musicmic - A number of the songwriters you regard as "real songwriters" seem to have greatly admired Dylan's work (John Lennon and George Harrison sure did) and some (or most) of them have covered his songs from time to time, so where does that leave your point?

Then there are those hosts of "equally unattractive non-singers grunting and baring their souls"...like Jackson Browne? Oh yeah, for sure, he can't sing! :-) A classic example of both singer-songwriter and Dylan devotee, baring his soul, but definitely not grunting.

But are they "folksingers"? Does it matter?

Not that there weren't loads of lousy Dylan-wannabe's in the wings...there certainly were...but that is no reflection on the quality of what Dylan himself has accomplished.

- LH