webbie64
Headphoneus Supremus
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- Oct 23, 2006
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I must say I was stunned to not already find a thread here noting with sadness the passing of the ecelctic genius from Canada, Kate McGarrigle.
As various tributes have noted, to hear Kate and Anna McGarrigle sing together was to hear a unique harmony - "a confluence of common genes, common tastes and influences, and an ease of singing together that comes only from a lifetime of performing as one".
They truly were a brilliant performance to witness and I was lucky to see them once in Australia and twice in England.
Brilliant heartbreak songs - aching and heart-wrenching - like Talk to Me of Mendocino or I Eat Dinner, both personal favourites being listened to this evening as I stay up and listen to all I have of their recordings, so many of them contemporary folk classics.
Kate was diagnosed with cancer in 2006 and established The Kate McGarrigle Fund at the McGill University Health Centre, which she set up in 2008 to raise awareness of sarcoma, a rare cancer that affects connective tissue such as bone, muscle, nerves and cartilage. I lost my best friend to this cancer nearly two years ago and now we've all lost Kate.
She died of clear cell sarcoma on January 18, 2010, aged 63 at her home in Montreal. Her sister Anna wrote on their website: "Sadly our sweet Kate had to leave us last night. 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."
She made her last public appearance, with her children, Rufus and Martha Wainwright, at the Royal Albert Hall in London, just six weeks before her death. The show raised $55,000 for the Kate McGarrigle Fund.
Rest In Peace, Kate.
