A great lady of the Quebec, Canadian and international music world, Kate McGarrigle, passed away on Monday, January 18, at the age of 63. The sister of SOCAN member Anna McGarrigle — the other half of the famous duo — and of former SOCAN board member Jane McGarrigle, Kate McGarrigle was the mother of two other well-known SOCAN members, Rufus Wainwright and Martha Wainwright.

SOCAN presented its Lifetime Achievemen Award to Kate and Anna McGarrigle as part of the 17th annual SOCAN Awards, held in Montreal on November 21, 2006. Already suffering from the illness that was to claim her life, Kate was represented at the gala by her son Rufus, who paraphrased the traditional French song “À la claire fontaine” in his acceptance speech on her behalf, saying that she wanted him to tell the audience: “So long I’ve been loving you, I will never forget you.” This is exactly what her countless fans and the whole music community feel about this great artist.

Kate McGarrigle was born in St-Sauveur-des-Monts, Quebec, in 1946. In their early 20s, in the 1970s, the McGarrigle sisters began writing and performing their own songs following their university studies. Two of their compositions were covered by multi-million-selling artists Maria Muldaur and Linda Ronstadt. Their career well underway, the sisters were signed to Warner Bros. and, in 1976, released Kate and Anna McGarrigle, a début album that earned international praise in the U.K, Ireland and the U.S., among other countries. Pursuing their singing career along with their family lives, Kate and Anna McGarrigle each had two children, including three that were to share the stage with them some twenty years on. Their success in Quebec was re-established in the 1980s with the release of a French-language album, Entre la jeunesse et la sagesse, created with the collaboration of the French lyricist Philippe Tatartcheff. Kate and Anna McGarrigle pursued their careers as singer-songwriters and musicians until recently. In recognition for the medical care she had received in Montreal, Kate had created the Kate McGarrigle Fund in support of cancer research and care.