Well, I'd put Nina Gerber sort of in this category. By now she has her own following among folk music afficcionados--but I'd wager the general public would say "Nina who?" Although Kate Wolf wrote some great songs and had a haunting voice, on some album cuts it is Gerber's superb guitar backup that, I think, "makes" the song. I'd love to hear her in concert.

Also, I have an old Austin City Limits tape of Leonard Cohen (where he sings "Then We Take Berlin," "Take This Waltz," "Hallelujah!" etc.). The two women who sing vocals with him are superb, and the songs just wouldn't be what they are without that "back-up" (which is a word that doesn't do justice to the vocals they provide). I've been told that one or both of these women has gone on to a solo career, but I can't remember either of their names.

Genie