"I would suggest did far more to bring folk music to "the masses" in the "UK than did any other performer, including McColl or Seeger."
THey were my introduction to folk song, but, as I said, they were so lightweight, I was out within two years.
MacColl, like all good art, was an acquired taste, but if you le
listened and thought about what was happening you were hooked
He breathed life into 137 Child ballads - that's contribution fro me
The reest introduced people to a somewhat dumbed down form of folk song and never provided anything else.
You might as well say Cecil Sharp's 'Folk Songs for Schools' introduced more people to folk song or Mantovani introduced more people to orchestral music - which is probably true, but it never kept them there
The secret is not to get bums on seats but keep them there - that's what Ewan, Bert, and all the others did
It's quality, not numbers that count
Jim Carroll