Biography
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Born
17 July 1954
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Born In
South Australia, Australia
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Died
18 November 2016 (aged 62)
1) - Hugh McDonald (17 July 1954 – 18 November 2016) was an Australian, singer, songwriter and guitarist. Active from the 1970s to 2016, he performed and recorded with The Bushwackers, The Sundowners, Banshee, Redgum, Des 'Animal' McKenna, Moving Cloud, and The Colonials.
He became better known when he joined the folk-rock group Redgum in 1981. McDonald wrote a number of the group's songs, including "The Diamantina Drover". After lead singer John Schumann left the band in 1986, he took over as lead singer until the group disbanded in 1990.
Post-Redgum, he continued playing and recording music, and also taught music, including working with the Geelong Music College Orchestra. In addition, he has his own recording studios in Melbourne.
Hugh also lent his musical and recording expertise to the production of the Poowong Consolidated Primary School's annual music CD and more recently DVD. He has worked alongside the students and music teacher Phil Beggs to compose, write, record and produce the CD.
From 2005 McDonald worked with Schumann again as part of the Vagabond Crew, touring and performing on the albums Lawson and Behind the Lines. The latter album was recorded at McDonald's studios.
In 2014 McDonald released his fourth post-Redgum solo album titled The Land, which includes his more recent originals "If It All Goes South", a tender heartfelt song which he wrote for his wife, Rebecca Harris Mason, and "Shrodinger's Cat", a contemplative song about accepting the uncertainties of life.
McDonald performed for Australian forces overseas several times. In December 2009 he visited East Timor to play for Australian and New Zealand troops stationed there, in September–October 2011 he played for Australian troops in Afghanistan and in July 2013 he played for Australian troops and Australian Federal Police in the Solomon Islands. In 2014 he played for the Royal Australian Navy troops in Tanzania, Africa, and in March 2016 he returned to Afghanistan to play for the Australian troops.
As of 2015, he had seven children, six grandchildren and lived with his wife, pianist Rebecca Harris Mason, and his two stepchildren. His daughter, Georgia, is also a musician; who sings and plays guitar in Melbourne band Camp Cope.
Hugh McDonald died on 18 November 2016 from complications of prostate cancer.
2) - Hugh John McDonald (born December 28, 1951) is an American musician who is best known for his session work and for being the current bassist and backup singer of American rock band Bon Jovi, which he joined as an unofficial member in November 1994, before becoming an official member in 2016. Before joining Bon Jovi, he was the bass guitarist for the David Bromberg Band, touring extensively worldwide and playing on many Bromberg albums. He has played with many other artists, both live and in the studio, and has recorded with Willie Nelson, Jon Bon Jovi, Richie Sambora, Steve Goodman, Ringo Starr, Lita Ford, Michael Bolton, Cher, Alice Cooper, Ricky Martin, Gavin Whittaker, Michael Bublé, Bret Michaels, others and did a few dates during Shania Twain's the Woman in Me TV tour.
He has worked with Bon Jovi in the studio since its inception and has been their bass guitarist since original bass guitarist Alec John Such's departure after Cross Road which was released in 1994, but was still regarded as an 'unofficial' member of Bon Jovi. At this time, McDonald was left out of most publicity shoots and album covers but did appear in some of the band's promo videos. The band members said they never agreed to officially replace Such. Regardless, his work with the band earned him a 1995 Metal Edge Readers' Choice Award for "Best Bassist" (tying with White Zombie's Sean Yseult). McDonald was one of the studio musicians that recorded Jon Bon Jovi's original first demo for the song "Runaway". When the song became a local hit, Jon Bon Jovi nevertheless assembled a band without McDonald in order to record a full band album around the hit song. He has also appeared on Jon Bon Jovi's solo album Destination Anywhere and was part of Jon Bon Jovi's backing group, The Big Dogs.
McDonald married his long-term partner, Nancy in 1996 but they divorced some years later.
In 2004, McDonald married Kelli, a horse trainer and jewelry designer, they have two children and they reside near Nashville, Tennessee. In 2018, McDonald was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Bon Jovi.
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