Ed McCurdy

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Ed McCurdy (January 11, 1919 - March 23, 2000) was a folk singer, songwriter, and television actor. He is known for his widely-covered anti-war classic, "Last Night I Had the Strangest Dream" as well as a collection of risqué Elizabethan folk songs in a three-part series of albums titled When Dalliance was in Flower (and Maidens Lost Their Heads).

Born to a farming family in Willow Hill, Pennsylvania, McCurdy left home at 18 to pursue a singing career. He recorded several albums in the 1950s and 60s, and performed several times at the legendary Newport Folk Festival, but was eventually outshadowed by a younger generation of singers. He moved to Nova Scotia and had a second career as a character actor on Canadian television.

[edit] Discography

1955: Badmen, Heroes, and Pirate Songs (Elektra Records)
1955: The Ballad Record (Riverside Records)
1956: Blood Booze 'n Bones (Elektra)
1956: Bar Room Ballads (Riverside)
1956: The Folk Singer (Dawn Records)
1956: A Ballad Singer's Choice (Tradition Records, Empire Musicwerks)
1956: When Dalliance Was In Flower (and Maidens Lost Their Heads) vol. 1 (Elektra)
1957: Sin Songs — Pro and Con (Elektra)
1957(?): Songs of the Old West (Elektra)
1958: When Dalliance Was In Flower (and Maidens Lost Their Heads) vol. 2 (Elektra)
1958: When Dalliance Was In Flower (and Maidens Lost Their Heads) vol. 3 (Elektra)
1958: Children's Songs (Tradition Records)
1959: Son of Dalliance (Elektra)
1961: A Treasure Chest Of American Folk Song (Elektra)
1962(?): The Best of Dalliance (Elektra)
1996: Cowboy Songs (Tradition Records)
1996: Naughty & Bawdy Songs of Olde England (Warner Brothers)
The Legend of Robin Hood (Riverside)
American Folk Songs (Spoken Arts)
Child's Introduction to Folk Music (Spoken Arts)
Songs and Stories for Children (Smithsonian Folkways Recordings)
Last Night I Had the Strangest Dream (Bear Family Records)