Biography

Malcolm Angus MacLeod was from Black Rock, a small seaside village in Victoria County, about twenty miles northeast of St Ann's.

Malcolm's people came from Harris on his father's side and from Kyles Scalpay on his mother's side. He was born in 1898 and was 71 when the song Tuireadh nan Hiortach was recorded in July 1970 on the North Shore of Cape Breton Island.

At different times he worked catching animals for their hides and he was also involved in lobster fishing and farm work. He was a church elder and often led singing in the church, precenting when psalms were sung.

He was a member for many years of the famous group, the North Shore Singers. There is a story about a tour he took with Danny K. MacLeod and two others, Tommy Peggy and Dan Morrison, singing in a famous theatre at Harvard in 1955. Later, Dan reportedly said, "We could get Hollywood interested in our singing next." But Malcolm replied, "You better get your hay in first."

They also sang at the famous Newport Festival in 1965, on the same day Bob Dylan appeared for the first time with a band playing electric instruments.