Canadian singer and songwriter Kate McGarrigle, of the famed McGarrigle Sisters, and mother of singers Rufus Wainwright and Martha Wainwright, died Monday January 18th at age 63. She was also once married to famed American singer-songwriter Loudon Wainwright III.
CBC report: Folk singer Kate McGarrigle dies
With her sister Anna, the McGarrigle Sisters first emerged on the folk scene as a unique and sometimes quirky voice from the time of their first album, the eponymous "Kate and Anna McGarrigle" released in 1975. (Selected as "Best Record of the Year" by Melody Maker). Through such landmark recordings as "Dancer with Bruised Knees" (1976), "Entre Lajeunesse et la sagesse" (1981), "Heartbeats Accelerating" (1990), "Matapédia"(1996) , and "The McGarrigle Hour" (1998) they continued to win awards and carve out their own place in the acoustic music scene.