IT HAS BEEN four years since John McDermott quietly emerged to become one of the hottest selling male vocalists on the planet.
His initial CD, Danny Boy, was a 50th anniversary gift for his parents. It has now sold over 130,000 copies in Canada and went double-platinum in Australia and New Zealand.
He begins the Eastern Ontario swing of his latest tour with four performances at the Centrepointe Theatre in Nepean tonight. The onlytickets still available are for the 2 p.m. Saturday matinee.
Calling during a stopover in North Bay, McDermott said his success is partially a result of a dearth of artists doing straightforward, mainstream music.
"I think it's just recognition of just how strong this kind of music is.
"What does surprise me is that there is not more of it recorded.
"In a career sense, for me, it was simply a case of being in the right place at the right time and then having someone (a record company) take a chance on what I was doing."
McDermott's latest CD, Love Is A Voyage, is a tad off the traditional mainstream Irish/Celtic path he's taken in the past.
"My first two CDs were traditional, and this one features a few more contemporary writers and pieces. But it also shows that traditional songs (When You And I Were Young Maggie), can stand side by side with the new."
Among those offering material to the CD were Newfoundland's Ron Hynes who co-wrote (No Change In Me) with McDermott, as well as musical help from Murray McLauchlan and Prairie Oyster fiddler John P. Allen.
He also had a little help from Keith Potger of The Seekers who became his friend after McDermott opened for the band at a British concert in Wembley Arena.
McDermott indicates his newer material comes from a certain amount of personal research.
"I listen to Irish performers and songwriters. Interestingly enough, there seems to be a great influx of them turning up in Nashville these days doing country music."
Maybe the biggest overall change in McDermott's life has been from a touring perspective.
If you look at the man's tour itinerary, you discover he's been all over the Commonwealth, as well as in the U.S., in recent years.
"New Zealand was a real highlight for me. Danny Boy came on the charts at No. 1 and bounced Bryan Adams off top spot.
"That was a great feeling, and I love to remind people about it because it basically shows that you don't have to be a major music mover like Bryan to have an effect on people."
That success just highlighted to McDermott that the Celtic roots run deep and true right across the globe.
"It just goes to show how similar all these countries are. They all have a history and heritage that acknowledges their roots, the Scots, Irish, English heritage is very strong."
McDermott will also play a series of area venues: Cornwall (Jan. 26), Brockville (Jan.28), Kingston (Jan. 29, 30) and Belleville (Jan.31).
