Being somewhat younger than the average Mudcatter and having come of age in the early 70's, I remember PP&M, The Kingston Trio, The Limelighters, The Clancy Brothers, and other sweater-type folkies being regarded among my age group as desperately unhip. We wanted nothing to do with that -- it wasn't rock'n'roll!

Everyone tends to regard with fond and sentimental affection the songs they heard and loved during their formative years -- the popular music that was played on the radio. If you grew up with schmaltzy pap like "The Sound of Music", you can love even that, as evidenced here in some recent threads. And if you grew up in the 80s, you may well still like the metal trash of the big hair bands.

The point is, the phenomenon has nothing to do with the quality of the music in question, and everything to do with memories.

Cheers,
Michael