Conrad, I agree that to get the most out of May Day celebrations, one needs to be a participant, not just a spectator. That's the nature of that particular celebration.

BUT—

I take strong issue with your statement, "We should not be paying the folk biz folks just to entertain."

My first really strong attraction to folk music was in 1952, when I attended a concert by a local singer of folk songs who was a professional entertainer:   Walt Robertson. Further, as I set about learning songs and learning to play the guitar, I discovered the work of Richard Dyer-Bennet.

Dyer-Bennet did not consider himself to be a "folk singer." He ascribed to the traditions of the minstrels and troubadours of ages gone by. These were professional singers. Some were employed by monarchs and nobles and sang in castles and courts. Others wandered the roads, singing in town squares, entertaining for a few coppers, much as "buskers" do now. Since there is little call for court minstrels in the modern world (minstrels having been replaced by television sets), Dyer-Bennet sang first in night clubs, then in concert halls. And on records.

I did not copy Dyer-Bennet's style of singing (he was a light tenor, I am a bass-baritone), but I did (and do) emulate his approach to folk songs and ballads. Dyer-Bennet said:

"The value lies inherent in the song, not in the regional mannerisms or colloquialisms. No song is ever harmed by being articulated clearly, on pitch, with sufficient control of phrase and dynamics to make the most of the poetry and melody, and with an instrumental accompaniment designed to enrich the whole effect."

I took classical guitar lessons. I took singing lessons. I spent three years in the University of Washington School of Music, studying music history and music theory, followed by another two years at the Cornish College of the Arts (a conservatory). I also studied with Professor David C. Fowler in the U. of W. English Department, who specialized in early English Literature and Poetry—along with the Child Ballads.

None of this was necessary. I could have just learned a handful of chords and strums and started singing for anyone who cared to listen. But I wanted to present the songs—NOT in an "arty" manner—but artfully. That is, as Dyer-Bennet said in the above quote:   "articulated clearly, on pitch . . . control of phrase and dynamics" and an accompaniment "to enrich the whole effect." And I wanted to sing for audiences. And to enthrall them the same way I had been enthralled when I first heard Walt Robertson.

Because I had taken the time—and spent the money—to learn about the songs and learn to sing them well, I was called on to do a series of educational television programs, and was subsequently called upon to sing concerts and in clubs and coffeehouses and at folk festivals.

Since I have been able to make a fairly decent living by singing for paying audiences (as well as singing many places for no pay)—and because a number of people who have heard me sing came to me for lessons—I believe I have achieved my life goal.

I have former students, some of whom are singing professionally, some teaching, and some just singing for the enjoyment of themselves and friends. So as a byproduct of my own career, I believe I have "spread the gospel," so to speak.

Conrad, I would not have been able to do this unless I had been paid for my singing. I would have had to spend my life in other kinds of work, just simply to make a living. But because people were willing to pay to hear me sing, I was able to live the kind of life that I wanted. And to inspire others the way I had been inspired.

I tell you all this not to "blow my own horn," but to explain why some singers of folk songs feel perfectly justified in expecting to be paid for their performances.

Performers like Pete Seeger, Joan Baez, Richard Dyer-Bennet, Burl Ives, Ed McCurdy, Theodore Bikel, Cynthia Gooding, and others have introduced millions of people to folk music, many of whom have been inspired to learn to sing and play themselves. And they, in turn, inspired others.

So don't think that eliminating minstrels and troubadours such as these will improve anything.

Quite the contrary!

Don Firth