Ed McCurdy; Composer, Folk Singer

Ed McCurdy, 81, a composer and singer of folk music whose songs were recorded by Joan Baez, Johnny Cash and Arlo Guthrie. Born in Willow Hill, Pa., McCurdy started as a gospel singer on a radio station in Oklahoma City and went on to work as a nightclub and theater performer and a radio announcer. He began his folk singing career on Canadian radio in 1946 and four years later released his first album, “Ed McCurdy Sings Songs of the Canadian Maritimes.” McCurdy performed at the Newport Folk Festival in 1959, 1960 and 1963. His most famous song is probably “Last Night I Had the Strangest Dream,” which he wrote in 1950. The song was popular in the peace movement of the 1960s. After his music career waned, McCurdy moved to Nova Scotia and became a character actor in Canadian television dramas. On March 23 in Halifax, Nova Scotia.