I expect Fred is too modest to mention that most of the women cited in his "long old list" can be heard by regular listeners to his internet radio broadcast Worlds of Trad. The current playlist for March actually doesn't feature as many female performers as usual, but it does include Emma Vickers singing the Pace Egg Song, and Emma certainly belongs in any list of 'Female Folk Vocalists of Distinction' as does Ola Belle Reed who also features in the playlist.

Fred and others have mentioned Jean Ritchie (Kytrad); to me she embodies so much of what I find to treasure in the folk tradition so here are three YouTube performances posted by George Pickow.

The first shows the Ritchie Family gathering at Christmas 1955 where you can see just how Jean's songs are firmly embedded in the tradition of her family.

The second shows Jean singing her own composition Still I Love Him at a more recent 2009 family gathering, which shows clearly how the tradition is being passed down.

Finally here is Jean with her sister Edna singing The Four Marys, a song which Jean was instrumental in reviving in the British tradition through sharing it with other singers.

Enjoy!

Matthew