Croft, Clary

Websites:  https://clarycroft.bandcamp.com/
Origin: Sherbrooke, Nova Scotia, 🇨🇦
Biography:

Clary Croft is a renowned folklorist, singer, author, and performer whose life's work has helped preserve and promote the rich cultural heritage of Nova Scotia and the broader Maritime provinces. Born in Sherbrooke, Nova Scotia in 1950, Croft has spent more than five decades researching, recording, and interpreting traditional folk songs, stories, and customs. He is widely regarded as one of Canada’s leading authorities on Maritime folklore and a beloved figure in the East Coast folk community.

Croft’s early career took shape as a founding member of the folk group The Privateers in 1968, before he joined the cast of CBC’s national television program Singalong Jubilee in 1970. Around this time, he also began recording original material, including a pair of rare CBC singles: Something in Your Face / Rainy Day Man (1971) and Halifax Vocalist (1973). His debut LP Sun, Moon & Stars (1975) was recorded in conjunction with the Sherbrooke Village restoration project and featured a blend of traditional and contemporary Maritime songs, several penned by Croft himself.

Throughout his career, Croft maintained a deep connection with the work of pioneering folklorist Dr. Helen Creighton. He worked closely with Creighton during the last fifteen years of her life and later catalogued her vast archival collection at the Nova Scotia Archives. His intimate knowledge of her legacy led to the release of the 1986 album False Knight Upon the Road, which featured songs drawn from her field recordings and included a personal dedication from Creighton herself. The Halifax Mail Star fittingly dubbed Croft “the acknowledged master of one of the richest repertoires in Canada.”

As a performer, Croft is known for his warm tenor voice, clear diction, and thoughtful arrangements, often accompanied by acoustic guitar or Celtic harp. He has collaborated with some of Atlantic Canada’s finest musicians, including Dave MacIsaac, Georges Hébert, and Joan Danson, and performed widely at festivals, heritage sites, and on national broadcasts.

In addition to his musical output, Croft is the author of several well-regarded books that explore the customs and superstitions of the region, including Witchcraft: Tales, Beliefs and Superstitions from the Maritimes (1995), Celebrate! The History and Folklore of Holidays in Nova Scotia (2001), and the definitive biography Helen Creighton: Canada’s First Lady of Folklore (2004). His memoir, My Charmed Life in Music, Art and Folklore, was published in 2021 and offers an intimate look into his multifaceted career.

Croft has taught and lectured widely on folklore, heritage, and costume studies, and holds academic credentials from Saint Mary’s University, the University of New Brunswick, and Dalhousie University. He continues to live in Halifax with his wife Sharon, where he remains an active voice in cultural preservation, traditional arts, and community life.
-Robert Williston