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I second the love given to the dispatch

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I don't think of Tracy Chapman as a "folk"singer. I think of her as a singer/ songwriter who uses pop, rock and blues. Folk singers to my mind, sing folk songs. Chapman to my knowledge has never sung a traditional song. By a strict interpretation of the phrase, no one who is recording is a "folk" singer other than if they have been recorded in a field. Tbere are many "folk song singers" that I enjoy. To name a few, Martin Carthy, Jean Ritchie, Norma Waterson, Joe Heaney, Mississippi John Hurt, Taj Mahal, Don Watson and Paul Brady. Somehow, any one playing an acoustic instrument has become a "folk" musician. This is to misunderstand the "folk process".

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