© 2024 Wyoming Public Media
800-729-5897 | 307-766-4240
Wyoming Public Media is a service of the University of Wyoming
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
Transmission & Streaming Disruptions

For Kate McGarrigle, Folk Music Was A Family Affair

Canadian folk icon Kate McGarrigle died of cancer on Monday at age 63.  Her son, singer Rufus Wainwright, says she died peacefully at her home in Montreal.
Peter Kramer
/
AP
Canadian folk icon Kate McGarrigle died of cancer on Monday at age 63. Her son, singer Rufus Wainwright, says she died peacefully at her home in Montreal.

Canadian singer-songwriter Kate McGarrigle died Monday after a lifetime of making music with her family and friends. She was 63. McGarrigle grew up singing old French and Irish tunes with her parents and sisters, and went on to perform in a duo with her sister Anna.

McGarrigle married singer-songwriter Loudon Wainwright, and together they had two children, singers Rufus and Martha Wainwright. (The marriage later ended in divorce.)

The McGarrigle Sisters released their first album in the mid-1970s, and many more followed, including Dancer with Bruised Knees, Pronto Monto, and Love Over and Over.

In 1998, the sisters released The McGarrigle Hour. It was recorded at a family gathering and featured an impressive lineup of their musicial family and friends — Loudon, Martha and Rufus Wainwright, Emmylou Harris and Linda Ronstadt — all singing together.

Copyright 2023 Fresh Air. To see more, visit Fresh Air.

Enjoying stories like this?

Donate to help keep public radio strong across Wyoming.