Musician Rufus Wainwright celebrates his birthday today
Rufus Wainwright has recorded pop songs, operas, folk tunes, and a lot of Judy Garland songs over his long and varied career.
Born into a musical family, his mother Kate McGarrigle performed alongside her sister Anna, while his folk singer father is Loudon Wainwright III. His sister Martha Wainwright has also had a successful career and has half-sister Lucy Wainwright Roche.
His parent’s divorced when he was three years old and Rufus was raised by his mother in Montreal, Canada. He began performing alongside family members when he was a child, but he began his own recording career when he was 25.
He began performing at a local cafe in Montreal and started recording songs with producer Pierre Marchand. These demos saw him signed to a record label and he began working with Jon Brion on his debut album.
His 1998 self-titled debut cost USD$700,000 and saw the young musician laid down 56 songs, although it was whittled down to just 12 for the final track listing. While the record got critical acclaim it didn’t sell well.
For his follow up record Wainwright spent six months living in the Chelsea Hotel in New York. Poses came out in 2001 and garnered further acclaim and fans adored his tunes including Cigarettes and Chocolate Milk, Greek Song, and One Man Guy. Around the same time Wainwright recorded a cover of The Beatles Across the Universe.
Following the release of the record Wainwright developed an addiction to crystal meth and for a period lost his vision. He headed to rehab to get back on track, returning in 2003 with dual albums Want One and Want Two.
With each album Wainwright developed more fans and his 2007 album Release the Stars included one of his most acclaimed songs. Going to a Town is interpreted as a commentary on American society. The song has been covered by both George Michael and Lily Allen.
In 2006 Wainwright recreated Judy Garland’s famous Carnegie Hall shows from 1961, releasing the live recording of Rufus Does Judy at Carnegie Hall. He later staged another show at The London Palladium which was released as a DVD.
His next project was an opera, Prima Donna which had its debut at the Manchester International Festival. A second opera Hadrian made its debut in 2018. He also made an album of Shakespeare’s sonnets which featured Helena Bonham Carter, William Shatner, Carrie Fisher, and Florence Welch.
Other albums in his discography include All Days Are Nights: Songs for Lulu, Out of the Game, Unfollow the Rules, and Rufus Does Judy at Capitol Studios.
Wainwright’s most recent work Folkocracy was released in June 2023 and filled with traditional songs, folk classics, and a re-recording of one his own tunes. The guest heavy album includes Anna McGarrigle, Martha Wainwright, Lucy Wainwright Roche, Sheryl Crow, Sussanah Hoffs, Anohni, John Legend, David Byrne, Nicole Scherzinger and Chaka Khan.
Rufus Wainwright came out to his family when he was a teenager. He married his partner Jorn Weisbrodt, an internationally famous arts administrator. Wainwright is also a parent to daughter Viva Katherine Wainwright Cohen. Her mother is Lorca Cohen, the daughter of singer Leonard Cohen.
Read OUTinPerth’s 2020 interview with Rufus Wainwright.
In 2013 Jamaican teenager Dwayne Jones was murdered
Dwayne Jones was 16 years old when he was attacked by a violent mob after he attended a party in Montego Bay dressed in women’s clothing. His murder attracted international attention to Jamaica’s laws against homosexuality.
Warning: This story has details of violence and transphobia which might be distressing to some readers. For 24-hour crisis support and suicide prevention call Lifeline on 13 11 14. For Australia-wide LGBTQI peer support call QLife on 1800 184 527 or webchat.
Jones was bullied at school for being effeminate, and he was kicked out of home by his father, he spent time being homeless before living with transgender friends in a derelict house in Montego Bay.
He was attacked by a violent group of men after the cross-dressing Jones was not a woman. He was beaten, stabbed, shot, and run over by a car. He died in the early hours of the morning. Police investigated the murder, but nobody has ever been charged for the crime.
His death triggered a wave of discussions about the country’s tough laws against homosexuality, and anti-LGBTIQA+ sentiments in Jamaican society. In the years since his death there has been discussion that Jones may have been transgender, at the time of his death his friends described him using male pronouns.
Gay sex is still illegal in Jamaica, and those convicted can face a punishment of ten years imprisonment.
OIP Staff, this article was first published in 2023.
