Kate and Anna McGarrigle

[@DavidEVogel]

Gifted singer/songwriters. Should be a household name. RIP Kate.

[@cathylopez1345]

I saw the tribute to Kate last night on PBS “Songs that say I Love You “ I cried for 1 1/2 hour to the most beautiful music! Don’t get me wrong for crying to music is a good thing

[@cgirl111]

I bought the first album in I think 76 just on a Rolling Stone review and have since bought it on every format change including download now. It's something that when you are in the mood it can't be replaced. I eventually married a 50 year resident of Montreal island and as an American she was surprised I knew them. Every time we go back to her homeland to visit we enjoy going to Côte-Sainte-Catherine metro station and listen to the song. I know how close I am to my sister and can't imagine the loss. Thank you for your music.

[@zener30]

Seriously, there are thumbs down? Almost 40 years later, those underground girls are still a great representation of the Quebec artistic singularity. Just wake up a moment, our longest season is winter, with snow and bad weather, and they play banjo.

[@BabsBrooklynPilates]

A couple of decades ago they came to the now-disappeared Bottom Line in the Village in NYC once a year and I would always make sure to attend. They were one of a kind and fabulous.

[@frannieo6128]

Beautiful. And wonderful footage of little Martha and Rufus. What a talented family. Could listen to them all day.

[@Tickettyboo1959]

Anna's face & comment at 1.22 "screw that one!" haha love it!...

[@norahopekaran1879]

I was on a train with them crossing Canada, and they were playing. I'd never heard them before. There was Rufus (unborn). It was fantastic. I will never forget it. Wonderful memory.

[@virginiajenkins9033]

Absolutely love them! "Heart like a Wheel" still sounds in my brain cells.

[@patriciasnyder8652]

Thank you, Joe Boyd, for producing them. If not for you, we'd never have heard these angelic women & their abundant gifts.

[@frustratedfarmer1]

We saw Kate and Anna in Saint Johnsbury, Vermont in March of 2005 as they were driving back home from tour. they were totally exhausted and still gave an incredible concert. They only had three others with them, Thom Gossage (drums); Michel Pepin (bass, guitar); Joel Zifkin (violin, bass). It was very short due to exhaustion, but there is no such thing as a bad performance for the McGarrigles!

[@TheStockwell]

Hello from Newport! My wife at home saw them perform in San Francisco many years ago. It was absolutely amazing. As they prepared to sing "Heart Like a Wheel," they brought out a friend to join them: Linda Ronstadt. Wow. 😺

[@patriciasnyder8652]

The best thing to come out of Canada since forever! I followed them since the early 70s. Not only was their music captivating, but they had some of the best album covers of all time!

[@sebastientanguay4866]

They did make great records but for the artwork...I'm not so sure.

[@zeppmusic]

Having come from a 20-year bluegrass background, I was introduced to their music by my bandmates in the 1970s. I was immediately captivated, and came soon to love their music; their sound. Sadly, I never met them or even saw them perform, but to this day their songs and harmonies are frequently listened-to favorites. I absolutely loved watching this video.

[@beldengi]

I have collected their LPs and I think they are some of the loveliest music ever.

[@fdweil]

I’ve loved their music since the 1970s. What a great surprise to see at the end that the editor and producer of this film was Derek Lamb. I took a course in animation from him in 1969. (Great class!) He won an Oscar for an animated film he made.

[@eugenedegeorge5084]

I was introduced to Kate and Anna in the late seventies. When people talk of canada, they always say Joni Mitchell Gordon Lightfoot, the guess who, etc. But I would put Kate and Anna right up there with them. RIP Kate.

[@salodaysofsodom]

They were wonderful.

[@snout42]

Fabulous. So interesting. Love the family footage and to hear their harmonizing in their early period.

[@karinberryman2009]

After watching them playing banjos in a group I bought a banjo just before Covid hit. It was great timing as Covid hit, despite not being able to take banjo lessons. A delightful instrument!

[@lizzywyg]

I was looking for info related to artists on "Sing Me the Songs...", when I found this wonderful video. Who knew Kate and Anna got music lessons from the nuns! I thought they learned it all at home, from their dad. Still among my most cherished music artists. To me The McGarrigle Sisters' music is timeless, their lyrics wise, and put together it all touches my soul. Just wanted to share that.

[@timothykearney2519]

What a family, McGarrigle's, Wainwright's and now Cohen. The pride of Montreal...

[@stevebird4560]

Brilliant insight into two intriguing singers, love their music.

[@madeleinehague648]

'Just read "Mountain City Girls" - bio of Jane, Kate and Anna McGarrigle. By Anna and Kate - in tribute to the late, great Kate. Kate, you are missed! 'Love the McGarrigles. Unique sound, great songs.

[@karinberryman7970]

I loved Anna and Jane's book, they are both very good writers! It was fascinating (for me an Australian) learning how their lives traversed, wasn't that easy on their parents raising such spirited and clever kids. Their father was 100% responsible for it all! Shame he never got to experience their brilliance. I'm waiting for their second book!

[@Tammmo]

True Canadians.......makes me proud to me a citizen of this country......

[@michaeligoe3935]

Anna always had a lovely Irish smile

[@numoherisson1656]

This is superb! I 1st saw them in the mid-80s, with their sister Jane. That was magical, more than any of their other gigs that I caught.

[@anniegrice2425]

Great little film and so lovely the footage of Rufus and Martha!

[@g-r-a-e-m-e-]

What a discovery. I loved it.

[@candelise]

It was really wonderful to see this! One time in the Eighties, I got to see the sisters in concert in London, England. I got to meet them briefly before the show and they happily signed a few albums for me. They came across with such warmth that they simply reminded me of their music. Another time in London, me and a friend went to a small venue before the show just to say Hello as the show was sold out. They asked us if we were coming to the concert and we said that there were no tickets left. They simply said no problem and put us on the Guest List. We were so grateful and they played such a wonderful show. Had I known them better, I would've probably fell in love with them, they were so nice, and they have made some of the best music I have ever heard.

[@rabbitfishtv]

Kandelise Kandle You are right about their friendliness and generosity. I travelled down to New York City to see them on a warm, late-August day. They were doing a free show on an outdoor stage a the Kennedy Centre, but they were also supposed to do an afternoon kids’; show that got rained out. I talked to them and Martha Wainwright as they waited for the rain to clear (it didn’t) and I have a treasured photograph with them. The rain cleared before that night’s show, and they were awesome. I remember a moving version of ‘Matapedia’ and hearing ‘Petite annonce amoureuse’; for the first time. When I got back to work in Toronto on Monday, Anna’s son, Sylvan was temping in our office for the day! Two weeks later, with the memory of that New York trip still warm in heart, planes flew into the World Trade Centre.

[@maryalice5357]

Wow​@@rabbitfishtv

[@lesleyhall4186]

Dancer With Bruised Knees is just about THE perfect album to me. I'd be lost if I couldn't hear it on a regular basis. Robert Hall, you are hereby banished from the greater HALL family for failing to put these genius women on heavy rotation.

[@inigomontoya6806]

I also enjoyed seeing Rufus and Martha as children.

[@richardwilson1234]

World class.

[@dominiquereniers4866]

Thank's for that video,such a pleasure!

[@abelincoln2417]

These precious ladies are as original as the pronouncing of their name, which when spoken properly, McGarrigle, isn't something that rolls off one's lips; it also takes one's tongue, and a half-breath timed properly; it takes some doing but once mastered, sounds as beautiful as their singing. Linda Ronstadt, who could sing anything, once said, " I cannot; not sing this song, it's like falling in love, you don't even have a choice." { Heart like a wheel ) But who am I, I grew up in the backwoods of Kentucky and have never worked at a radio station. ~ Abe L.

[@coletteheard8311]

Thank you for this Caroline...

[@mjw12345]

Really lovely! Thank you!

[@christopherjohnson4935]

My heroes, er heroines!

[@andyy91]

Thanks for this video! very hearthwarming.

[@Tickettyboo1959]

Cracking little film...

[@cathyrowellmc8926]

Wish I would of heard of these gals❤first time❤love them❤❤❤❤❤

[@guruuDev]

Pure magic!

[@jeffj9322]

Remembering Kate McGarrigle born on February 6, 1946. She was a Canadian folk music singer-songwriter, who wrote and performed as a duo with her sister Anna McGarrigle. She is the mother of singers Rufus Wainwright and Martha Wainwright from her marriage to American singer-songwriter Loudon Wainwright III, which ended in divorce. - en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kate_McGarrigle

[@zaitesushion]

I feel sorry for that woman who said she can't stand their voices. To have such an inability to recognize beauty is quite a shame.

[@EnosEverything]

Did you notice that her ears were painted on ?

[@jamiewesson898]

its her choice does it make you a better person because you like there voices

[@EnosEverything]

Improve your knowledge of English Jamie - it's THEIR...not THERE.

[@thewindshecriesmary]

EnosEverything You seem rude.

[@tuskedbeast]

This was back in the Fleetwood Mac days- people were used to a really narrow band of sounds, and quite conservative, despite their coke or whatever.

[@stevenlowe3026]

I was lucky enough to see them perform at the Town Hall in Sydney (Australia) in the early 80's. Jane was with them and discovered the Town Hall's pipe organ! Wonderful concert, felt like I was with family. I had discovered them when a friend of mine played the "Dancer With Bruised Knees" album for me, and seeing I liked it so much, gave me the album. I'm forever grateful, though I don't know how she brought herself to part with it. If it was me I never would have.

[@MagicCarpetMusic]

Crikey, how irritating can you get? - those drippy little critics in the radio station, the 'girls' brought in to judge. Get lost, dears! The McGarrigles are BRILLIANT. The petty little detractors are sadly nowhere.

[@joaidane]

Like everyone here my initiation (and love at first hearing) to the McGarrigles goes back to their first album and possibly even before as I recall trying to get to a live performance of theirs at some Highland games meet where they were to play. (Got there too late). Anyway I don't really care what anybody else thinks, to me they were/are up there with Joplin, Dylan, Joni, and all the rest of that era. PS: I guess you have to be pretty old to post here ;)

[@rabbitfishtv]

I always loved this doc. Haven't seen it in years. Thanks for posting, NFB! The tension between who the McGarrigles are and where the record industry was at as the 80s rolled around is painful to see. It was going to be years of pounding backbeat and fake passion on the radio, and we needed Kate and Anna so badly. Was that "Little Pony" song every released?

[@jonathaneves5847]

Loved the doc, first watch. great music, film making, and artwork! pluss just loved seeing Rufus as a kid, 'was that Martha'? Still love Loudon!

[@tylermcgaughey1256]

What is the name of the song they're singing at 16:47? I love it and can't find it anywhere

[@lesleyhall4186]

Search the Letterman interview and all will be explained. It's on KZbin.

[@henrikhansen1716]

so nice superstars

[@grb1184]

I love these comments. You all are awesome. This video is awesome. N'aimes-tu pas les Français?

[@larciabella]

they sound polished!!!!!

[@rubydawn1]

I bet any kind of celtic music they did was amazing .

[@caveatemp]

They are the genuine article.

[@kennyguitarallen5662]

rip,kate.

[@smujismuj]

I like them best a cappella.

[@susandempsey9385]

I absolutely love them...Always have! and not just because they come from my neck of the woods...!

[@ianmcgarrigle8492]

I've been researching the McGarrigle family name and in the UK it's most common around Newcastle-o-Tyne and Strabane Northern Ireland. Did Kate and Anna have any family links to these areas ? Anyone know ?.

[@lizbrian5288]

In their youth, they were quite lovely.

[@geebud1880]

Absolutely right, this classy polite nailing in hindsight of stupidity and lack of quality in detecting true quality :-)

[@rubydawn1]

Donald K Donald wow the girls are great.

[@jordanmaxwell6019]

What song are they recording around 17:13 ?

[@patriciasnyder8652]

To think that the "girls from the inner office" (?) have a say in whether to go forward with a recording artist/music is appalling. Their voices are the most captivating element and the music is unparalleled in this genre. Oy vey... I can only imagine how many other greats this radio station & the "gals" have let slip through their fingers...

[@TheClemcaster]

The scene at the radio station is entirely indicative of how people operate in these places; the guy running the damn place had to call in some staff because he had no opinion himself - they showed almost no imagination themselves. Twas thus that ever was.

[@lola1987fudgeyouu]

"Its no fun to do it alone"...so sad

[@lastrada52]

The McGarrigle Sisters were terrific because they were original. They didn't compromise. Going to a radio station that doesn't necessarily play their type of music is an error in judgment. Those stations play music based on market research based on an audience who listen to the same crap over and over. It's supermarket music, not specialty store music. At the same time, these sisters were mining their music New Jersey's Roches (3) sisters were doing the same thing & having the same difficulties. The McGarrigles went to the wrong radio station & asked the wrong "professional ears." They should have gone to a station like WNEW-FM in NYC. Which ultimately did play them because that's where I heard them. These singers were not following a commercial formula. They were artists. They weren't Abba, Bucks Fizz, or any of those sugary types. They needed a manager & producer (Joe Boyd was fine) who understood what a commercial hit song was & helped them develop it. It never happened although songs from Matapedia were close. Songs sung in French would not hit the charts in America. But if Linda Ronstadt can have a hit with one of their songs (Heart Like a Wheel) the potential was there. Kate's "Proserpina," with its lovely melody & lyric could have had a shot. As a producer, I would have suggested the duo cover Adam Mitchell's classic & little known "French Waltz." That could have been their pop breakthrough.

[@johnmcclellan9020]

It's about their music full stop.

[@vaemcdowell6205]

"bundle of sorrow, bundle of joy" was in a Jackson Browne song. Jackson Browne was a buddy of Loudon Wainwright III, and Loudon Wainwright III was married to a McGarrigle. Did somebody borrow something, or was it a gift?

[@BuffaloSpringgal]

Jackson's lyric was "Fountain of sorrow, fountain of light" and was released in 1974 - 4 years before "Bundle of Sorrow, Bundle of Joy". I think the similarity is just coincidental.

[@dixonpinfold2582]

I thought they were adorable in that deli booth in the afternoon.

[@absolutetruthgirl]

What went on canadian radio was decided by office staff? enough said.

[@erickpaolosantos7016]

Carnegie Hall New York City

[@docostler]

It was interesting to see all the 'money-men' executives they talked to were distinctly uninterested while the more musically oriented were much more enthusiastic. In neither case, however, were they willing to do much, if anything, to promote the music on mainstream radio. As it seems is the case, mainstream anything is often much less interesting than more independently produced content. Sadly the money needed _to_ independently produce content is largely controlled by the uninterested 'money-men'. I am somehow able to bemoan the film's documentation of the lack of top 40 success and the wealth and influence that brings while still feeling relieved that the family regathered and remained in Quebec.

[@troygaspard6732]

Glad this was dug up.

[@finnibertlunchiken7792]

Couldn't stand their voices... couldn't stand their voices... couldn't...stand... their voices?. Is there sonething to say to this? Hey, to each their own but there's some weird tastes I can't understand at all.

[@Baystreetboy1947]

Love 'em!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@larciabella]

its interesting the one girl says they sound like nuns singing.They were schooled by nuns at Ecole Marie Rose.

[@SecretlyBreezy]

That's my second name I'm not joking

[@maryalice5357]

Unbelievably rude obnoxious interviewer. Sounds perfect to me.

[@edwardspearing5148]

Yeah... But was the pen wet..

[@banninl]

1975

[@TheresaPowers]

that is sickenly horrible. all that screeching.

[@oldcougar65]

I sat here thinking, "Doesn't Canada understand what they have?" I've been listening to the McGarrigles since the '70s. Bought my first album in maybe ''74. Riding down the road, a McGarrigle song inevitably makes it on to my current playlist. The McGarrigles are kinda Canada's Roches. I was riding in my car with a business associate when the Roches came on my CD player. He said, "what is that, someone standing on a cat's tail?" There's no accounting for taste.

[@cattypurry8023]

I loved the Roches and their harmonies, they were wonderful. But my love for the music of Kate and Anna McGarrigle knows no bounds. I’ve introduced them to some friends, and while most liked them, a few were not as wowed by their music, as I have always been. And their voices seemed to garner some criticism. I’ve learned to accept that their music was not very commercial. I am thankful for the uniqueness and authenticity of their music, and that they shared it with us. Forever blessed by their generosity. I will always be a diehard fan and grieve the loss of Kate. I feel much empathy for Anna losing not only her sister, but her music partner. And music is in the very bones and souls of the McGarrigle family.