I think what this may demonstrate is that the crieria by which one defines success in other areas of music - lots of press, media appearances, "big star" profile - have no relevance in the world of folk music.

What the hell is a folk "star" anyway?

I bet that most people would reject the notion that folk musicians ever get to be stars - because in many peoples' minds, it's not possible to equate the mass popularity and attention that denote "stardom" with the basic simplicity of the musical form ("Simplicity" is not a criticism -it's the highest form of praise as far as I am concerned).

How many times have you heard performers or artists who achieve commercial success crticised for "selling out"? Bob Marley, The Corries, Joan Baez.

Old faithful fans dislike having to share their precious favourites with the general public.

So....

folk music does not generate too many "stars", but occasionally folk artists achieve general popularity, sometimes joining and embracing the mainstream, at other times slipping back into semi-obscurity.

But I bet that a lot of the names that people in the folk world would nominate as "folk music stars" would be completely unknown to the public at large. They're the performers and artists whose work we love and respect, and those people are still doing what they do, in the way they always have, for the people who appreciate it.

Cheers

Steven