| For The Record... |
| Born on May 8, 1976, in Montreal, Quebec, Canada; daughter of Kate McGarrigle (French-Canadian folk singer) and Loudon Wainwright III (American folk and blues performer); married Brad Albetta, 2007. Education: Attended Concordia University, Montreal. As a child, performed with parents at festivals and concerts; made guest appearances on several of their respective albums, 1995-2003; guest appearances on many of her brother Rufus's albums, including Rufus Wainwright (1998), Poses (2001), Want One (2003), Want Two (2004), Release the Stars (2007), and Rufus Does Judy at Carnegie Hall (2007); released Martha Wainwright, 2005; released I Know You're Married But I've Got Feelings Too, 2008. Addresses: Record company—Rounder Records, One Rounder Way, Burlington, MA 01803. Web site—Martha Wainwright Official Web site, http://www.marthawainwright.com/. |
Singer, songwriter
Martha Wainwright was born into a small kingdom of musical talent. Her mother, Kate McGarrigle, and her aunt, Anna, form one of Canada's most beloved folksinging duos. Her father, Loudon Wainwright III, is a legendary American folk and blues singer/songwriter. Her brother, Rufus, is a driven singer/songwriter who has explored pop and jazz genres and achieved several commercial hits. With that kind of talent surrounding her, it would seem some of it would rub off. But for Martha, it rubbed off in a unique and fierce way. Andrew Pain of the U.K.'s Middlesbrough Evening Gazette described Wainwright's version of the singer/songwriter as completely different from the standard definition, commenting that "she doesn't trade alongside them … Back with a second record that's both tender and tough, beautiful and brutal, and simmering with invention and confidence, Martha forgot to read the rulebook."
Wainwright was born on May 8, 1976, in Montreal, Canada. Her parents divorced when she was still a baby, and she was raised primarily with her mother and brother. When she was older, her summers were spent splitting time between her parents, often performing with them onstage at festivals and concerts. She described the experience to Shanda Deziel of Maclean's: "It's not like we were the von Trapp family and forced to sing on every song. We would get up and sing on a couple, and then spent the rest of the day running around the hippies in the grass."
As a teenager Wainwright wanted to pursue an acting career, and she enrolled at Concordia University in Montreal. The decision was short-lived, as Wainwright found herself writing songs and performing around Montreal. Eventually she dropped out of school and toured for a while as a backup singer with brother Rufus. In the late 1990s, Wainwright moved to the United States to live in New York City, ending up in Brooklyn. During her early years in New York, she spent her evenings playing bars around the city while deflecting queries from her father about why she did not have a real job.
Frustrated that she seemed to be going nowhere, Wainwright tried to fund her own recording. Funds ran out quickly, but not before she found a producer who was willing to work with her. Brad Albetta was impressed with Wainwright's style, and helped her produce her first studio album, the self-titled Martha Wainwright. Released in 2005, it earned her critical acclaim. Filled with deeply confessional and personal songs, the album gave the world a taste of her talents as both a singer and songwriter. The tour to promote the album included a stop in Austin, Texas, for 2005's South by Southwest.
For the soundtrack to the film Leonard Cohen: I'm Your Man, a 2006 documentary about singer/songwriter Leonard Cohen, Wainwright sang three songs. The project included her brother as well as her mother and aunt, with whom she sang "Winter Lady." In an interview with Howard Pousner of the Atlanta Journal, Wainwright described how she had been listening to Cohen since she was 13 years old. "He's helped me understand poetry, how to write songs and express things, and opened the world up to me."
In 2007 she performed at the tribute concert for Syd Barrett, one of the original members of the band Pink Floyd. Along with her mother, she sang a moving version of the song "See Emily Play." That same year she made her stage debut in London, singing the part of Anna in the Royal Opera House production of the ballet The Seven Deadly Sins, by playwright Kurt Weill. For the production, Wainwright sang the libretto written by Bertolt Brecht that narrates the story of a singer/dancer who tries to find a life in America, but ultimately suffers at the hands of the seven deadly sins. The play was successful enough that another production, again starring Wainwright, was scheduled just two years later. Also in 2007 she and Albetta were married, in the company of such music legends as Emmylou Harris and Linda Thompson.
For most of 2008, Wainwright toured to support her second studio album, I Know You're Married But I've Got Feelings Too. The exhausting schedule included stops in the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, and her native Canada. In the midst of touring, she took time out to cruise around Greenland as part of a collaboration of artists and scientists who were viewing the effects of global warming. All the traveling left little time for rest or celebration. She and Albetta celebrated their first year anniversary with a sedate dinner out.
On I Know You're Married But I've Got Feelings Too she collaborated with The Who's guitarist Pete Townshend, Steely Dan's Donald Fagen, and the Band's Garth Hudson. After working with these three legends of rock music, Wainwright described the experience when talking with Dave Madeloni of Vermont's Brattleboro Reformer: "Working with Pete, Garth and Donald is a privilege of course, those three live and breathe music." Ann Powers of the Los Angeles Times lauded Wainwright's performance on the album, writing, "Wainwright dares to do what far too few artists can in today's … cultural climate. She gives ferocious, tender voice to female desire, conjuring scenes and dreams that don't fit within the tightly managed image of femininity so dominant today."
After struggling with the weight of her family history, Wainwright seems to have come to terms with her place in the music business in particular, and with life in general. She explained to Madeloni, "Until recently, I was never sure whether I'd got into the music industry because of nepotism. I always questioned my reasons for starting to write. Was it because of my family?. … I never thought there was room for me. … Right now, I feel like there might be." As she becomes more confident, Wainwright seems sure to be able to find just the right place for her talents.
Selected discography
Martha Wainwright, Zoe Records, 2005.
I Know You're Married But I've Got Feelings Too, Shock Records, 2008.
Sources
Periodicals
Atlanta Journal-Constitution, July 14, 2006, p. E3.
Brattleboro Reformer (Vermont), September 11, 2001.
Daily Telegraph (London), October 11, 2008, p. 4.
Evening Gazette (Middlesbrough, United Kingdom), September 12, 2008, p. 10.
Los Angeles Times, June 10, 2008, p. E1.
Maclean's (Toronto), April 18, 2005, p. 50-51.
Observer (London), September 28, 2008, p. 6.
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