Been wonderin' on this for awhile. Hope you folks don't find this inquiry too silly.

Who first used the phrase "roots music" to refer to the music formerly known as "folk." Where/when did it first appear in print?

I know what it means (at least as well as anyone does). I'm aware that certain music has long been called "rootsy" or "from the roots" or some such thing.

But what scribe, deep thinker or novice wordsmith put the two words together, in that order, to coin the descriptive phrase now so widely used.

In his fine book, Romancing the Folk, Ben Filene works with the term. He says it's from rock criticism, but never explores its origin with precision. Any thoughts?

Peace,
Michael