Martha Wainwright facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Martha Wainwright
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Wainwright performing at the Cambridge Folk Festival, 2008
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| Background information | |
| Born | May 8, 1976 |
| Origin | Montreal, Quebec, Canada |
| Genres | Folk, pop |
| Occupation(s) | Singer-songwriter |
| Years active | 1996–present |
| Labels | MapleMusic |
| Associated acts |
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Martha Wainwright (born May 8, 1976) is a talented Canadian singer and songwriter. She has released many popular albums that people really enjoy.
Martha comes from a very musical family. Her parents are musicians Kate McGarrigle and Loudon Wainwright III. Her older brother is the famous singer and composer Rufus Wainwright.
People often praise Martha Wainwright's live shows. The Telegraph newspaper once said her concerts show she is "a truly special performer." Besides music, Martha has also acted in movies and TV shows. She appeared in Martin Scorsese's film The Aviator. She was also in the HBO miniseries Olive Kitteridge with Frances McDormand. Martha also owns a cool place in Montreal called Ursa. It's a café, a concert hall, a bar, and a recording studio all in one!
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Martha Wainwright's Early Life
Martha was born in New York City on May 8, 1976. Her parents, Kate McGarrigle and Loudon Wainwright III, were both folk musicians. When she was one year old, Martha moved to Montreal with her mother and brother. She grew up in Montreal in a home filled with music.
Martha and her brother, Rufus Wainwright, often perform together. They also help each other on their albums. Martha has a half-sister named Lucy Wainwright Roche. They worked together on an album called Songs In The Dark. This album was even nominated for a Juno Award, which is a big music award in Canada.
Martha Wainwright's Music Career
First Albums and Martha Wainwright
Martha Wainwright's first music release was a cassette tape in 1997. It was called Ground Floor and had ten songs.
Her first official album, Martha Wainwright, came out in April 2005. It was released by Zoë Records. This album helped Martha get nominated for New Artist of the Year at the 2006 Juno Awards. The album also reached number 43 on Billboard magazine's Top Heatseekers chart.
Many family members helped with her first album. Her mother, Kate McGarrigle, and her brother, Rufus Wainwright, contributed. Her cousin, Lily Lanken, also helped. Garth Hudson from the band The Band played organ and saxophone. The music website Pitchfork said the album showed Martha had a "strong, distinct, fully formed musical identity."
In 2006, Martha worked with the band Snow Patrol. She sang on their song "Set the Fire to the Third Bar." This song was on their very popular album Eyes Open. Snow Patrol's lead singer, Gary Lightbody, wrote the song especially for Martha's voice. A music review from musicOMH said Martha's "haunting voice" was used perfectly in the song.
I Know You're Married But I've Got Feelings Too
Martha's second album was called I Know You're Married But I've Got Feelings Too. It was released in June 2008. This album did very well on the music charts. It reached number 10 on the Top Heatseekers Billboard charts. It also got to number 6 on the Billboard Canada Music Charts. The album was praised for showing how much Martha had grown as a musician and songwriter. It was also considered for the 2009 Polaris Music Prize, another important Canadian music award.
The album had 12 new songs written by Martha. It also included cover versions of famous songs. She covered See Emily Play by Pink Floyd. Some versions of the album also had Love Is a Stranger by the Eurythmics.
Many people helped Martha on this album again. Her aunt, Anna McGarrigle, her mother, Kate McGarrigle, and her brother, Rufus Wainwright, all returned. Garth Hudson also played on the album. Donald Fagen from Steely Dan played synthesizers on "So Many Friends." Pete Townshend played electric guitar on two songs.
Sans Fusils, Ni Souliers, à Paris: Martha Wainwright's Piaf Record
In November 2009, Martha released Sans Fusils, Ni Souliers, à Paris: Martha Wainwright's Piaf Record. This album was a special tribute to the famous French singer Édith Piaf. Critics loved the album, saying it showed Martha's "incredible range and talent."
The album was recorded during three live shows in New York in June 2009. A DVD of these performances was also made. The album's name comes from the lyrics of one of Édith Piaf's songs.
Come Home to Mama
Martha's album Come Home To Mama came out on October 15, 2012. It was recorded at Sean Lennon's home studio in New York City. Yuka Honda from the band Cibo Matto produced the album.
Other musicians who played on the album included Yuka Honda and Sean Lennon. Nels Cline, the guitarist from Wilco, also played. Jim White, the drummer from Dirty Three, was also featured. The first song released from the album was "Proserpina." Martha's mother, Kate McGarrigle, wrote this song before she passed away in 2010. Mojo Magazine called the album "a really strong album with amazing singing." The album reached #6 on the Billboard Canada Music Charts.
Trauma
In 2013, Martha recorded the soundtrack for the fourth season of a TV show called Trauma. For this project, Martha chose songs mostly from Quebec musicians. She covered songs by Offenbach, Claude Dubois, and Daniel Bélanger. Martha also re-recorded three of her own songs in French. She also sang one song by Kate & Anna McGarrigle.
Songs in the Dark
In 2015, Martha worked with her half-sister Lucy Wainwright Roche on an album. It was called Songs in the Dark. They released it under the name The Wainwright Sisters. The album featured lullabies that their mothers used to sing to them when they were children. It also included songs by other artists like Woody Guthrie and Jimmie Rogers. Their father, Loudon Wainwright III, also had a song on the album.
The song "El Condor Pasa" was released early from the album. Andy Gill from The Independent newspaper gave the album four out of five stars. He said it was a "charming" album. Songs in the Dark was nominated for Traditional Roots Album of the Year at the 2016 Juno Awards.
Goodnight City
Goodnight City was released in November 2016. It received great reviews from music magazines like Exclaim!, NPR, and The Guardian. The Guardian called it "uplifting and powerful."
For this album, Martha decided to write some songs with friends and other famous songwriters. These included Beth Orton, Glen Hansard, and Michael Ondaatje. The album was recorded in Montreal. Thomas Bartlett produced Goodnight City. He had also worked with Sufjan Stevens before. The album reached #41 on the Billboard Canadian Music charts.
In May 2020, Martha released a song called "Wolves." It was a duet with her brother, Rufus Wainwright. They recorded it while working on Goodnight City.
Love Will Be Reborn
In 2021, Martha released Love Will Be Reborn. Many people consider it one of her best albums since her first one. Martha made Love Will Be Reborn during the pandemic. She recorded it in the basement of her café-bar, Ursa, in Montreal. The songs on the album were greatly influenced by her divorce. Martha started writing the album in 2017 after her separation.
Martha said the album looks at bigger ideas like life and death. It also talks about trust, parenthood, and other deep parts of life. The album features musicians from Toronto. Pierre Marchand produced Love Will Be Reborn. He also produced several albums for Martha's mother and aunt, Kate & Anna McGarrigle.
Love Will Be Reborn received excellent reviews when it came out. Pitchfork wrote that the album felt both "bigger and smaller" than her past work. They said it led her to "grander musings on love, grief, and motherhood." American Songwriter magazine said the album was "a de facto declaration of outrage and emotion." They also praised Martha for showing she can express passion better than most artists.
Other Projects and Activities
Martha Wainwright has sung songs for different movie soundtracks. She has also contributed to music collections. These include The Aviator (2004) and Leonard Cohen: I'm Your Man (2005).
In 2009, Martha appeared on her father's album. It was called High Wide & Handsome: The Charlie Poole Project. This album won a Grammy Award in 2010 for Best Traditional Folk Album.
Martha also took part in Canada Reads in 2015. This is a competition where famous Canadians choose a book to defend. Martha supported the novel And the Birds Rained Down by Jocelyne Saucier.
In 2020, she hosted a TV show called Mix sonore. It was a bilingual show that featured Canadian musicians. The show was shown on Unis TV.
In 2019, Martha opened her café-bar called Ursa in Montreal. Many artists have performed there since it opened. These include Patrick Watson and her brother, Rufus Wainwright. Her 2021 album, Love Will Be Reborn, was recorded at Ursa during the COVID-19 pandemic.
During the pandemic, Martha performed concerts on rooftops in Montreal. She also helped organize balcony sing-alongs with POP Montreal. Montrealers would sing together from their balconies at night. They sang songs like Leonard Cohen's "So Long, Marianne" to bring the community together.
Martha Wainwright released her life story in a book in 2022. The English version is called Stories I Might Regret Telling You.
Martha Wainwright's Family Life
Martha Wainwright married her music producer, Brad Albetta, in September 2007. They later divorced in 2018. They have two sons together, named Arcangelo and Francis.
Martha Wainwright's Albums
- Martha Wainwright (2005)
- I Know You're Married But I've Got Feelings Too (2008)
- Come Home to Mama (2012)
- Trauma (2013)
- Goodnight City (2016)
- Love Will Be Reborn (2021)
Images for kids
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Wainwright performing at the Cambridge Folk Festival, 2008
See also
In Spanish: Martha Wainwright para niños
