John McDermott

John (Charles) McDermott. Tenor, popular singer, b Glasgow, Scotland, 25 March 1955. John McDermott emigrated from Glasgow to Canada with his family in 1965. Living in Willowdale as part of a musical family of mixed Irish and Scots heritage, he received his only formal musical training 1970-1 at St Michael's Choir School. Later, McDermott sang at weddings, and in 1980 with other choristers formed The Mistletones; he sang the national anthem for the Toronto Blue Jays and Toronto Maple Leafs ca 1988-92. He worked at various non-musical jobs including circulation representative for the Toronto Sun, where Conrad Black heard him sing at company parties. Black and other executives financed McDermott's independent recording, Danny Boy, in 1992. It was taken up by EMI Music Canada, which released it across North America. Danny Boy's unexpected success led McDermott at age 36 to pursue a professional singing career.

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