Charles McDermott, better-known by his stage name Chuck McDermott, is an American singer, songwriter and lyricist with a side history in

political Politics (from , ) is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status. The branch of social science that studies ...

activism. He is known for writing and contributing to a variety of vinyl record albums and

Spotify Spotify (; ) is a proprietary Swedish audio streaming and media services provider founded on 23 April 2006 by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon. It is one of the largest music streaming service providers, with over 456 million monthly active us ...

albums, for contributing two songs to the soundtrack for the 1982

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

horror film '' The Rats'', and for his collaborations with musician John Stewart.

Personal life

McDermott's date of birth and age are unknown. Born in the city of

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

but raised in

Dubuque, Iowa Dubuque (, ) is the county seat of Dubuque County, Iowa, United States, located along the Mississippi River. At the time of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population of Dubuque was 59,667. The city lies at the junction of Iowa, Il ...

, he attended

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...

for two years before branching out into a professional music career that began in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

. Much of his early music was based in

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while the ...

and

folk rock Folk rock is a hybrid music genre that combines the elements of folk and rock music, which arose in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom in the mid-1960s. In the U.S., folk rock emerged from the folk music revival. Performers suc ...

influences. McDermott lives in

Cohasset, Massachusetts Cohasset is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. As of the 2020 census the population was 8,381. History Cohasset was inhabited for thousands of years by Native Americans prior to European colonization, from whom English c ...

as of 2022. Other notable life events include McDermott's brief work on

Ted Kennedy Edward Moore Kennedy (February 22, 1932 – August 25, 2009) was an American lawyer and politician who served as a United States senator from Massachusetts for almost 47 years, from 1962 until his death in 2009. A member of the Democratic ...

's presidential campaign. He is politically involved in

environmentalism Environmentalism or environmental rights is a broad philosophy, ideology, and social movement regarding concerns for environmental protection and improvement of the health of the environment, particularly as the measure for this health seek ...

, finance and energy issues, which he prioritized over his musical career for the most part between the 1980s and 2010s. Although he had dropped out of Yale before completing a university career, McDermott was able to find work as a staff member in the

US House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...

1970s

McDermott's 1970s period of work was largely with his first band, a country group called "Chuck McDermott and Wheatstraw". The band focused on mostly live performances contained to venues in the United States, mainly in Boston. While McDeromtt was met with acclaim, the band itself was criticized for lacking the general charisma that McDermott carried. Despite this, Chuck McDermott and Wheatstraw released three vinyl records through label Back Door Records, one of which was a 7" single, and the other two of which were LP albums. The band ceased to be active in the late 1970s. During the disbanding of Chuck McDermott and Wheatstraw, McDermott worked as a political staffer for the

Kennedy Family The Kennedy family is an American political family that has long been prominent in American politics, public service, entertainment, and business. In 1884, 35 years after the family's arrival from Ireland, Patrick Joseph "P. J." Kennedy be ...

during a presidential campaign. McDermott described his involvement in politics as fulfilling, stating that "all that work has been very gratifying and I’m proud of it. But nothing I’ve ever done touches me in the place that my music does." McDermott went on to describe how the satisfaction of song writing, and the feeling community arising from live performances, rang "the louder bell".

1980s

McDermott toured in the United States and the Canadian province of

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

in the 1980s with his new band, The Chuck McDermott Band. While in Canada, the group contributed two songs that were featured in the soundtrack of

Robert Clouse Robert Clouse (March 6, 1928 – February 4, 1997) was an American film director and producer, known primarily for his work in the action/adventure and martial arts genres. He died on February 4, 1997, in Oregon of kidney failure. Clouse di ...

's horror film ''The Rats'' (known in America as ''Deadly Eyes''). One of these songs, a slow romantic rock song titled "So Right", was later featured on the B-side of McDermott's album ''The Turning Of The Wheel'', which was released in 1986. The other song featured in the film, a faster party rock song titled "Lolita", was never released on any commercially available album and is considered

lost media Lost media are pieces of media that are nonexistent, missing, or unavailable to the general public. The term ''lost media'' primarily encompasses visual, audio, or audiovisual media such as films, television and radio broadcasts, music, and video ga ...

. The only known existing version of the song is that which is featured in a scene of ''The Rats'', during which the film's characters speak heavily over it. Alongside McDermott's contributions to ''The Rats'' soundtrack, he also began collaborating extensively in the 1980s with fellow musician John Stewart. They released an album together, titled '' Blondes'', that was released in 1982 by

Polydor Polydor Records Ltd. is a German-British record label that operates as part of Universal Music Group. It has a close relationship with Universal's Interscope Geffen A&M Records label, which distributes Polydor's releases in the United States. ...

. The album was praised by ''Billboard'' for its innovative style.

Later career

McDermott collaborated with John Stewart on a second album, a recording of an earlier concert, released in 2011 under the title ''Illinois Rain - In Concert June 22, 1984''. By the 2010s, McDermott had become a solo artist, releasing two separate albums titled ''Gin & Rosewater'' (2017) and ''38 Degrees and Raining'' (2021). Unlike his previous albums, these albums were never released on vinyl, but were made available on CD,

and

SoundCloud SoundCloud is an online audio distribution platform and music sharing website that enables its users to upload, promote, and share audio. Founded in 2007 by Alexander Ljung and Eric Wahlforss, SoundCloud is one of the largest music streaming se ...

. Chuck was an inductee into the Massachusetts Country Music Hall of Fame in 2015.

Discography

Solo albums

Chuck McDermott and Wheatstraw

Collaborations with John Stewart

The Chuck McDermott Band (single songs)

* "Lolita" (1982) - unreleased (lost media; appears in the film '' The Rats'') * "So Right" (1982) - vinyl (see ''The Turning of the Wheel'')

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McDermott, Chuck Living people American folk musicians American country singers Country musicians from Illinois People from Chicago Folk musicians from Chicago American climate activists Political music artists American rock musicians American rock songwriters Year of birth missing (living people)