Kate McGarrigle (February 6, 1946 – January 18, 2010)Obituary at CBC News
, January 19, 2010 was a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

folk music Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be called world music. Traditional folk music has ...

singer-songwriter, who wrote and performed as a

duo Duo may refer to: Places *Duo, West Virginia, an unincorporated community and coal town in Greenbrier County, West Virginia *Duo, Tampere, a shopping centre in Hervanta, Tampere, Finland * DUO, a twin-tower development in Singapore Arts, enterta ...

with her sister

Anna McGarrigle Anna McGarrigle, CM (born December 4, 1944) is a Canadian folk music singer and songwriter who recorded and performed with her sister, Kate McGarrigle, who died in 2010. Early life Anna McGarrigle studied at the École des beaux-arts de Montré ...

. She is the mother of singers

Rufus Wainwright Rufus McGarrigle Wainwright (born July 22, 1973) is a Canadian-American singer, songwriter, and composer. He has recorded 10 studio albums and numerous tracks on compilations and film soundtracks. He has also written two classical operas and se ...

and Martha Wainwright from her marriage to American singer-songwriter Loudon Wainwright III, which ended in divorce.

Early life

Born in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple- ...

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Government of Canada, Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is ...

, to Irish pianist Francis McGarrigle and French Canadian mother Gabrielle Latrémouille, the three McGarrigle sisters ( Jane, Anna, and Kate, the youngest) grew up in the village of Saint-Sauveur-des-Monts, north of Montreal. Their family was a musical one on both sides, often gathering around the piano and singing, allowing Kate and her sisters to absorb influences as varied as Gershwin, French Canadian folk songs, Stephen Foster, and composer-singers such as Wade Hemsworth and

Edith Piaf Edith is a feminine given name derived from the Old English words ēad, meaning 'riches or blessed', and is in common usage in this form in English, German, many Scandinavian languages and Dutch. Its French form is Édith. Contractions and ...

. The sisters were formally introduced to music by taking piano lessons from the village nuns.

Career

In the 1960s Kate and Anna established themselves in Montreal's burgeoning folk scene while they attended school. From 1963 to 1967, they teamed up with Jack Nissenson and Peter Weldon to form the folk group, the Mountain City Four. Anna, who is 14 months older than Kate, studied painting at the

École des Beaux-Arts de Montréal École may refer to: * an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by secondary education establishments (collège and lycée) * École (river), a tributary of the Seine flowing in région Île-de-France * École, Savo ...

(now part of the

Université du Québec à Montréal The Université du Québec à Montréal ( English: University of Quebec in Montreal), also known as UQAM, is a French-language public university based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is the largest constituent element of the Université du Qu� ...

) in Montreal; McGarrigle studied

engineering Engineering is the use of scientific method, scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad rang ...

McGill University McGill University (french: link=no, Université McGill) is an English-language public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter granted by King George IV,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill Universit ...

. It was at this time that they began writing songs. Although she sang mostly in English, according to Juan Rodriguez, she and Anna "put Québécois folk music...on the global music map in 1980 with '' Complainte pour Ste. Catherine'', ''

Entre la jeunesse et la sagesse ''Entre la jeunesse et la sagesse'' is the fourth album by Kate & Anna McGarrigle, released in 1980. Consisting entirely of songs in French, the album was initially available only in Canada.''Kate & Anna McGarrigle – Entre la jeunesse et la sag ...

'' (commonly known as the ''French Record'') and 2003's ''

La vache qui pleure ''La vache qui pleure'' is the ninth album by Kate & Anna McGarrigle, released in 2003. It is named after the prehistoric bas-relief (stone carving) of La vache qui pleure near Djanet in the south of Algeria which is pictured on the album cover. ...

''." The McGarrigle sisters' life has been chronicled in a book by Anna's husband, Dane Lanken, titled ''Kate and Anna McGarrigle: Songs and Stories''. Place Kate-McGarrigle was inaugurated on August 7, 2013 in Montreal's Outremont borough. It contains a sculpture by Robert Wilson in the form of a double chair. McGarriglea Montreal nativelived nearby before her death. Her son, Rufus, says he discussed with McGarrigle the offer of his childhood friend, Lorca Cohen, for Rufus to father her child. He says that McGarrigle strongly encouraged him to accept Cohen's offer, and that he regrets she didn't live long enough to see his daughter Viva Katherine Wainwright Cohen's birth.

Awards

Kate and Anna's 1976 self-titled debut album was chosen by ''

Melody Maker ''Melody Maker'' was a British weekly music magazine, one of the world's earliest music weeklies; according to its publisher, IPC Media, the earliest. It was founded in 1926, largely as a magazine for dance band musicians, by Leicester-born ...

'' as Best Record of the Year. Their albums ''Matapedia'' (1996) and ''The McGarrigle Hour'' (1998) won

Juno Award The Juno Awards, more popularly known as the JUNOS, are awards presented annually to Canadian musical artists and bands to acknowledge their artistic and technical achievements in all aspects of music. New members of the Canadian Music Hall o ...

s. In 1999 Kate and Anna received Women of Originality awards. In 1993 she was made a Member of the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the c ...

. In 2006 Kate and Anna McGarrigle were the recipients of the Lifetime Achievement Award at the

SOCAN The Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada (SOCAN) is a Canadian performance rights organization that represents the performing rights of more than 135,000 songwriters, composers and music publishers. The organization collect ...

Awards.

Death

McGarrigle was diagnosed with cancer in 2006 and established the Kate McGarrigle Fund at the McGill University Health Centre, which she set up in 2008 to raise awareness of

sarcoma A sarcoma is a malignant tumor, a type of cancer that arises from transformed cells of mesenchymal (connective tissue) origin. Connective tissue is a broad term that includes bone, cartilage, fat, vascular, or hematopoietic tissues, and sa ...

, a rare cancer that affects connective tissue such as bone, muscle, nerves and cartilage. She died of clear-cell sarcoma on January 18, 2010, aged 63 at her home in Montreal. Her sister Anna wrote on their website: :"Sadly our sweet Kate had to leave us last night. She departed in a haze of song and love surrounded by family and good friends. She is irreplaceable and we are broken-hearted. Til we meet again dear sister." She made her last public appearance, with Rufus and Martha Wainwright, at the

Royal Albert Hall The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London. One of the UK's most treasured and distinctive buildings, it is held in trust for the nation and managed by a registered charity which receives no govern ...

in London, just six weeks before her death. The show raised $55,000 for the Kate McGarrigle Fund. On June 12, 2010, the

Meltdown Festival Meltdown is an annual festival held in London, featuring a mix of music, art, performance and film. Meltdown is held in June at Southbank Centre, the arts complex covering and including the Royal Festival Hall, the Queen Elizabeth Hall and The ...

staged a tribute concert in her honour, organised by Richard Thompson. The concert included performances by her daughter Martha Wainwright, son Rufus Wainwright, sister Anna McGarrigle, ex-husband Loudon Wainwright III, Neil Tennant,

Nick Cave Nicholas Edward Cave (born 22 September 1957) is an Australian singer, songwriter, poet, lyricist, author, screenwriter, composer and occasional actor. Known for his baritone voice and for fronting the rock band Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, C ...

, Emmylou Harris, Richard and

Linda Thompson Linda Diane Thompson (born May 23, 1950) is an American songwriter, former actress and beauty pageant winner. Thompson began her acting career as a " Hee Haw Honey" on the American television variety show '' Hee Haw''. She was also a girlfrien ...

, and longtime friends and musical collaborators Chaim Tannenbaum and Joel Zifkin. Her close friend Emmylou Harris wrote the song "Darlin' Kate" in her memory, which appears on her album '' Hard Bargain''. A "Celebration of Kate McGarrigle" was held on May 12 and 13, 2011, at New York City's Town Hall. Among the participating artists honoring her at these concerts were Martha Wainwright, Rufus Wainwright, Anna McGarrigle, Emmylou Harris,

Lisa Hannigan Lisa Margaret Hannigan (born 12 February 1981) is an Irish musician, singer, composer, and voice actress. She began her musical career as a member of Damien Rice's band. Since beginning her solo career in 2007 she has released three albums: ''S ...

Norah Jones Norah Jones (born Geethali Norah Jones Shankar; March 30, 1979) is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. She has won several awards for her music and as of 2012, has sold more than 50 million records worldwide. '' Billboard'' named her the ...

, Antony Hegarty,

Jimmy Fallon James Thomas Fallon (born September 19, 1974) is an American comedian, television host, actor, and writer. He is known for his work in television as a cast member on ''Saturday Night Live'' and as the host of the late-night talk show ''The Ton ...

, Krystle Warren, Justin Vivian Bond, Teddy Thompson, Jenni Muldaur, writer Michael Ondaatje and longtime friends and McGarrigle sidemen Chaim Tannenbaum and Joel Zifkin. The celebration was curated by Joe Boyd and filmed by Lian Lunson. '' Sing Me the Songs That Say I Love You: A Concert for Kate McGarrigle'' was released in June 2013; '' Sing Me the Songs: Celebrating the Works of Kate McGarrigle'' served as the film's soundtrack.

Discography

* '' Kate & Anna McGarrigle'' (1976) * '' Dancer with Bruised Knees'' (1977) * '' Pronto Monto'' (1978) * ''

'' (1980) * '' Love Over and Over'' (1982) * '' Heartbeats Accelerating'' (1990) * '' Matapédia'' (1996) * '' The McGarrigle Hour'' (1998) * ''

'' (2003) * '' The McGarrigle Christmas Hour'' (2005) * '' ODDiTTiES'' (2010) * ''

Tell My Sister ''Tell My Sister'' is a three-disc compilation album consisting of songs recorded by Kate & Anna McGarrigle. It was released by Nonesuch Records as a box set on May 3, 2011. The first two discs contain Kate & Anna McGarrigle's first two albums, ' ...

'' (2011) * '' Sing Me the Songs: Celebrating the Works of Kate McGarrigle'' (2013)

References

External links

*
Obituary in the GuardianVanity Fair Tribute Article
* {{DEFAULTSORT:McGarrigle, Kate 1946 births 2010 deaths Wainwright family Anglophone Quebec people Canadian folk singer-songwriters Canadian women singer-songwriters Canadian people of English descent Canadian people of Irish descent Canadian people of French descent Deaths from cancer in Quebec École des beaux-arts de Montréal alumni Francophone Quebec people French-language singers of Canada Kate & Anna McGarrigle McGill University Faculty of Engineering alumni Members of the Order of Canada Rufus Wainwright Singers from Montreal 20th-century Canadian women singers 21st-century Canadian women singers McGarrigle-Wainwright-Roche family Deaths from sarcoma