Tuesday, January 19, 2010

RIP, Kate McGarrigle





Quebequois folk artist Kate McGarrigle, whose name will be forever entwined with that of her sister and performing partner Anna, passed yesterday after a long struggle with cancer.

Kate & Anna McGarrigle were performers first - taught to play the piano by nuns in their rural village, the singer-songwriters played the Montreal coffeehouse circuit in the sixties as part of The Mountain Four. But like so many artists before and after, it was their songwriting which paved the way for fame, especially after Linda Rondstadt not only recorded but named her album after Anna’s Heart Like A Wheel. From there, their curiously concrete-yet-intimate, oddly touching songs spread far and fast in the hands of others, from Emmylou Harris to Billy Bragg, leaving a wake of opportunity for their eponymous 1975 debut, and a lifetime canon of both French and English masterworks which I will always treasure, both in their original gorgeous harmonies and, as true folk songs, in coverage.

The McGarrigle legacy goes beyond songs and songbook, of course. The sisters’ multiple collaborations with family and friends, most notably personal favorites The McGarrigle Hour (1998) and its equally strong follow-up The McGarrigle Christmas Hour (2005), were warm and wise, calling to a long folk tradition of both family gospel hootenanny and intimate living room songsharing performed for the sheer communal joy of it. And though Kate’s children Rufus and Martha, who have both crafted wry and aching songs about their family life, carry the name of her ex-husband Loudon Wainwright III, through Rufus’ vocals, Martha’s ear for a sweet yet grounded lyric, and a pantheon of achingly personal songs from Kate, Anna, and Loudon himself, the life and lives that Kate brought to this earth will remain with us for decades to come.

Which is to say: although Kate’s loss leaves a hole in the heart of so many, she also leaves us with much beauty, wonder, comfort and fulfillment, through recordings, song, tribute and ancestry. And as we were blessed to have her with us, we are grateful for what she has left behind.

Here’s some favorites, from Kate & Anna, family and friends, to remember her by.



Bonus tracks:



We’re all about the music here at Cover Lay Down, and generally, that means promoting the artists themselves. But there are musicians everywhere, and pain runs rampant through the world.

So I’ve eschewed linkage today, although you absolutely should pick up the Kate & Anna McGarrigle catalog when you have a chance. Instead, for the short term, I’d like to ask that folks consider making a donation in Kate’s name - either to our own Haiti-and-then-some campaign, which sends 40% of all gifts to Doctors Without Borders and a local food bank, or to The Kate McGarrigle Fund, which goes to rare cancer research at the McGill University Health Care Foundation. Please give, if you can.

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11 Responses to “RIP, Kate McGarrigle”

  1. Nosila
    January 19th, 2010 at 9:11 pm

    Very sad. One of my favorite covers of theirs is a french language version of Bob Seger’s You’ll Accompany Me.
  2. Drop The World
    January 20th, 2010 at 1:17 am

    Matapedia is one of my favourite songs. The family stuff was so cool. I thought there would be much more.
  3. Jamie
    January 20th, 2010 at 3:12 am

    Very nice tribute, Joshua. The McGarrigle Sisters left an indelible mark on mine and countless other Canadian childhoods with their rendition of The Logdriver’s Waltz from this classic National Film Board animated short:
    http://www.nfb.ca/film/log_drivers_waltz/
  4. Dave
    January 20th, 2010 at 7:24 am

    Thank you for this fine tribute to Kate (and her sister too). Your lovingfull description of her life an work honors this fine artist, who will be missed by many true music lovers.

    keep up the good work,

    greetings from the Netherlands
  5. Susan
    January 20th, 2010 at 10:21 am

    Hey, Joshua ~

    Beautifully-written, as always - thought you’d also appreciate this article in the Montreal Gazette, written by Mike Regenstreif from the FolkDJ list:

    http://www.montrealgazette.com/entertainment/McGarrigles+were+born+sing+together/2461271/story.html
  6. Susan
    January 20th, 2010 at 10:38 am

    As usual, I spoke/wrote too soon - there is an entire *section* in the Montreal Gazette devoted to Kate McGarrigle:

    http://www.montrealgazette.com/news/kate-mcgarrigle/index.html
  7. Jay
    January 21st, 2010 at 2:20 am

    I have had both a lump in my throat and Heartbeats Accelerating in my head since I heard of her passing. She was a beautiful soul we were lucky to have heard sing.
  8. bubba
    January 21st, 2010 at 3:36 pm

    A great loss, such a talent and beautiful voice.
    Allthough slightly off-topic, but since one of the songs is a Jesse Winchester cover (”Skip rope song”), here is a wonderful non-cover by Jesse:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5uKGWpqnS8E
  9. Dan Aloi
    January 25th, 2010 at 10:47 am

    No Linda Ronstadt? i think her cover / LP title tune helped give the McGarrigles a lot of early wide exposure.
  10. boyhowdy
    January 25th, 2010 at 10:54 am

    No question, Dan - as noted in the article, Linda’s cover of Heart Like A Wheel is generally accepted as the most significant “push” for the McGarrigle’s canon.

    On the other hand, we only post folk music…and love her or hate her, the bulk of her work - most definitely including that cover - is country/pop/rock, not folk.
  11. I Eat Dinner « on her way
    February 16th, 2010 at 10:11 pm

    [...] I found a cover of “I Eat Dinner” by Rufus Wainwright (featuring Dido) over at Cover Lay Down shortly after his mom Kate McGarrigle’s death. I love how it aches but still spurs [...]

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