My take on the final paragraph of Howards post at 11-10 is does it matter if you are the authentic article or a revival singer.
He was inspired and came to folk music by the revival,and became a
singer
of the songs of the old singers.
As a the result songs are still sung, if the revival had not happened they would have survived only in dusty collections.
The old singers only knew the songs because they were in the right place when their forebears sang them.
The songs and tunes will only survive if sombody plays or sings them be it in a folk club,a pub session or any other place where people hear them.The singer who regards him as one of old singers is singing the songs himself and hopefully will inspire some of those who follow him to
keep the sons going