see....drifting sideways...*wink*...

I love Jean Ritchie's songs...but I almost always prefer versions recorded by someone else...I like Jean best when she sings old 'traditional' stuff.

It's going to be interesting in the future, now that we have documentation on almost all new songs that become popular....it used to be that 90% of 'folky' type songs were 'anon'...no copyrights, no recordings, no 'official' version! Now people are wanting so-and-so's 'version' of a song, right down to the chord progressions -- and debates are rampant about what it is 'proper' to sing, or record, or publish. As folk music becomes more like pop music, with songwriters (and their fans) defending their territory, I wonder if the 'folk process' will ever be the same...