Galt MacDermot

Galt MacDermot was born on December 18, 1928, in Montreal, Canada. He was raised in a musical family—his father was a Canadian diplomat and his mother a classically trained pianist—which helped nurture his early passion for music. MacDermot studied music at Bishop’s University in Quebec and later earned a degree in composition from the University of Cape Town in South Africa, where he became deeply influenced by African rhythms and musical forms. This diverse background would go on to shape his eclectic and genre-blending style.

MacDermot rose to international prominence with the 1967 musical Hair, often called the first “rock musical.” Collaborating with lyricists Gerome Ragni and James Rado, he created a score that fused rock, soul, funk, and jazz with the structure of traditional musical theatre. Songs like “Aquarius,” “Good Morning Starshine,” and “Let the Sunshine In” became iconic hits, capturing the spirit of the late 1960s counterculture. Hair was both a critical and commercial success and marked a turning point in the evolution of Broadway.

Following the success of Hair, MacDermot continued to push boundaries in musical theatre. He composed the scores for Two Gentlemen of Verona (1971), which won the Tony Award for Best Musical, and Dude (1972), an experimental follow-up that challenged conventional theatrical forms. While not all his projects achieved the same level of acclaim, MacDermot remained a respected and innovative force in the theatre world.

Beyond the stage, MacDermot’s music found new life in unexpected places. In the 1990s and 2000s, his funky instrumental compositions—especially from his 1969 album Woman Is Sweeter—were widely sampled by hip-hop artists including Busta Rhymes, Run-DMC, and MF DOOM. His grooves, often driven by rich keyboard textures and infectious rhythms, earned him recognition as a pioneer not just of theatre music, but also of modern beats and crate-digging culture.

Galt MacDermot passed away on December 17, 2018, just one day before his 90th birthday. Over the course of his long and varied career, he bridged musical genres and cultural boundaries with a unique voice that blended classical training, jazz sensibility, and global rhythms. His work on Hair alone transformed musical theatre forever, but his influence extended far beyond Broadway, touching the worlds of pop, funk, and hip-hop for generations to come.