|
NOTE TO EDITORS: Do not replace the header image unless it is with a photo under a public domain or free license (NOT the same as fair use). Any fair use photos (i.e. promotional photos, album covers) are copyright violations and will be deleted. Also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Fair use criteria . And that means you, Joshmd.--> Rufus in concert in AtlantaRufus McGarrigle Wainwright (born July 22, 1973) is a Canadian-American singer-songwriter. Since 1998, he has recorded four albums of original music and several EPs. Early years Rufus Wainwright was born in Rhinebeck, New York, to folk singers Loudon Wainwright III and Kate McGarrigle (they divorced while he was a child). He began to play the piano at age six, and by age thirteen he was touring with his sister Martha, mother Kate, and aunt Anna as the "McGarrigle Sisters and Family." His song "I'm Running," which he performed in the movie Tommy Tricker and the Stamp Traveller, in which he also played a minor character, earned him the 1988 Genie Award for Best Original Song. He was also nominated for the 1990 Juno Award for Most Promising Male Vocalist. He lived in Montreal with his mother for most of his childhood and briefly attended McGill University, where he studied both classical and 'rock' piano. Some of his songs feature his mastery of French. Wainwright still maintains a residence in Canada. He came out as gay while still a teen. In the November 11 1999 issue of Rolling Stone Magazine, Wainwright said that his father recognized his being gay at a very young age. "We'd drive around in the car, he'd play 'Heart of Glass', and I'd sort of mouth the words, pretend to be Blondie. Just a sign of many other things to come as well".• Afraid that he had contracted the AIDS virus, he remained celibate for seven years after the incident. He later spoke of that night in an interview: "I said I wanted to go to the park and see where this big concert was going on. I thought it was going to be a romantic walk in the park, but he raped me and robbed me afterwards and tried to strangle me".• He claims that he survived only by pretending to be an epileptic going through a seizure.• Rise to Fame After becoming a fixture on the Montreal club circuit, Wainwright cut a series of demo tapes, which were produced by Pierre Marchand (who also produced "Poses"). The tapes found themselves in the hands of DreamWorks executive Lenny Waronker, and the label signed him. He released the self-titled Rufus Wainwright album in the spring of 1998; the record received much critical acclaim, and was recognized by Rolling Stone magazine as one of the best albums of the year. He was also named by Rolling Stone magazine "Best New Artist" of the year. Wainwright toured with Sean Lennon in 1998, and later that year began his first headlining tour. In December 1998, he appeared in a Gap commercial singing "What Are You Doing New Year's Eve?" The promotion brought much more attention to his career and increased his album sales dramatically. By summer 1999 he had taken some time off to live and put music on the back burner. He lived in the Chelsea Hotel in NYC for six months, during which he wrote most of his sophomore album. On June 5, 2001, Poses, Wainwright's second album, was released, bringing just as much critical acclaim as his debut. From 2001 to 2004, he toured with Tori Amos, Sting, Ben Folds, and Guster, as well as headlining the 2002 tour in support of "Poses." He often performs with his sister Martha Wainwright (now herself an emerging artist) on backup vocals. Despite a growing cult following and critical acclaim, Wainwright has experienced only marginal commercial success in the United States. Addiction and the Want Albums In the early 2000s, Wainwright became addicted to crystal meth, during which time he went temporarily blind from his usage of the drug. By 2002, his addiction had reached its height. In what he deemed "the most surreal week of his life", the singer played a cameo role as a drug addict in Absolutely Fabulous; spent several nights partying with Barbara Bush (the President's daughter); and had a "debauched evening" with his mother and Marianne Faithfull, all the while, having recurring hallucinations of his father. He soon decided that he "was either going to rehab or I was going to live with my father. I knew I needed an asshole to yell at me, and I felt he fitted the bill".• Upon realizing that he needed some sort of guidance in his life, he telephoned friend Elton John, who convinced him to check in to rehab at the Hazelden Foundation in Minnesota. There he detoxed and underwent therapy. He has not confirmed or denied if he has stuck with sobriety. His talent has been widely recognized and praised by such artists as Elton John, Morrissey, John Mayer, Leonard Cohen and Sting, and he continues to influence artists like Keane, Alanis Morissette, and Scissor Sisters . Wainwright's most recent album to date, Want Two, from which four songs were released as the EP Waiting for a Want, was released by DreamWorks/Geffen on November 16, 2004. It is a companion to the 2003 release Want One. His latest, a live iTunes Sessions EP entitled "Alright Already", was released March 15, 2005. A DVD entitled "All I Want," featuring a biographical documentary, music videos, and live performances, was released on both sides of the Atlantic in summer 2005. The same year was also notable for two major contributions as solo vocalist to a pair of important records: the Mercury Prize winning Antony and the Johnsons' I am a Bird Now and Burt Bacharach's At This Time. The Want One and Want Two albums were repackaged as Want for a late November 2005 release to coincide with the start of a British tour. The version of Want One is that which contains the two extra songs "Es Muß Sein" and "Velvet Curtain Rag". The Want (Want One and Want Two combined) package in the UK has two new extra tracks: "Chelsea Hotel No. 2" and "In with the Ladies", which replace "Coeur de Parisienne — Reprise d'Arletty" and "Quand Vous Mourez de Nos Amours" from 2004's augmented edition. Wainwright is currently working on a new album of material due for release in 2007. Several websites have reported that the album has been titled and a first single has been released, but according to the artist and his management, this is not so. As of early fall 2006, Wainwright's latest project is untitled and will remain so until further notice and/or release. He has also contributed several song tributes for the documentary and album Leonard Cohen: I'm Your Man celebrating Canadian poet/singer/songwriter Leonard Cohen in June 2006. Music
Work in film, broadcasting and on-stage In addition to his role in Tommy Tricker and the Stamp Traveller, Wainwright has appeared in the films The Aviator and Heights. He has also recorded tracks especially for films, including Brokeback Mountain, I Am Sam and I'm Your Man." Rufus is managed by Barry Taylor and Paula Quijano, and his publicist is Barbara Charone. In 2005 a DVD called All I Want was released, including a full-length documentary, All I Want: A Portrait of Rufus Wainwright, performances at Central Park SummerStage and Cambridge Corn Exchange, studio sessions, music videos, and two bonus Easter Eggs, a twelve-minute documentary from 1998 featuring Rufus and his family, and a short tribute to the McGariggle Sisters featuring Rufus and Martha. In May 2006, Rufus was one of three special guests (the others being Robbie Williams and Francis Barber) to star with the Pet Shop Boys in a concert at London's Mermaid Theatre where he covered "Casanova in Hell", a track from the lastest Pet Shop Boys' album Fundamental. The critically acclaimed show was broadcast live on the UK's BBC Radio 2 and a CD, Concrete, will be released in October 2006, including Rufus' contribution. On June 10 2006, Wainwright was heard on NPR's Weekend Edition Saturday in an interview with Scott Simon. The segment concerned Wainwright's sold-out pair of Carnegie Hall concerts June 14/June 15 2006 in which he performed the entire Judy Garland concert album recorded there in 1961. It was recently revealed that Wainwright has been commissioned by Metropolitan Opera general manager Peter Gelb to write his own opera.• Themes Wainwright's music contains several recurring themes, which have continued to evolve across his entire body of work. His lyrics are filled with allusions to opera, literature, pop culture, and, more recently, politics (in songs such as "Gay Messiah" and "Waiting for a Dream"). Many of his songs contain references to his love for men, seen quintessentially in "Harvester of Hearts". He describes many points along the emotional path of falling in love, from initial infatuation and fleeting glance ("Foolish Love") to outright love, casually confirming that the object of his affection is male. He met his current lover, Jörn Weisbrodt, a German concert manager for the Berlin Royal Opera, during summer 2005. Family is drawn into his work quite commonly, as seen in "Beauty Mark" (about his mother Kate McGarrigle) and "Little Sister" (about his sister Martha Wainwright and step-sisters). The song "Dinner At Eight" was written after a major fight he had with his father, Loudon Wainwright III. Perhaps the most subtle theme evident in his music is that of religion, which perhaps culminates in Want Two with both "Agnus Dei" and "Gay Messiah." However, he uses religious imagery in many of his songs ("Greek Song") but only occasionally writes explicitly about religious ideas ("Gay Messiah"). While not blatantly obvious, many of his songs deal with his use of crystal meth and the rehab afterward ("Go Or Go Ahead"). Wainwright is also fascinated by travel, trains and distant geography ("Oh What A World" and "April Fools"). Wainwright wrote the song "Millbrook" about his high school, Millbrook School, in Millbrook, NY. This song was also the inspiration and namesake of the Los Angeles indie band Millbrook.• The song "Matinee Idol" from the same album was written about the late River Phoenix. The song "Memphis Skyline" is a tribute to the late singer Jeff Buckley, who drowned in Memphis in the Wolf River, a tributary of the Mississippi, on May 29 1997. The two met each other briefly in the '90s when Wainwright was an up-and-coming act. By this time, Buckley had already released his first album (Grace), and was well on his way to stardom. He has said that he had been irritated that Buckley played at Siné, a café on the Lower East Side, as he Wainwright was rejected three times by the club. The two met several months prior to Buckley's drowning, during a gig Wainwright was playing. Buckley supposedly helped out with some technical problems, and the two chatted over beers for a few hours. The song references "Hallelujah," a Leonard Cohen song which Buckley notably covered, and which Wainwright later did likewise. Albums Compilations, EPs, etc. Contributions Juno Awards Genie Awards Other See also Trivia Rufus Wainwright is, through his father, a direct descendent of Peter Stuyvesant,• the last Director-General of the colony of New Netherland and a major figure in the early history of New York City. | |||||||||
|
| ||||||||||
 |
|
| |