Folk Singer Kate McGarrigle Dead at 63
- Posted on Jan 19th 2010 11:15AM by Tabassum Siddiqui
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Canadian folk singer Kate McGarrigle, best known as the matriarch of the Montreal musical clan that includes sister Anna and children Rufus and Martha Wainwright, has died of cancer at age 63.
Kate and Anna recorded ten albums together as the McGarrigle Sisters, first establishing themselves on the burgeoning Canadian folk music scene in the 1970s and going on to win two Juno Awards well into the 1990s.
By that point, McGarrigle was recognized by a whole new generation as the mother of two rising talents: baroque pop singer Rufus Wainwright and his torch-folkie sister, Martha. (Their father is McGarrigle's former husband, acerbic singer-songwriter Loudon Wainwright III).
But long before her kids took center-stage, Kate was known for her rootsy melodies and indelible harmonies on characteristically Canadian songs such as the McGarrigle Sisters' version of 'The Log Driver's Waltz,' which was the soundtrack to a popular 1979 short animated film by Canada's National Film Board.
In recent years, McGarrigle continued to be as musically relevant as ever, inspiring many artists of the current era, collaborating not only with Rufus and Martha -- who credited their mother with encouraging and supporting their own music -- but also edgier acts such as Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds (singing backing vocals on his 2001 album 'No More Shall We Part').
Beloved in Quebec and internationally for singing in both French and English, McGarrigle managed to cross over in both languages long before many other Canadian artists did the same. Over their 35-year career, the McGarrigle Sisters' songs were covered by a plethora of artists in all genres, including Billy Bragg, Emmylou Harris, Linda Ronstadt, and many others.
McGarrigle reportedly passed away Monday night in Montreal after a battle with clear-cell carcinoma. Rufus Wainwright had cancelled his Australian tour, scheduled for next month, to be by her side.
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