John Charles McDermott (born 25 March 1955) is a Scottish-Canadian tenor with Irish roots, best known for his rendering of the songs "

Danny Boy "Danny Boy" is a ballad, written by English songwriter Frederic Weatherly in 1913, and set to the traditional Irish melody of "Londonderry Air". History In 1910, in Bath, Somerset, the English lawyer and lyricist Frederic Weatherly initial ...

" and " Loch Lomond". Born in Glasgow, Scotland, McDermott 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 St. Michael's Choir School (also known as SMCS, The Choir School, or St. Mike's Choir) is a semi-private Catholic choir school for boys from grades 3-12 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is jointly operated by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Tor ...

in Toronto, Ontario in 1971 and 1972.

Starting out

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 The ''Toronto Sun'' is an English-language tabloid newspaper published daily in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The newspaper is one of several ''Sun'' tabloids published by Postmedia Network. The newspaper's offices is located at Postmedia Place i ...

;

Conrad Black Conrad Moffat Black, Baron Black of Crossharbour (born 25 August 1944), is a Canadian-born British former newspaper publisher, businessman, and writer. His father was businessman George Montegu Black II, who had significant holdings in Canadi ...

heard him singing at company parties. Black, along with other executives, financed McDermott's independent recording of "

" 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.

Professional 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. At this point in his career he was becoming recognized internationally, so he started to tour regularly as a solo act rather than an opening act. He also appeared at several special events including the

D-Day The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on Tuesday, 6 June 1944 of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during World War II. Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as D ...

ceremonies in France in 1995, and the United States

Democratic National Convention The Democratic National Convention (DNC) is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1832 by the United States Democratic Party. They have been administered by the Democratic National Committee since the 1852 ...

in 1996. He has also appeared on television several times, both as a host of

CBC Television CBC Television (also known as CBC TV) is a Canadian English-language broadcast television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcaster. The network began operations on September 6, 1952. Its French-l ...

concert specials in 1997, and in his own television special titled ''John McDermott: A Time to Remember'', which aired on PBS in 2002. He formed The Irish Tenors, and after performing a large concert in Dublin, Ireland in 1998, they spent some time touring the United States, appearing on television, and releasing a gold record. Since leaving the Irish Tenors, McDermott continues to tour extensively throughout the World, performing with his own group and with the great symphonies of the world. He continues to work to support the veteran community in the United States and in Canada. In 2000, McDermott dedicated McDermott House in Washington, D.C., a transitional home for homeless veterans. His latest release, ''Journeys: Bringing Buddy Home'', was recorded to help support fundraising for Fisher House Boston and launch the Canadian initiative for an outreach centre for Canadian veterans. In 2010, McDermott took part in the World Jazz for Haiti charity album, recorded at

Number 9 Audio Group Number 9 Audio Group is a recording studio located in the Cabbagetown area of Toronto, Ontario, Canada at 222 Gerrard Street East. Number 9 produced the World Jazz For Haiti charity album in 2010, appeared on Much Music's DISBAND in 2008, and rec ...

in support of the Red Cross disaster relief fund. The album featured Canadian artists such as David Clayton-Thomas and

Holly Cole Holly Cole (born November 25, 1963) is a Canadian jazz singer and actress. For many years she performed with her group The Holly Cole Trio. Background Cole was born in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Her father, Leon Cole, was a noted radio broadcaster ...

Discography

*''Danny Boy'' (1992) – Canada: double platinum, Australia No. 25 *''Battlefields of Green'' (1993) *''Old Friends'' (1994) (platinum) *''Christmas Memories'' (1994) (platinum) *''Love Is a Voyage'' (1995) (platinum) *''When I Grow Too Old to Dream'' (1997) *''If Ye Break Faith....'' (1998 Canada), in the US ''Remembrance'' (1999) *''Danny Boy Collection'' (1998) (triple platinum) *''Daughter of Mine'' (1999) (EP) *''The Irish Tenors'' with Ronan Tynan and Anthony Kearns (1999) – Australia No. 57 *''Love Is a Voyage'' (2000) (remastered) *''A Day to Myself'' (2001) *''O Canada'' (2001) *''A Time to Remember'' (2002) *''My Forever Friend'' (2003) *''Stories of Love'' (2003) *''Songs of the Isles – Ireland'' (2004) *''Songs of the Isles – Scotland'' (2004) *''Just Plain Folk'' (2005) (with Michael P Smith) *''Salute to Our Veterans'' (2005) (with the pipes and drums of the Ottawa Police Service) *''Legacy of the Patriot'' (2006) *''On a Whim – The Songs of Ron Sexsmith'' (2006) *''Images of Christmas'' (2006) (duets) *''Sharing Christmas – John McDermott & Friends'' (2007) *''Great is Thy Faithfulness'' (2008) *''Journeys – Bringing Buddy Home'' (2009) *''The Old House'' (2012) (with Jason Fowler) *''My Gentle Harp: A Tribute to Thomas Moore'' (2012) *''A Traditional Christmas'' (2012) *''How Great Thou Art'' (2014) *''Daughter of Mine'' (2014) *''The Contender'' (2014)

Awards and recognition

*For his support for veterans' causes, John McDermott was made an honorary member of

The War Amps The War Amps is a Canadian registered nonprofit organization, established in 1918 to meet the needs of war amputees. The charity provides financial and advisory services to those who have lost a limb or total eyesight in military service during w ...

. *Also for supporting veterans' causes, he has received the US Congressional Medal of Honor Society's Bob Hope Award. September 2001 *Received The Chapel of Four Chaplains " Legion of Honor Award " April 2002 *Received a Minister of Veterans Affairs Commendation for his work on behalf of Veterans 2010. *Received five

Juno Juno commonly refers to: *Juno (mythology), the Roman goddess of marriage and queen of the gods *Juno (film), ''Juno'' (film), 2007 Juno may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Fictional characters *Juno, in the film ''Jenny, Juno'' *Ju ...

nominations (1993–1998) *Received the Ted Williams Globe and Anchor Award from the United States Marine Corps Semper Fidelis Society. November. 2011 *McDermott was called the "worthy heir to the famed Irish tenor John McCormack" ( Chicago Sun Times).

References

External links