Siden nyheden om Kate McGarrigles død tikkede ind i nyhedsjunglen, har jeg lyttet til mine gamle plader med hende og søsteren Anna. Og sandt at sige, så står pladerne med en friskhed, som var de indspillet i går. Meget passende har Charles Spencer gjort lidt det samme (sikkert som så mange andre…). Har genlyttet og skrevet en lille artikel om, hvorfor Kate McGarrigles magi ikke vil forsvinde. Og han fremhæver flere af mine favoritsange. The Swimming Song, som er skrevet af Loudon Wainwright, er fuld af boblende humor i modsætning til Loudons egen version, hvor humoren har en mere desperat karakter. Jeg holder lige meget af begge udgaver. “Kiss and Say Goodby” indfanger find den brusende, berusende ophidselse i den erotiske lidenskab; “Go Leave” er en af de mest gribende sange, man kan opdrive, om det at skilles fra den, man elsker. Og den utroligt smukke “Heart Like A Wheel”, som Linda Ronstadt forståeligt nok tog til sig med det samme, hun fik den tilbudt, er en uafrystelig sang om de knuste hjerter med billeder som dette: “But my love for you is like a sinking ship/And my heart is on that ship out in mid-ocean”. Charles Spencer fremhæver duoen første plade som en plade, der ikke siden blev overgået med hensyn til “spinetingling magic”. Jeg er ikke helt enig, for faktisk tangerede de den imponerende debut flere gange siden. Blandt andet med toeren, Dancer With Bruised Knees, (1977) der led under det banale faktum, at den var nr. 2 og derfor ikke kunne leve op til medierne umættelige nyhedshunger. Men sange som titelsangen, “First Born”, “Kitty Come Home”, “Come A Long Way” og andre er helt på niveau med debutpladen.

Læs Annas smukke, renhjertede nekrolog over sin søster her:
Kate McGarrigle

6 February 1946 – 18 January 2010

Catherine Frances McGarrigle, peacefully at age 63, at her home in Montréal, surrounded by family and friends, following a three-and-a-half year battle with cancer, borne bravely and fought gallantly, but which nonetheless robbed her of life.

Proud, much loved mother of Rufus Wainwright (Jörn Weisbrodt) and Martha Wainwright (Brad Albetta). Delighted grandmother of Arcangelo Wainwright Albetta (born 16 November 2009). Dear sister of Jane McGarrigle, dear sister and sister-in-law of Anna McGarrigle and Dane Lanken. Cherished and generous aunt of Anna Catherine (Bob McMillan) and Ian Vincent Dow, of Sylvan and Lily Lanken. Niece of Jeannette Latremouille, Jeanne Latremouille, Earl (”Chicky”) Latremouille, Harold and Eunice Latremouille, Audrey (Latremouille) Tomlinson, and of many McGarrigle and Latremouille uncles and aunts now departed. Also mourned by many cousins, by teenage sweetheart Christopher Weldon, by former husband Loudon Wainwright III, by former companion Pat Donaldson, by former brother-in-law David Dow, and by a worldwide circle of devoted friends.

Brainy, well-read, full of obscure information, forever theorizing in politics, mythology, science, mathematics, literature, history, human relations. Ambitious, determined, opinionated. Impetuous, adventuresome. Lovely, lively, sweet, quick-witted, charming, beautiful. A delight and a challenge to her family and friends. Outrageous at times, but anything was more fun when Kate was along.

Third of three daughters of Frank McGarrigle and his wife Gabrielle Latremouille. Born in Montréal, raised in the Laurentian village of Saint Sauveur-des-Monts. Schooled at Ecole Marie-Rose in Saint-Sauveur, Town of Mount Royal Catholic High School, McGill University B.Sc. ‘70.

She sprang from two families, the McGarrigles and the Latremouilles, where everybody sang. She learned harmony singing from her father and piano from the village nuns. She taught herself blues guitar, claw hammer banjo and fiddle.

She and her sister Anna were stars on the Montréal folk scene in the 1960s, in Le Trio Canadien and the Mountain City Four. When they turned to songwriting in the 1970s, they wrote songs for the greatest singers of the era, Linda Ronstadt, Maria Muldaur, Judy Collins, Emmylou Harris.

They made recordings that moved and enchanted listeners. They toured the world, played Carnegie Hall seven times, displayed wit, charm, profound musical talent and a Canadian ideal of effortless bilingualism. They sang in French and English whether in Montréal, New York, London or Hong Kong. They won the Order of Canada in 1994, JUNO Awards in 1996 and 1998, the Governor General’s Performing Arts Award in 2004, Lifetime Achievement Awards from ASCAP in 2005 and SOCAN in 2006.

Kate and Anna appeared on stage together for the last time in a family Christmas concert at Royal Albert Hall, London, 9 December 2009.

Kate loved cross-country skiing, grand opera, Russian novels, cooking Christmas dinner for everyone, and knitting. She loved Stephen Foster songs, the works of Francis Parkman, and Ti-Jean Kérouac. She loved long evenings of singing, talking and arguing. She loved the old McGarrigle place in Saint-Sauveur. She loved her family and her friends. She loved life.

Her last three years were immeasurably brightened by the company of her children, who guided her on an extended grande tournée, hobnobbing in the Hamptons, hitting the beach at Rio, doing the Biennale di Venezia. There was Madame Butterfly on opening night at the Met, Parsifal at Bayreuth, La Favola d’Orfeo at Teatro alla Scala di Milano. She was on the tour bus, too, here with Martha in Ireland, there with Rufus in Spain. She always made an appearance in the shows, and she always got a cheer.

Sincere thanks to Roger Tabah, Sonia Semenic, Gerald Batist and Peter Metrakos, among many doctors and nurses at the Royal Victoria, Montreal General and Jewish General hospitals, and to Canada’s wonderful health care system. To family members and friends for their many acts of kindness. To Jane, a comfort to Kate, especially in her final weeks. And to Anna, throughout the ordeal Kate’s faithful attendant, ever patient in hospital corridors waiting for Kate and hoping for a happier outcome.

Visitation at Alfred Dallaire Memoria, 1111 ouest, avenue Laurier, Outremont, Saturday, 30 January, 7-9 p.m., and Sunday, 31 January, 2-5 p.m. and 7-9 p.m.

Funeral 10 a.m., Monday, 1 February, at the Basilique Notre-Dame de Montréal, Place d’Armes.

Donations in Kate’s memory to the Kate McGarrigle Fund for cancer care and research would be gratefully appreciated. Write Kate McGarrigle Fund c/o MUHC Foundation, 2155 Guy, Suite 900, Montreal, QC, H3H 2R9, or click

Kate McGarrigle Fund
-Dane Lanken
LINK