Edgar Waters died on Thursday May 1st 2008

----------------------------------------------

Edgar's contribution to the folk movement is considerable to say the least. Back in 1947 he and Stephen Murray-Smith edited a slim volume called 'Rebel Songs'.

In the mid 1950s he was in London researching and helping Alan Lomax complete his 'Folk Songs of North America'.

As editor for Wattle Records on his return to Australia Edgar worked withWattle founder Peter Hamilton to publish the first field recordings of Australian Folk Songs ('Australian Traditional Singers' and Musicians and 'Australian Traditional Singersand Musicians of Victoria'), introducing such traditional singers as Sally Sloane, Simon McDonald, Duke Tritton and Catherine Peatey to the folk revival. Other recordings were of the Bushwhackers, led by John Meredith, the Rambleers and the folklorist and singer A.L.Lloyd who Edgar had met in London.

Wattle recordings also included Patrick Galvin's 'Irish Songs of Resistance', John Greenway's 'Workin' on a Building', 'The Art of the Digeridu', MacColl and Lloyd's 'Singing Sailors', 'Music of New Guinea' and a recording of Aboriginal singer/songwriter Dougie Young.

Edgar had a great influence on Gary Shearston's CBS recordings of bush songs especially 'The Springtime It Brings On The Shearing' and 'Bolters, Bushrangers And Duffers'. For a while Edgar had a weekly column in the Australian with artcles about the music he loved: folk and jazz. He was also a contributor to Wendy Lowensteins' long running magazine 'Australian Tradition'. In 1967 Edgar teamed up with the artist and publisher Rod Shaw to produce a desk diary depicting early Australian history through a selection of ballads for the National Trust of Australia.

From the 1980s Edgar spent many years helping consolidate the National Library of Australia Oral History and Folklore collections and in that time interviewed many folksingers and folklorists especially those who had been involved in the early years of the revival.

Edgar wrote the entries on 'Folk Song' and 'Folksong making in Australia' in 'The Oxford Companion To Australian Folklore' and more recently wrote the extensive notes for Martyn Wyndham Read's Song Links double CD.

see also Edgar Waters