Edward B. Moogk

Born: Weston (later part of Metropolitan Toronto) 15 Jul 1914. Died London, Ontario, 18 Dec 1979. Canadian Recorded-sound archivist, discographer and broadcaster. He had piano lessons as a child and played drums (1938-43) with the Bob Donelle and Willis Tipping dance bands. Under the professional name Ed Manning he pursued a career (1942-72) in radio and in the recording industry. He was assistant manager (1942-50) of radio station CKCR in Kitchener, Ont, and manager of record divisions at Gordon V. Thompson Ltd (1951-5) and at Sparton of Canada (1955-9). He was director of public service (1959-72) for CFPL-TV, London, Ont. During his radio years he was host for the CBC record programs 'Audio,' 'Den of Antiquity,' and 'Roll Back the Years.' The last, which began in Kitchener in 1945, was a network feature (1950-70). For Gavotte and Rococo he produced the records The Big Sing (two vols: 1952, Gav LPG-100; 1954, Gav LPG-107) and American Vaude and Variety (two vols: Rococo 4006, 4009, released in the late 1960s). A lifelong record collector, Moogk became an authority on Canadian recordings, and in 1967 the Centennial Commission adopted his plan to assemble a Canadian archive, which became the nucleus of the National Library of Canada's recorded-sound collection, of which he was the custodian (1972-9). He organized the exhibits '85 Years of Recorded Sound' (1975) at the National Library of Canada and '100 Years of Recorded Sound' (1977) at the Canadian National Exhibition.