Hey Catspaw ... this is a very interesting query. I have been reading it, but as Spring has hit the NorthWest, my deck building business now is keeping me going 7 days a week. However, I do want to take a little time and attempt to add something to this discussion.

Let me preface my comments by telling you, up front, that I will not be able to define "folk", as I understand you to mean, by naming any one person. That's probably impossible, and you'd never get any two people to agree. So, when I think of who really defines "folk" for me, here is who I see and hear in my memory and mind's eye:

I see and hear "Mike." He was a pearl diver at one of the first coffee houses on the "Ave", in Seattle in the late 50's and early 60's. When he leaned back, and sang, acappella, "She Moved Through The Fair," I was frozen! He had it;

I think of "Terry", kind of a will-o-the-wisp. Transitory, very talented, charming, with an incredible ability to match a song and a moment;

I also think of "Roy," from England. He fit the role with his performing experience as an early busker. He charmed the ladies, knew an large number of songs, and was truly a rake;

"Pete", certainly. Besides the obvious qualities already mentioned, he shines because of his years in the trenches;

As does "Burl";

Then there's "Walt'. Consummate performer who studied and perfected his craft, was a wanderer in every sense of the word, and never lost his delight in presenting the song in a simple, straightforward manner that he felt was true to the material;

Then there is "Casey". What a delight. A very large man, who arrived in Seattle in the 50's with a guitar case full of Idaho songs. And his presentation was/is as straightforward and honest as he is;

And I have to mention "Nancy". I have to close my eyes so her beauty doesn't distract me. And what she can do with a ballad, with her pure voice in inflection is breathtaking;

And then there's "Don"; I love to watch his eyes when he sings and plays. I'm seeing the very same delight that I first saw there 50 years ago, but now I'm hearing the wisdom of 50 years of careful study and respectful learning.

So Catspaw, what I am saying is that THIS is the "FOLK" to me. An amalgam of all these people. Some have left us now, many have not. And for those of us that still gather, we just get better and better.

Thanks for bringing this subject up! CHEERS, Bob(deckman)Nelson