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Donald's Encyclopedia of Popular MusicA B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y ZMcGARRIGLE, Kate and Anna(Kate b 6 February 1946, d 18 January 2010 of cancer; Anna b 1944, both in Quebec) Canadian folksinging/ songwriting sisters who grew up in a French-speaking family surrounded by traditional music. They sang with their parents and briefly with sister Jane as the McGarrigle Sisters; also played at several instruments. The girls grew up in a small town, but the family had moved to Montreal by '58; Kate and Anna performed with Michele Forest as a trio in coffee houses and on TV; as the Mountain City Four with Peter Weldon and Jack Nissenson, they were commissioned by the National Film Board '67 to provide a song for Helicopter Canada, a Canadian centennial film which was nominated for an Oscar. Anna's 'Heart Like A Wheel' was recorded by McKendree Spring '72 and later was the title track of a hit album by Linda Ronstadt; Anna's 'Cool River' and Kate's 'Work Song' were recorded by Maria Muldaur; they had split up for a while as Kate lived in New York State and married Loudon Wainwright, but the marriage failed; meanwhile they began performing together again '74-5: their debut album Kate And Anna McGarrigle '76 on WB was produced by Joe Boyd with excellent sidemen including Steve Gadd, Lowell George and Tony Levin: one of the delightful debuts of the decade, wistful and poignant but never twee or self-indulgent, with Kate's jaunty 'Kiss And Say Goodbye', yearning '(Talk To Me Of) Mendicino'; Anna's 'Heart Like A Wheel' and 'Jigsaw Puzzle Of Life'. The debut is one of those albums that retains its unique charm decades later; perhaps inevitably, Dancer With Bruised Knees '77 was regarded as a disappointment, but Pronto Monto '78 redressed the balance, and The French Album '81 displayed their bilingual abilities in the chanson style, self-produced on the local Hannibal label. Love Over And Over '83 on Polydor (later on Rykodisc CD) was a return to the charm of the debut, with guest guitarist Mark Knopfler on the title track, their tribute to the Bronté novelists; also 'Move Over Moon', 'On My Way To Town', etc. They retained a strong following, especially in the UK, where Kate sessioned '78 on the Albion Band's Rise Up Like The Sun and Richard and Linda Thompson's Sunnyvista. She wrote the heart-rending 'I've Had Enough', covered by Ronstadt (singing lead), Dolly Parton and Emmylou Harris on Trio '87. Heartbeats Accelerating '90 was followed by Matapedia '96, the title track based on an incident when an old flame saw Kate's 17-year-old daughter Martha and mistook her for Kate; and The McGarrigle Hour '98, which recaptured the family feeling of everybody joining in. Each album was worth waiting for. Kate's children, Martha and Rufus Wainwright, are both successful singer-songwriters. For many years Kate and Anna did a Christmas show at Carnegie Hall; Kate's last performance was at a Christmas show at the Albert Hall, London, in December 2009. |