The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #171757   Message #4155104
Posted By: Big Al Whittle
15-Oct-22 - 04:49 AM
Thread Name: Country music in 1970s UK folk clubs
Subject: RE: Folklore: Country music in 1970s UK folk clubs
The crossover was and is everywhere. Apart from the traddies who thought country music was for the plebs and that they had the inside track on stylistically what folk music was about.

Artists like Roger Whittaker, Daniel O'Donnell and Val Doonican were mainstream artists and freely mixed folksongs with country music in their shows and recordings. As song like The Lakes of Ponchatrain was done by artists of of all kinds.

Dozens of Irish artists covered Peggy Seeger's song about Irish da's being absent working on the motorways. Was there a folk club where Tom Paxton's songs weren't covered, and of course the biggest selling version of LastThing on My Mind was by Dolly Parton.

I suppose living in Nottinghamshire at the time - the place was full of miners and ex- miners and our local folk club in Sutton in AShfield always kicked off the session with A Boy named Sue!