Rufus Wainwright
USA / Canada | Baroque Pop / Piano Rock / Piano Pop | 1973
Rufus McGarrigle Wainwright is a Canadian-American singer-songwriter. Since 1998, he has recorded five albums of original music, several EPs, and numerous tracks included on compilations and film soundtracks. He is the son of Loudon Wainwright III and Kate McGarrigle, brother of Martha Wainwright, and half-brother of Lucy Wainwright Roche.
Rufus Wainwright was born in Rhinebeck, New York, to folk singers Kate McGarrigle and Loudon Wainwright III (a direct descendant of Peter Stuyvesant, the last Director-General of New Netherland). His parents divorced when he was 3 years old, and he lived with his mother in Montreal, Canada, for most of his youth.
Wainwright became interested in opera during his adolescent years, and the genre strongly influences his music. (For instance, his track "Barcelona" features lyrics from the libretto of Giuseppe Verdi's opera Macbeth.) During this time, he also became deeply interested in Édith Piaf, Al Jolson and Judy Garland.
Through weekly shows at Cafe Sarajevo, Wainwright became a fixture on the Montreal club circuit and eventually cut a series of demo tapes produced by Pierre Marchand (who also produced Wainwright's later album, Poses) - DreamWorks executive Lenny Waronker acquired the demo tapes and signed Wainwright to his label. The singer moved to New York City in the spring of 1996 and began performing regularly at Club Fez, building a loyal local audience. He relocated to Los Angeles that fall, and began recording his first studio album, 1998's Rufus Wainwright.
Wainwright's self-titled debut received critical acclaim; Rolling Stone magazine recognized it as one of the best albums of the year and named the singer "Best New Artist" of the year. Wainwright toured with Sean Lennon in the summer of 1998 and began his first headline tour later that year. In December 1998, he appeared in a Gap commercial directed by Phil Harder, performing Frank Loesser's "What Are You Doing New Year's Eve?". The promotion increased dramatically both his visibility and his record sales. On March 1, 1999 Wainwright started a headlining tour at Maxwell's in Hoboken, New Jersey.
In addition to his tenor singing voice, he plays both piano and the guitar, often switching between the two instruments when performing live. While some of his songs feature just Wainwright with his piano, his later work is often accompanied by rock instrumentation or a symphony orchestra, displaying complex layering and harmonies with an operatic feel. Wainwright is an avid opera fan, and the influences on his music are evident, as well as his love of Franz Schubert's Lieder. Some of Wainwright's songs have been described as "Popera" (Pop Opera) or "Baroque Pop". Many of his compositions are densely packed, dizzying amalgams of strings, horns, operatic choruses, ragtime rhythms and his own distinctively warm vocal timbre.