John McDermott

Celtic balladeer John McDermott was born in Scotland, but following his family's relocation to Canada in the mid-'60s, he went on to hone his crystalline tenor at Toronto's St. Michael's Choir School. After graduating he accepted the position of circulation manager with a Toronto newspaper; discovered while singing at a private party, McDermott was befriended by publishing magnate Conrad Black, who funded the sessions that led to the release of the singer's smash 1992 debut, Danny Boy, a record originally intended as a gift for his parents' golden wedding anniversary. Old Friends followed in 1994, and a year later McDermott issued Christmas Memories; with 1996's Love Is a Voyage, he even earned a Canadian Juno Award nomination as Male Vocalist of the Year. When I Grow Too Old to Dream appeared in 1997, and a year later he resurfaced with If Ye Break Faith — We Shall Not Sleep (retitled Remembrance for American consumption). Between 1998 and 2006 he released Old Friends, Time to Remember, Celtic Tenor, and Love Is a Voyage, as well as a collection of some of his most beloved material called Timeless Memories: Greatest Hits. He reunited with Irish Tenors Finbar Wright and Anthony Kearns during this period, recording a new album with the Tenors (2005's Deus Meus) and embarking on a U.S. tour in 2004. In 2007, McDermott found himself with three new albums and an EP under his belt: O Canada, When I Grow Too Old to Dream, On a Whim: Songs of Ron Sexsmith, and Daughter of Mine.