Open main menu
Home
Random
Recent changes
Special pages
Community portal
Preferences
About Wikipedia
Disclaimers
Incubator escapee wiki
Search
User menu
Talk
Dark mode
Contributions
Create account
Log in
Editing
Galt MacDermot
Warning:
You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you
log in
or
create an account
, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.
Anti-spam check. Do
not
fill this in!
{{Short description|Musical artist (1928β2018)}} {{Use mdy dates|date=August 2016}} {{Infobox person | name = Galt MacDermot | image = Galt MacDermot 1972.jpg | caption = MacDermot circa 1972 | birth_name = Arthur Terence Galt MacDermot | birth_date = {{birth date|1928|12|18}} | birth_place = [[Montreal]], Quebec, Canada | death_date = {{death date and age|2018|12|17|1928|12|18}} | death_place = [[Staten Island, New York]], U.S. | education = [[Bishop's University]]<br>[[Cape Town University]] | children = 5 | spouse = {{marriage|Marlene Bruynzeel|1956}} | relatives = [[Terence MacDermot]] (father) | module = {{Infobox musical artist | embed=yes | occupation = {{Hlist|Composer|pianist}} | years_active = 1954β2018 | genre = {{Hlist|Musical theater|jazz|funk|classical music|film score}}}} }} '''Arthur Terence Galt MacDermot''' (December 18, 1928 β December 17, 2018) was a Canadian-American composer, pianist and writer of musical theater. He won a [[Grammy Award]] for the song "[[African Waltz]]" in 1960. His most successful musicals were ''[[Hair (musical)|Hair]]'' (1967; its cast album also won a Grammy) and ''[[Two Gentlemen of Verona (musical)|Two Gentlemen of Verona]]'' (1971). MacDermot also composed film soundtracks, jazz and funk albums, and classical music. His music has been sampled in numerous hip-hop songs and albums. He is best known for his work on ''Hair'', which produced three [[List of number-one singles of 1969 (Canada)|number-one singles in 1969]]: "[[Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In]]", "[[Good Morning Starshine]]", and the title song, "[[Hair (Hair song)|Hair]]". ==Biography== MacDermot was born in [[Montreal]], the son of Canadian diplomat [[Terence MacDermot]] and Elizabeth Savage.<ref name = NYT/> He was educated at [[Upper Canada College]] and [[Bishop's University]] ([[Sherbrooke]], Quebec, Canada). He received a bachelor's degree in music from [[Cape Town University]], [[South Africa]], and made a study of [[African music]] his specialty. He studied the piano privately with [[Neil Chotem]].<ref name="CE">[https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/galt-macdermot-emc "Galt MacDermot"]. ''The Canadian Encyclopedia''. {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100213075942/http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=U1ARTU0000709 |date=February 13, 2010 }}</ref> During his time in Cape Town, he met his future wife, Marlene Bruynzeel, a clarinetist of Dutch descent. They married in 1956 and had five children (Vincent, Molly, Yolanda and twins Sarah and Jolanthe, who died one day apart in 2020).<ref>Jolanthe MacDermot and Sarah MacDermot died one day apart in November 2020 at the age of 55, in [[Staten Island, New York]], where they were born on February 8, 1965. Sarah died on November 7, 2020 from undisclosed causes; Jolanthe died one day later, on November 8, 2020, from metastatic breast cancer.<br>{{cite news|url=https://www.silive.com/news/2020/11/twin-sisters-who-shared-inseparable-existence-die-one-day-apart-at-age-55.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201110201838/https://www.silive.com/news/2020/11/twin-sisters-who-shared-inseparable-existence-die-one-day-apart-at-age-55.html|title=Twin sisters who shared 'inseparable existence' die one day apart, at age 55|first=Gail|last=Lubin|newspaper=Staten Island Advance|date=November 10, 2020|archive-date=November 10, 2020|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>[https://www.dignitymemorial.com/obituaries/staten-island-ny/sarah-macdermot-9893684 Sarah MacDermot obituary], legacy.com. Accessed March 21, 2025.</ref><ref name = NYT>{{cite news|url = https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/18/obituaries/galt-macdermot-dead.html|title = Galt MacDermot, Composer of the Rock Musical 'Hair', Dies at 89|work = [[The New York Times]]|date = December 18, 2018|access-date = August 28, 2020|last = Seelye|first = Katharine Q.}}</ref> In 1960, he won his first [[Grammy Award]] for [[Cannonball Adderley]]'s recording of his song "African Waltz" (from the [[African Waltz|album of the same name]]).<ref name=Official>{{cite web|url=http://www.galtmacdermot.com/|title=MacDermot's Official Website|publisher=Galtmacdermot.com|access-date=September 27, 2014|archive-date=May 16, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150516073108/http://www.galtmacdermot.com/|url-status=dead}}</ref> In 1964, MacDermot moved to [[New York City]], where, three years later, he wrote the music for the hit musical ''[[Hair (musical)|Hair]]'', which he later adapted for [[Hair (film)|the 1979 film]] of the same name.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.geocities.com/hairpages/macder.html |title=The HAIR Pages|first=Tracy|last=Harris|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091027124943/http://www.geocities.com/hairpages/macder.html|date=March 2, 1998|archive-date=October 27, 2009}}</ref> Its [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]] cast album won a [[Grammy Awards of 1969|Grammy Award]] in 1969, and the musical generated three [[List of number-one singles of 1969 (Canada)|number-one singles that year]]: "[[Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In]]", "[[Good Morning Starshine]]", and the title song "[[Hair (Hair song)|Hair]]". His next musicals were ''[[Isabel's a Jezebel]]'' (1970) and ''Who the Murderer Was'' (1970), which featured British progressive rock band [[Curved Air]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.curvedair.com/sonjapage.htm|title=Who the Murderer Was|publisher=Curvedair.com|access-date=September 27, 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060519090232/http://www.curvedair.com/sonjapage.htm|archive-date=May 19, 2006}}</ref> MacDermot had another hit with the musical ''[[Two Gentlemen of Verona (musical)|Two Gentlemen of Verona]]'' (1971), which won the [[Tony Award for Best Musical]]. For that show, MacDermot was nominated for a Tony for best music and won the [[Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Music]]. His later musicals, including ''[[Dude (musical)|Dude]]'' and ''[[Via Galactica]]'' (both 1972) and ''[[The Human Comedy (musical)|The Human Comedy]]'' (1984), were not successful on Broadway, running 16 performances, 7 performances, and 13 performances respectively.<ref>{{cite web|website=IBDB|title=Galt MacDermot|url=https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/galt-macdermot-12086|accessdate=March 20, 2023}}</ref> MacDermot's [[film soundtrack]]s include ''[[Cotton Comes to Harlem]]'', a 1970 [[blaxploitation]] film starring [[Godfrey Cambridge]], [[Raymond St. Jacques]], and [[Redd Foxx]], based on Chester Himes's novel of the same name; ''[[Rhinoceros (film)|Rhinoceros]]'' (1974) starring [[Zero Mostel]] and [[Gene Wilder]], and directed by original Broadway ''Hair'' director [[Tom O'Horgan]]; and ''[[Mistress (1992 film)|Mistress]]'' (1992). He wrote his own orchestrations and arrangements for his theater and film scores.<ref name=Official/> In 1979, MacDermot formed the ''New Pulse Jazz Band'', which performed and recorded his original music and was one of the first jazz bands to feature [[synthesizer]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.galtmacdermot.com/newpulse.html|title=Galt MacDermot - New Pulse Jazz Band}}</ref> The band played as part of the onstage band in the 2009 Broadway revival of ''Hair''. MacDermot's oeuvre also includes ballet scores, chamber music, the Anglican liturgy, orchestral music, poetry, [[incidental music]] for plays, band repertory, and opera.<ref name=Official/> In 2009, MacDermot was inducted into the [[Songwriter's Hall of Fame]]. On November 22, 2010, MacDermot was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award by [[SOCAN]] at the 2010 SOCAN Awards in Toronto.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.socan.ca/about/awards/2010-socan-awards|title=2010 SOCAN Awards|publisher=SOCAN|access-date=2018-01-03|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171017094303/http://www.socan.ca/about/awards/2010-socan-awards|archive-date=October 17, 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref> [[File: Portrait_of_Galt_MacDermot.jpg | thumb | Portrait of Galt MacDermot]] ==Death== MacDermot died at his home in [[Staten Island, New York]] on December 17, 2018, the day before his 90th birthday.<ref name = NYT/><ref name= playbill>{{cite web|url=http://www.playbill.com/article/galt-macdermot-composer-of-hair-dead-at-89 |title= Galt MacDermot, Composer of Hair, Dead at 89 |website=Playbill|date= December 17, 2018 |access-date= December 22, 2018}}</ref> ==Samples and other use== MacDermot's music is popular with collectors of [[jazz]] and [[funk]]. Working with jazz musicians such as [[Bernard Purdie]], [[Jimmy Lewis (musician)|Jimmy Lewis]] and [[Idris Muhammad]], he created pieces that prefigured the funk material of [[James Brown (musician)|James Brown]]. In more recent decades, his work became popular with [[Hip hop music|hip hop]] musicians including [[Busta Rhymes]], who sampled "Space" from MacDermot's 1969 record ''Woman Is Sweeter'' for the smash-hit "[[Woo-Hah!! Got You All in Check]]", and [[Run DMC]], which sampled the ''Hair'' song "Where Do I Go?" in its Grammy Award-winning "[[Down with the King (song)|Down with the King]]".<ref name="Official" /> [[Handsome Boy Modeling School]] ("The Truth"), [[DJ Vadim]], [[DJ Premier]] and [[Oh No (rapper)|Oh No]] have all sampled the same segment from "Coffee Cold", from ''Shapes of Rhythm'' (1966).<ref>{{cite web|website=CBC|url=https://www.cbc.ca/music/how-canadian-composer-galt-macdermot-unwittingly-became-rap-royalty-1.6102281|title=How Canadian composer Galt MacDermot unwittingly became rap royalty|first=Jesse|last=Kinos-Goodin|date=July 21, 2021|accessdate=March 20, 2023}}</ref> Scottish electronica duo [[Boards of Canada]] used a loop in their track "[[Aquarius (EP)|Aquarius]]" (''[[Music Has the Right to Children]]'') which was sampled from MacDermot's song of the same name from the 1979 soundtrack of the film [[Hair (musical)|''Hair'']].<ref>{{cite web|website=MusicRadar|url=https://www.musicradar.com/news/tech/the-16-best-uses-of-a-sample-ever-362362|title=The 16 best uses of a sample ever|first=Ben|last=Rogerson|date=January 27, 2011|accessdate=March 20, 2023}}</ref> As part of his Special Herbs series, rapper [[MF DOOM]] sampled three MacDermot songs from ''Woman Is Sweeter'': "Cathedral" for his song "Pennyroyal", "Space" for "Cinquefoil", and "Princess Gika" for "Styrax Gum".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.metalfacedoom.com/|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120906071645/http://www.metalfacedoom.com/|url-status=usurped|archive-date=September 6, 2012|title=MF Doom|publisher=Metalfacedoom.com|access-date=September 27, 2014}}</ref> "Cathedral" is also sampled in [[Westside Gunn]]'s "Dear Winter Bloody Fiegs" for his 2015 mixtape ''Hitler Wears Hermes 3''. In 2006, rapper and producer Oh No released an album produced completely with MacDermot samples, titled ''[[Exodus into Unheard Rhythms]]''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.stonesthrow.com/ohno/|title=Oh No|publisher=Stones Throw Records|access-date=September 27, 2014}}</ref> ==Shows== * ''[[My Fur Lady]]'' (1957) * ''[[Hair (musical)|Hair]]'' (1967) * ''[[Isabel's a Jezebel]]'' (1970) * ''Who the Murderer Was'' (1970) * ''[[Two Gentlemen of Verona (musical)|Two Gentlemen of Verona]]'' (1971) * ''[[Dude (musical)|Dude]]'' (1973) * ''[[Via Galactica]]'' (1973) * ''[[The Human Comedy (musical)|The Human Comedy]]'' (1984) * ''The Special'' (1985) * ''[[Time and the Wind (musical)|Time and the Wind]]'' (1995) * ''The Legend of Joan of Arc'' (1997) * ''Sun'' (1998) * ''Blondie'' (1998) * ''The Corporation'' (1999) * ''Gone Tomoro'' (2009) ==Discography== {{expand list|date=July 2018}} (excluding cast albums and soundtracks) *''Art Gallery Jazz'' (1960) *''African Waltz (1960)'' *''The English Experience'' (1961) *''Galt MacDermot by Arrangement'' (1963) *''Shapes of Rhythm'' (1966) *''Hair Cuts'' (1969) *''Woman is Sweeter'' (1969) *''Galt MacDermot's First Natural Hair Band''(1970) *''The Nucleus'' (1971) *''Ghetto Suite'' (1972) *''[[Salome Bey]] Sings Songs From Dude'' (1972) *''The Highway Life'' (1973) *''Take This Bread: A Mass in our Time'' (1973) *''Memphis Dude'' (1973) *''La Novela'' (1973) *''The Karl Marx Play'' (1973) *''The Joker Of Seville (Trinidad Theatre Workshop Original Cast Album)''(1974) *''New Pulse Jazz Band'' (1979) *''O Babylon!'' (1980) *''Pulse On!'' (1981) *''New Pulse Jazz Band III'' (1983) *''Boogie Man'' (1985) *''Lost Conquest (Conquista Perdida)'' (1986) *''Purdie as a Picture'' (1994) *''Reflections of a Radically Right Wing Composer'' (1992) *''The [[Thomas Hardy]] Songs'' (1997) *''El NiΓ±o'' (1998) *''Up from the Basement Volumes 1 & 2'' (2000)<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.galtmacdermot.com/works.htm |title=Galt MacDermot β Complete List of Works |website=Galtmacdermot.com |access-date=September 27, 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140925091838/http://www.galtmacdermot.com/works.htm |archive-date=September 25, 2014}}</ref> *''Corporation'' (2000) *''Spotted Owl'' (2000) *''Live In Nashville'' (2000) *''Foolish Lover'' (2001) *''[[Paul Laurence Dunbar]] in Song'' (2001) *''Waiting For The Limo'' (2003) *''In Film'' (2004) *''Asian Suite'' (2005) *''Many Faces of Song'' (2009) *''Sun'' (2009) *''The Sun Always Shines for the Cool'' (2014) *''Air & Angels'' (2017) ==References== {{Reflist}} ==External links== *{{Official website|http://www.galtmacdermot.com}} and archival pages: **[https://web.archive.org/web/20070607010248/http://www.galtmacdermot.com/downloads.htm Galt MacDermot's Discography] **[https://web.archive.org/web/20070724051436/http://www.galtmacdermot.com/streaming.htm Galt MacDermot's Free Streaming Music] **[https://web.archive.org/web/20070813213614/http://www.galtmacdermot.com/aboutgalt.htm Galt MacDermot's Full Biography] **[https://web.archive.org/web/20070724051504/http://www.galtmacdermot.com/newpulse.htm Galt MacDermot's New Pulse Jazz Band] *[http://www.earoftheheartthemovie.com Ear of the Heart: the Music of Galt MacDermot] *[https://web.archive.org/web/20070621205448/http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile Galt MacDermot's MySpace Page] *[http://s181.photobucket.com/albums/x221/macdermot/ Galt MacDermot's Photo Gallery] *{{IMDb name | id=0531581| name=Galt MacDermot}} *{{IBDB name}} *{{iobdb name|9788}} {{Galt MacDermot}} {{DramaDesk Music 1969β1975}} {{Hair (musical)}} {{Authority control}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Macdermot, Galt}} [[Category:1928 births]] [[Category:2018 deaths]] [[Category:20th-century Canadian composers]] [[Category:20th-century Canadian pianists]] [[Category:21st-century Canadian composers]] [[Category:21st-century Canadian pianists]] [[Category:Anglophone Quebec people]] [[Category:Bishop's University alumni]] [[Category:Broadway composers and lyricists]] [[Category:Canadian emigrants to the United States]] [[Category:Canadian musical theatre composers]] [[Category:Male musical theatre composers]] [[Category:Canadian people of Jamaican descent]] [[Category:Grammy Award winners]] [[Category:Musicals by Galt MacDermot| Galt MacDermot]] [[Category:Musicians from Montreal]] [[Category:South African College of Music alumni]] [[Category:Upper Canada College alumni]] [[Category:Writers from Montreal]]
Edit summary
(Briefly describe your changes)
By publishing changes, you agree to the
Terms of Use
, and you irrevocably agree to release your contribution under the
CC BY-SA 4.0 License
and the
GFDL
. You agree that a hyperlink or URL is sufficient attribution under the Creative Commons license.
Cancel
Editing help
(opens in new window)
Pages transcluded onto the current version of this page
(
help
)
:
Template:Authority control
(
edit
)
Template:Cite news
(
edit
)
Template:Cite web
(
edit
)
Template:DramaDesk Music 1969β1975
(
edit
)
Template:Expand list
(
edit
)
Template:Galt MacDermot
(
edit
)
Template:Hair (musical)
(
edit
)
Template:IBDB name
(
edit
)
Template:IMDb name
(
edit
)
Template:Infobox person
(
edit
)
Template:Iobdb name
(
edit
)
Template:Official website
(
edit
)
Template:Reflist
(
edit
)
Template:Short description
(
edit
)
Template:Use mdy dates
(
edit
)
Template:Webarchive
(
edit
)