Roderick (Rory) MacDonald (Scottish Gaelic: Ruaraidh Dòmhnallach /ruərɪ dɔ̃ːnəlˠəx/; born 27 July 1949) is a Scottish songwriter and musician. He was bassist, and a primary song writer, for Celtic rock band Runrig, alongside his younger brother, Calum Macdonald. Generally, Rory wrote the melodies, and Calum the lyrics. After former lead singer Donnie Munro left the band in 1997, Rory took lead vocal duties on songs in the band's catalogue written in the Scottish Gaelic language, as the band's new lead singer, Bruce Guthro, was not a Gaelic speaker.
Rory MacDonald
Birth name
Roderick Macdonald
Born
(1949-07-27) 27 July 1949 (age 74) Dornoch, Scotland
MacDonald previously attended the Glasgow School of Art and had a promising career as a graphic designer until Runrig went 'professional'. Later putting these skills into practice, he designed the sleeve notes for Runrig's Recovery and Heartland albums.
Early lifeedit
Macdonald was born in Dornoch, Sutherland. His father, Donald John MacDonald of North Uist, Outer Hebrides, was a World War II veteran. The family moved to North Uist, when Rory was about four years old. On arrival in Lochmaddy, his younger brother Calum was born.
During the Second World War, Macdonald's father, Donald, and his unit were ambushed in Normandy. He witnessed the death of his best friend, Sandy MacIntyre. After this, Donald used to visit Sandy's family. On one such occasion, when Rory was eight, he was taken along to Sandy's old home. There, Sandy's parents gave him his old accordion. Back home, he began practising, playing at school concerts. On this accordion he wrote his first ever tune: a Scottish dance march called "Sandy MacIntyre". This experience partly inspired the 1985 song "The Everlasting Gun", featured on the Heartland album, along with news of the Falklands War.
In the mid to the late 1960s, Macdonald was a part of a band called The Skyvers.
Referencesedit
External linksedit
The Official Runrig website
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rory, macdonald, musician, this, biography, living, person, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, adding, reliable, sources, contentious, material, about, living, persons, that, unsourced, poorly, sourced, must, removed, immediately, from, . This biography of a living person needs additional citations for verification Please help by adding reliable sources Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately from the article and its talk page especially if potentially libelous Find sources Rory MacDonald musician news newspapers books scholar JSTOR August 2010 Learn how and when to remove this template message Roderick Rory MacDonald Scottish Gaelic Ruaraidh Domhnallach ruerɪ dɔ ːnelˠex born 27 July 1949 is a Scottish songwriter and musician He was bassist and a primary song writer for Celtic rock band Runrig alongside his younger brother Calum Macdonald Generally Rory wrote the melodies and Calum the lyrics After former lead singer Donnie Munro left the band in 1997 Rory took lead vocal duties on songs in the band s catalogue written in the Scottish Gaelic language as the band s new lead singer Bruce Guthro was not a Gaelic speaker Rory MacDonaldBirth nameRoderick MacdonaldBorn 1949 07 27 27 July 1949 age 74 Dornoch ScotlandOriginIsle of Skye ScotlandGenresCeltic rockOccupation s Graphic designermusicianInstrument s Bass guitaracoustic guitarvocalsaccordionYears active1965 19681973 presentLabelsNeptune RecordsLismor RecordsChrysalis RecordsRidge Records MacDonald previously attended the Glasgow School of Art and had a promising career as a graphic designer until Runrig went professional Later putting these skills into practice he designed the sleeve notes for Runrig s Recovery and Heartland albums Early life editMacdonald was born in Dornoch Sutherland His father Donald John MacDonald of North Uist Outer Hebrides was a World War II veteran The family moved to North Uist when Rory was about four years old On arrival in Lochmaddy his younger brother Calum was born During the Second World War Macdonald s father Donald and his unit were ambushed in Normandy He witnessed the death of his best friend Sandy MacIntyre After this Donald used to visit Sandy s family On one such occasion when Rory was eight he was taken along to Sandy s old home There Sandy s parents gave him his old accordion Back home he began practising playing at school concerts On this accordion he wrote his first ever tune a Scottish dance march called Sandy MacIntyre This experience partly inspired the 1985 song The Everlasting Gun featured on the Heartland album along with news of the Falklands War In the mid to the late 1960s Macdonald was a part of a band called The Skyvers References editExternal links editThe Official Runrig website nbsp nbsp This article about a Scottish musician is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it vte Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Rory MacDonald musician amp oldid 1207131422, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
