Thursday 3rd August

Loudon Wainwright (the third) was a singer-songwriter form the late sixties.  He came from a fairly wealthy background and sung slightly comical, slightly cynical songs.  In the early Seventies he married Kate McGariggle, sister of Anna.  The sisters had released a brilliant album ‘Dancer with the bruised knees’ but didn’t follow this up with any great success.  Loudon was mildly successful, especially in the early Eighties, but was too lightweight to really matter.

They had two children Rufus and Martha.  But after a very few years they split up.  Loudon wrote a brilliant sing to his children about it ‘Your Mother and I’ which is really hopeful about the future and is just about how parents who can’t live together feel.  Loudon wrote many songs and some others to his kids and ex too.  In one song he tries to pick up a woman who turns out to be a lesbian and insists her friend go with them on the date “Turned out she liked men but not their things – That hang down and the hang-ups they always bring – My brother has the perfect answer, this is what he said – You should have asked if you could watch them both in bed.”  That gives a flavour of his style.

His son Rufus has had a more successful career, though it has waned of late.  He is openly gay and often sings about this.  He released a couple of albums with orchestral arrangements which seem to suit his voice better than his usual piano “Release the Stars” and “Want” are particularly good.

Daughter Martha is not to be left out and has released a couple of very good records too, my favourite being her debut.  Both siblings often sing on each other’s records and the whole family record Christmas songs for close friends.  It is quite rare for children of famous parents to do so well, .let alone two of them.