Canada has lost two of its most prolific artists in the past few days. A wise commenter on CBC’s website wrote that when an artist dies, it is fitting to take some time out to listen, read, or view a sample of their lives' work. With the Internet providing such instant access to musical and artistic output, we think this is a fine and fitting idea.
It was difficult to narrow down the selection as with folk singer-songwriter Kate McGarrigle (pictured above with son Rufus Wainwright) and musician/writer Joel Quarrington, the songs and words from which to choose were overwhelming.
Kate McGarrigle may be better known to many of the younger generation as the mother of Rufus and Martha Wainwright, but she and her sister Anna as the McGarrigle Sisters are not only pure Canadian music legends, but legendary folk singer-songwriters south of the border too. Their songs have been recorded and re-recorded, covered by the likes of Linda Ronstadt, Billy Bragg and Dolly Parton to name a few. Heart Like a Wheel, Talk to Me of Mendocino and Hard Times Come Again No More were a few of their most well-known songs.
One of our favourites is Goin’ Back to Harlan, which was performed and recorded often by Emmylou Harris, perhaps most beautifully on her 1995 album Wrecking Ball, produced by Hamiltonian Daniel Lanois. Here the McGarrigle Sisters perform it live in 1998. Check out Emmylou’s versions too, in fact check out the entire Wrecking Ball album, it is fantastic.
Anna wrote of her sister’s death: "She departed in a haze of song and love surrounded by family and good friends. She is irreplaceable and we are broken-hearted. Til we meet again dear sister."
Kate’s voice, along with her sister’s is probably inescapably indelible in the Canadian collective imagination as those singing the famous NFB animated short, The Log Driver’s Waltz. You can’t resist this tune, penned by Brantford native Wade Hemsworth, whose great nephew and namesake is well known to Hamiltonians as a veteran reporter at the Hamilton Spectator. The Log Driver’s Waltz was written in 1979. We defy you not to hum/sing along/tear up at the sound of it.
Quarrington’s humour and extraordinarily ability to craft a vibrant, relatable story was still on display this past October when he wrote of his reaction to the cancer diagnosis for the National Post. It is a poignant reflection by a man who has boldly come to terms with the end of his life and his place on the planet .He contemplated life on a cruise of Newfoundland/Labrador.
“As we journeyed through the Torngat Mountains [in Labrador], I finally realized what this trip was all about, for me. [These mountains }]are amongst the oldest mountains in the world, almost four billions years old. …. In short, the Torngat Mountains took what little breath I have away from me. The thought occurred that I was on another planet, and that's when I realized, no, I'm on this planet, I'm just none too clear on what it actually looks like. I realized that what I wanted to do was spend a little time getting to know the third stone from the sun; it has been my home for 56 years, but I have spent much of it confined in the settlements. I wanted to explore and examine, I wanted to interact-yes, in the broadest, most spiritual sense, I wanted to go mountain climbing. “
His brilliant novel, Whale Music inspired the now-disbanded Canadian band The Rheostatics album of the same name. Quarrington himself was so impressed by Whale Music's quirky pop—which was perfectly suited to a novel about a quirky, reclusive pop genius liberally based on Brian Wilson—that he chose the band to compose the soundtrack to the film version of his novel. Music from the Motion Picture Whale Music was released in 1994. He co-wrote what would become the bands only top-40 hit – Claire.
These words end the National Post article: “It's a life and death struggle I've got going on here, except that, you know, I wouldn't put any significant money on life raising the final flag. But having decided that life is beautiful-not a decision I laboured over, by the way, more a certainty that seemed unassailable-one year should seem as full of beauty and grace as forty.”