When is a Crooner Not a Balladeer?

Balladeer:
A singer of ballads

Ballads:
A narrative poem, often of folk origin and intended to be sung, consisting of simple stanzas and usually having a refrain.
The music for such a poem.
A popular song especially of a romantic or sentimental nature.

Crooner:
To hum or sing softly.
To sing popular songs in a soft, sentimental manner.
A singer of popular ballads

When I think of a Crooner, I get a mental image a spotlighted Dean Martin, cigarette in hand and sitting on a stool, smoke curling up into the inky darkness. The word “Balladeer” conjures up thoughts of folksy Burl Ives or Johnny Horton with guitar hanging 'round his neck. Given Websters’ definitions, the two might be interchangeable; I always thought of the genres as two separate schools of music. At lunch today, I attempted to create lists for each and discovered there is, indeed, much crossover. While there are certain artists whom we all would consider in one column or the other, there are those singers whose voice and style make them candidates for both.

Okay, Crooners might include: Mel Torme, Frank Sinatra, Nat King Cole, Tony Bennett, Bing Crosby, Johnny Mathis, Andy Williams, Eddy Arnold, Pat Boone, Bobbie Darin, Frankie Lane, Perry Como, and Vic Damone. Or, a little more to date: Josh Groban, Clay Aiken, or Seal.

The Balladeer column tabulation would certainly count: Bob Dylan, Burl Ives, Rod McKuen, Gordon Lightfoot, Don Edwards, Conway Twitty, Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, Don McLean, Jimmy Buffet, B.W. Stevenson, and Tom Rush. While Dylan definitely commands top billing as a Balladeer, I doubt anyone would consider his voice a Crooner?

Then, there are those artists who could easily fit in either list; pretty voices with a story to tell: Neil Diamond, James Taylor, Roy Orbison, B.J. Thomas, George Harrison, Marty Robbins, John Denver, Paul Simon, Paul McCartney, Dan Fogelberg, Jackson Browne, etc.

To complicate the process, when you add great female artists of each category, the crossover list grows: Linda Ronstadt, Bonnie Raitt, Joni Mitchell, Joan Baez, Judy Collins, Emmy Lou Harris, Sarah McLachlin, Patsy Cline, Kathy Mattea, and so on.

This is what happens when you try to tag people with labels. I know my midget memory is leaving out lots of other names that would fit the combined description. Suggestions/additions?