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 b ...

singer-songwriter, who wrote and performed as a duo 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 Montréa ...

. 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 set ...

and

Martha Wainwright Martha Wainwright (born May 8, 1976) is a Canadian-American singer-songwriter, musician, and actress. She has released seven critically-acclaimed studio albums. Wainwright is the daughter of musicians Kate McGarrigle and Loudon Wainwright III a ...

from her marriage to American singer-songwriter

Loudon Wainwright III Loudon Snowden Wainwright III (born September 5, 1946) is an American singer-songwriter and occasional actor. He has released twenty-six studio albums, four live albums, and six compilations. Some of his best-known songs include "The Swimmin ...

, which ended in divorce.

Early life

Born in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the 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 one of the thirtee ...

, to Irish pianist Francis McGarrigle and French Canadian mother Gabrielle Latrémouille, the three McGarrigle sisters (

Jane Jane may refer to: * Jane (given name), a feminine given name * Jane (surname), related to the given name Film and television * ''Jane'' (1915 film), a silent comedy film directed by Frank Lloyd * ''Jane'' (2016 film), a South Korean drama fil ...

, Anna, and Kate, the youngest) grew up in the village of

Saint-Sauveur-des-Monts Saint-Sauveur () is a town and municipality within the Les Pays-d'en-Haut Regional County Municipality, Quebec, Canada. It is in the administrative region of Laurentides in the Laurentian mountains, located about 60 kilometres north of Montreal. ...

, 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 Stephen Collins Foster (July 4, 1826January 13, 1864), known also as "the father of American music", was an American composer known primarily for his parlour music, parlour and Minstrel show, minstrel music during the Romantic music, Romantic ...

, and composer-singers such as

Wade Hemsworth Albert Wade Hemsworth (October 23, 1916 – January 19, 2002) was a Canadian folk singer and songwriter.Alan Hustak, "Canadian composer dies at 85". ''Calgary Herald'', January 20, 2002. Although he was not a prolific composer, having writt ...

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 vari ...

. 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 Jack Nissenson (1933-June 24, 2015 in Montreal) was a member of the Mountain City Four, a Canadian folk music group, based in Montreal and active in the 1960s. In addition to Nissenson, the group consisted of Peter Weldon, Kate McGarrigle and Anna ...

and Peter Weldon to form the folk group, the

Mountain City Four The Mountain City Four were a Canadian folk music group, based in Montreal and active from 1963 to 1967. The group consisted of Jack Nissenson, Peter Weldon, Kate McGarrigle and Anna McGarrigle. They are primarily remembered for popularizing a num ...

. 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, Savoi ...

(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 Québe ...

) 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'' (commonly known as the ''French Record'') and 2003's '' La vache qui pleure''." 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 Outremont is an affluent residential borough (''arrondissement'') of the city of Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It consists entirely of the former city on the Island of Montreal in southwestern Quebec. The neighbourhood is inhabited largely by fran ...

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 of ...

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 ...

. 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 collects ...

Awards.

Death

McGarrigle was diagnosed with cancer in 2006 and established the Kate McGarrigle Fund at the

McGill University Health Centre The McGill University Health Centre (MUHC; french: Centre universitaire de santé McGill) is one of two major healthcare networks in the city of Montreal, Quebec. It is affiliated with McGill University and is one of the largest medical complex in ...

, 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 sarcom ...

, a rare cancer that affects connective tissue such as bone, muscle, nerves and cartilage. She died of

clear-cell sarcoma Clear cell sarcoma is a rare form of cancer called a sarcoma. It is known to occur mainly in the soft tissues and dermis. Rare forms were thought to occur in the gastrointestinal tract before they were discovered to be different and redesignated a ...

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 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 Neil Francis Tennant (born 10 July 1954) is an English musician, singer, songwriter and music journalist, and co-founder of the synth-pop duo Pet Shop Boys, which he formed with Chris Lowe in 1981. He was a journalist for ''Smash Hits'', and a ...

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, Ca ...

Emmylou Harris Emmylou Harris (born April 2, 1947) is an American singer, songwriter and musician. She has released dozens of albums and singles over the course of her career and has won 14 Grammys, the Polar Music Prize, and numerous other honors, including ...

, Richard and Linda Thompson, and longtime friends and musical collaborators Chaim Tannenbaum and

Joel Zifkin Joel Zifkin (born April 14, 1954) is a Canadian musician and songwriter. His primary instrument is the electric violin and he is best known as a session musician and live performer. Career Zifkin has performed and/or recorded with the followi ...

. 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: ''Se ...

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 Justin Vivian Bond (born May 9, 1963) is an American singer-songwriter and actor. Described as "the best cabaret artist of heir!-- MOS:GENDERID --> generation" and a "tornado of art and activism", they first achieved prominence under the pseudon ...

Teddy Thompson Teddy Thompson (born 19 February 1976) is an English folk and rock musician. He is the son of folk rock musicians Richard and Linda Thompson and brother of singer Kamila Thompson. He released his first album in 2000. Biography Teddy Thompson ...

, Jenni Muldaur, writer

Michael Ondaatje Philip Michael Ondaatje (; born 12 September 1943) is a Sri Lankan-born Canadian poet, fiction writer, essayist, novelist, editor, and filmmaker. He is the recipient of multiple literary awards such as the Governor General's Award, the Giller P ...

and longtime friends and McGarrigle sidemen Chaim Tannenbaum and

. The celebration was curated by

Joe Boyd Joe Boyd (born August 5, 1942) is an American record producer and writer. He formerly owned Hannibal Records. Boyd has worked on recordings of Pink Floyd, Fairport Convention, Sandy Denny, Richard Thompson, Nick Drake, The Incredible String Ba ...

and filmed by

Lian Lunson Lian Lunson (born 3 February 1959) is an Australian actress who became a filmmaker and author. Biography Lian Lunson was born in Victoria, outside Melbourne. After attending The Ensemble drama school in Sydney and working as an actor, she mov ...

. '' 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 Kate McGarrigle (February 6, 1946 – January 18, 2010) and Anna McGarrigle (born December 4, 1944) were a duo of Canadian singer-songwriters (and sisters) from Quebec, who performed until Kate McGarrigle's death on January 18, 2010. Music ...

'' (1976) * ''

Dancer with Bruised Knees ''Dancer with Bruised Knees'' is the second album by Kate & Anna McGarrigle, released in 1977. It employed several notable folk musicians to contribute a bluegrass feel to many of the tracks. The album also includes three French songs, one by th ...

'' (1977) * ''

Pronto Monto ''Pronto Monto'' is the third album by Kate & Anna McGarrigle, released in 1978. The title is an approximate pronunciation of the French phrase "prends ton manteau", which means "take your coat". ''Pronto Monto'' was produced with a pop polish i ...

'' (1978) * '' Entre la jeunesse et la sagesse'' (1980) * ''

Love Over and Over ''Love Over and Over'' is the fifth album by Kate & Anna McGarrigle, released in 1982. Following this album, the McGarrigles did not release an album of new material until '' Heartbeats Accelerating'' in 1990. The album contains a French-Canadian ...

'' (1982) * ''

Heartbeats Accelerating ''Heartbeats Accelerating'' is the sixth album by Kate & Anna McGarrigle, released in 1990. It was their first album in eight years, after '' Love Over and Over'' in 1982, and received favourable reviews from many music critics. Bill Dillon, Pie ...

'' (1990) * '' Matapédia'' (1996) * ''

The McGarrigle Hour ''The McGarrigle Hour'' is the eighth studio album by Kate & Anna McGarrigle, released on October 13, 1998. The album was recorded at a family gathering, including Kate's former husband Loudon Wainwright III, their son and daughter Rufus Wainwr ...

'' (1998) * '' La vache qui pleure'' (2003) * ''

The McGarrigle Christmas Hour ''The McGarrigle Christmas Hour'' is the tenth album by Kate & Anna McGarrigle, released in 2005. A sequel to their 1998 album ''The McGarrigle Hour'', the album features a program of Christmas music recorded by the McGarrigles, their family and ...

'' (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, ''K ...

'' (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