Kate and Anna
McGarrigle are sisters from Montreal,
Quebec, Canada,
who in 1975 formed a folk duo and went on to write and record some of the best
contemporary folk music of the last 30 years. The musical McGarrigle family
grew as Kate married folk singer, Loudon Wainwright and bore him musical
children, singers Martha and Rufus Wainwright.
The McGarrigles
appeared on the music scene in 1976 with the release of their classic debut
album, “Kate and Anna McGarrigle,” a superb collection of songs ranging from
folk and blues to gospel all sung with the McGarrigle sisters’ trademark tight
harmonies. The album’s highlights are the songs “Mendocino” and “Heart like a
Wheel,” with the latter tune becoming a hit for Linda Ronstadt. The song, “Go
Leave” is for Kate’s husband Loudon Wainwright, with whom she had a famously
difficult marriage.
The
McGarrigle’s follow-up release, “Dancer with Bruised Knees” (1977), was another
fine effort that like the debut album, included several songs sung in French.
The McGarrigles
have continued to record fine albums, and the best of their more recent
offerings are “French Record” (1981), “Love Over and Over” (1982), “Heartbeats
Accelerating” (1990), and “Matapedia” (1996).
Among the ranks of female
singer/songwriters, no woman has equaled the artistry or output of Joni
Mitchell. Mitchell’s catalogue includes a slew of classic albums that run the
musical gamut from folk to rock to jazz.
Mitchell was born in Fort MacLeod, Alberta, Canada, in 1943. She began her
career as folk singer in her native Canada
before moving south to Los Angeles to begin her
recording career in California.
She recorded her debut album, the pleasant folk effort, “Joni Mitchell (AKA
Song to a Seagull)” in 1968. Another solid album,” Clouds” would appear the
following year.
It was her third release, “Ladies of the
Canyon” (1970) that established her as something special. The album was full of
well-written story songs which were all presented with stripped-down production
featuring just Mitchell on acoustic guitar. The album contained the first of
the songs that would make Mitchell famous, “Woodstock,” a song which would become a hit
for Crosby Stills Nash and Young, and “Big Yellow Taxi,” which would become a
minor hit for Mitchell herself.
Mitchell’s next effort, “Blue” (1971),
would be declared her first masterpiece. Blue is an often dark and emotional
exorcism on heartbreak, although it is punctuated by lighter moments. “One song
here, “This Flight Tonight,” would later become a hit for the Scottish hard
rock band, Nazareth.
In 1974, Mitchell recorded another
masterpiece, albeit a more upbeat one, “Court and Spark.” The album was
critically-acclaimed as were her previous efforts, but this album had
commercial legs that would see Mitchell establish herself as something of a pop
star. Thanks to a pair of hits, “Help Me” and “Free Man in Paris,” Mitchell’s fame spread into the
mainstream of the music-listening public. Another strong track, “Raised on
Robbery,” featured the Band’s Robbie Robertson on guitar and received significant
airplay.
Mitchell continued to record fine albums
throughout the remainder of the Seventies including, “The Hissing of Summer
Lawns” (1975), “Hejira” (1976), and collaboration with the legendary jazz
bassist and composer, Charles Mingus, “Mingus” (1979).
The Mingus album would see Mitchell delve
into jazz for a good part of the Eighties during which she acquired new fans,
but lost more of her older fans. She returned to her folkier roots in the Nineties
with the release of a couple of decent albums, “Night Ride Home” (1991) and
“Taming the Tiger” (1998).
Mitchell continues to record sparingly.
After she had announced that she was retiring completely from music, she
returned in 2007 with the album, “Shine.”
