"If these folks were still producing songs like they did in the late 60's and early 70's- would anyone care, would anyone listen?"

Let's not forget that in the late 60s and early 70s, folks elected Nixon – twice. It's easy to overestimate how many people were listening, back in the day. Ochs, I think, was quite well-known on the coasts, but hardly a household name in middle-America. Paxton was probably better known for Last Thing On My Mind and Rambling Boy than for We Didn't Know and Lyndon Johnson Told The Nation.