I don't particularly find myself mourning the loss of Charlie Daniels or John Prine for that matter. As Morrissey sang in the Smiths "Panic" , their music "said nothing to me about my life." I always agree with the Lenny Kaye quote though "It was a nugget if you dug it." To each their own.
My musical conceptual leanings were perfectly explained on a documentary I watched about the New York music scene in the 70's. The Village Voice critic Robert Christgau drew a line between Folk Art and Pop Art traditions. Guys like Charlie came from a conservative musical language that emphasized competency and adhering to the well established rules of sound, tone and lyrics with acceptance built in if you adhered to those rules. He stated that the NYC scene influenced by Warhol instead of Hank Williams valued vision, style and concept over competence.
While I'm a Folkabilly artist, I lean toward the Pop Art side of things. On the folk end, I'm a celt and a hick but not a redneck!! All the great rockabilly's broke with the folk tradition by their sexiness, drugs, and style. I think they definitely laid the ground work for Pop Art- the hep cat hits the big city and changes the sounds. Strangely, the longer you stick to it, the more competence you develop. The greats in both traditions can write a tune.
I'm going to open a soup can and get some lunching done. See Ya in the funnies.