These refer to poets whose works popular works supposedly give voice to their national culture:

Morning News (Chicago) (Nov. 25, 1884):

"Even in his own day [Heinrich Heine] was accepted as a folk-singer, and his rhymes found their way to the hearts of the people and the lips of the peasantry."

Sunday Inter-Ocean(Chicago) (July 19, 1896):

"Karl Michael Bellman is Sweden's national folk singer and poet, and lived during the time of...Gustavus III."

Figuratively applied to a famous composer:

Nome Daily Nugget (Dec. 7, 1907): "A Folk Singer of the North...Edvard Grieg."

But now we're getting modern:

Rock Island [Ill.] Argus (Sept. 12, 1908): "Her company consists of Rita Rich, a folks singer of all nations...." [Who presumably sang in an artsy style.]

Boston Morning Journal (Jan. 23, 1912): "Ten whirlwind dancers, musicians and folk singers from Russia.

New York Times (Dec. 2, 1917): "Cecil Sharp Publishes His Finds in the American South....His enthusiasm for his folk singers carries him far."


So as early as 1918 there wasn't much natural agreement on what a "folksinger" sang or how he sang it.

Now that's news! To me anyway.