John McDermott (singer)
| John McDermott | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | John Charles McDermott |
| Born | 25 March 1955 |
| Origin | Glasgow, Scotland, UK |
| Genres | Celtic music |
| Occupation(s) | singer, songwriter, record producer |
| Instruments | vocals, piano, keyboards, guitar |
| Years active | 1980–present |
| Labels | EMI |
| Associated acts | The Irish Tenors, St. Michael's Choir School |
| Website | Official website |
John Charles McDermott (born 25 March 1955) is a Scottish-Canadian tenor best known for his rendering of the songs "Danny Boy" and "Loch Lomond". Born in Glasgow, Scotland, John moved with his family to Willowdale, Toronto, Canada in 1965. Growing up in a musical family, his only formal musical training was at St. Michael's Choir School in Toronto, Ontario in 1971 and 1972.
After singing at weddings for a few years, he joined with several other choristers to form a group, named The Mistletones, in 1980.
He performed "The Ballad of Harry Warden", the closing theme of the Canadian slasher film My Bloody Valentine (1981).
Starting in 1988, he has regularly been called upon to sing the national anthems at Boston Red Sox, Toronto Blue Jays and Toronto Maple Leafs games. From 1984 through 1992, he worked as a circulation representative for the Toronto Sun; Conrad Black heard him singing at company parties. Black, along with other executives, financed McDermott's independent recording of "Danny Boy" in 1992, which was picked up and released in North America by EMI Music Canada. Following this unexpected success, McDermott decided to pursue a professional singing career.
He performed his first concert at the Rebecca Cohn Theatre on 5 October 1993 in Halifax, Nova Scotia. From there he continued to tour the rest of Canada, performing as an opening act for The Chieftains. Throughout 1994, he went on a tour of Australia and New Zealand, following the great success of "Danny Boy", which had been ranked Number 1 on the charts there and achieved triple platinum in New Zealand. Next, in 1995, he went on a tour of Britain with The Seekers.
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