It was in about 1953 that I started encountering the old 78s of the Almanac singers. Soon after that, I bought one of the great folk LPs of all time -- Sodbuster Ballads one one side and Deep Sea Shanties on the other -- by the Almanacs. That's the one that inspired me to start learning to play the banjo. But it was Josh and Burl who first kindled my interest.