The canadian composer Galt MacDermot (“Hair”) is the day before his 90. Birthday died. The confirmed MacDermots granddaughter of the magazine “Playbill” on Monday. A cause of death was not called. MacDermot would be on Tuesday (18.12.) 90 years old.
The Montreal-born diplomat’s son learned the recorder, the violin and the piano and was fond of Jazz and Swing. In South Africa, he studied African music, which should characterize his later pieces. For his composition “African Waltz”, won the 1961 two Grammys. Soon after, he moved to New York to write with two writers of the Musical “Hair”.
“Hair” was on Broadway in April 1968 Premiere. The time, influenced by the Rock ‘n’ Roll promoted long-haired young people on the stage, free love, drug use, and refusal to do military service. MacDermots of the Songs “Age Of Aquarius” and “Let The Sun Shine In” became the anthems of the Hippie Generation. The Musical has been reissued several times, including in 1979, in a Film by Milos Forman.
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in 1971 MacDermot ended up with “Two Gentlemen of Verona”, after the eponymous play by William Shakespeare, another Musical Hit. He was awarded with several prices. MacDermots music later had a great influence on Hip-Hop and was picked up, among other things, from MF Doom, Run-DMC and Public Enemy. Rapper Questlove called MacDermot on Instagram as a “king”. (dpa)
