A singer/songwriter whose lush, theatrical pop harked back to the traditions of Tin Pan Alley,
cabaret, and even
opera,
Rufus Wainwright was born in 1973; the son of
folk music luminaries
Loudon Wainwright III and
Kate McGarrigle, his parents divorced while he was a child, and he was raised by his mother in Montreal. Beginning his piano studies at age six, by 13 he was touring with his mother, aunt Anna, and his sister Martha in a group billed as the McGarrigle Sisters and Family; a year later,
Wainwright was nominated for a Juno (the Canadian equivalent of a Grammy) as Most Promising Young Artist, while his "I'm a-Runnin'" was concurrently nominated for a Genie (the Canadian countepart to an Oscar) for Best Song in a Film.
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A singer/songwriter whose lush, theatrical pop harked back to the traditions of Tin Pan Alley,
cabaret, and even
opera,
Rufus Wainwright was born in 1973; the son of
folk music luminaries
Loudon Wainwright III and
Kate McGarrigle, his parents divorced while he was a child, and he was raised by his mother in Montreal. Beginning his piano studies at age six, by 13 he was touring with his mother, aunt Anna, and his sister Martha in a group billed as the McGarrigle Sisters and Family; a year later,
Wainwright was nominated for a Juno (the Canadian equivalent of a Grammy) as Most Promising Young Artist, while his "I'm a-Runnin'" was concurrently nominated for a Genie (the Canadian countepart to an Oscar) for Best Song in a Film.
Coming out as a homosexual while still in his teens,
Wainwright sought solace in
opera throughout his adolescent years, also becoming an enormous fan of performers including
Edith Piaf,
Al Jolson, and
Judy Garland.
After attending the prestigious Millbrook School in upstate New York, he briefly studied music at Montreal's McGill University, eventually turning away from
classical performance toward pop and
rock. Becoming a fixture on the Montreal club circuit,
Wainwright soon cut a series of demos with producer Pierre Marchand;
Loudon Wainwright III then passed a copy of the tape to friend
Van Dyke Parks, who in turn handed it on to DreamWorks exec Lenny Waronker. The label signed him soon after, resulting in the release of
Rufus Wainwright during the spring of 1998. The album landed on several critics' "Best of 1998" lists, while
Wainwright spent the next few years touring and appearing sporadically on
soundtracks (
Shrek) and compilations (
The McGarrigle Hour). His sophomore album, Poses, brought similar acclaim in mid-2001.
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