23 Facts About Peter McCann

Peter James McCann was an American songwriter, musician, lecturer, and songwriters' activist.

Peter McCann was known for writing successful pop-rock and country songs, including his 1977 solo hit "Do You Wanna Make Love", and "Right Time of the Night" for Jennifer Warnes.

At Fairfield University, McCann founded folk-rock group the Repairs, for which he served as guitarist, keyboardist, vocalist, and songwriter.

Peter McCann moved to Los Angeles in 1971 to record with the Repairs under the Motown label, and then was signed to ABC Records as a staff writer.

Peter McCann moved to Nashville in 1987 and began a long career as a staff writer and occasional recording artist.

Peter McCann spent upwards of 25 years lobbying for songwriters' rights in Washington, giving lectures on copyright law in several institutes of higher education across the United States.

Peter McCann was born in Bridgeport, Connecticut, on March 6,1948.

Peter McCann was the son of Donal George McCann, the music minister, organist and choirmaster at St James Roman Catholic Church in Stratford, Connecticut, and Amelia Teresa McCann, a homemaker.

Peter McCann was of Irish, German, Eastern European, and Swedish descent.

Peter McCann went on to Notre Dame High School in Fairfield, taught by the Holy Cross Fathers, and graduated in 1970 with a Bachelor of Arts in History at Fairfield University, a Jesuit-run institution, specializing in the history of colonial America, the Tudors, and the first five emperors of Rome.

At the time, it was rare for a freshman like Peter McCann, attending Fairfield University on a scholarship, to make it into the Glee club as a freshman.

Peter McCann began writing songs, influenced by folk music like the Kingston Trio and the skiffle music played by Easton, Connecticut native band the Jackson Pike Skifflers, led by his sister Katie's husband Will Tressler.

One year after the release of the group's 1974 live album, Repairs Live, Peter McCann got signed to ABC Records as a staff writer.

When Peter McCann first moved to Nashville, he didn't know how to read sheet music and had only written songs alone; he didn't know how to collaborate with others.

Peter McCann first saw the value of collaboration after talking with Walter Becker of Steely Dan in the mid-70s; both signed to ABC at the time.

Walter played him an original song, "Android Warehouse", and Peter McCann asked him why he needed to write with his partner Donald Fagen, as the song was already good enough.

Peter McCann had written 55 songs in his first year in Nashville.

Peter McCann often joked that they wish you could copyright a song title, referencing Mariah Carey's hit single by the same name.

Peter McCann had a song on one of the largest selling female debut albums of all time when Whitney Houston recorded his song "Take Good Care of My Heart".

In 2012, Peter McCann concluded a three-year contract with GrandVista Music in Nashville as a staff writer.

Peter McCann lectured at the University of Southern California, UC Santa Barbara, George Washington University Law School, University of Tennessee Law School, Belmont University and Vanderbilt University, the latter at which he taught gratis music classes for the students.

Peter McCann pushed for Paul Simon to receive the honor.

In 1995, Peter McCann released a Christmas album of his own compositions on RCA Records, of which one of the songs, "One Voice", received critical acclaim and a letter of commendation from Pope John Paul II.