Rufus Wainwright

Singer-songwriter, known as Rufus Wainwright, was born in Rhinebeck, New York, the USA into a family of folk singers Kate McGarrigle and Loudon Wainwright III. When he was a child, his parents divorced, and Rufus moved to Montreal, Canada. There Rufus spent the most part of his youth. He attended a private school and had brief courses of piano and guitar playing at Concordia and McGill Universities in Montreal. He started performing and touring at age thirteen with The McGarrigle Sisters Аnd Family band, consisting of his mother, sister Martha, aunt Ann and Rufus himself. By 1990, Wainwright was a promising singer and decided to make a solo career. During his adolescence Rufus realized that he was gay. It strongly influenced his creativity and became one of the song themes. The other thing that made a strong imprinting on his music is love of opera. Simultaneously with listening to classical music Rufus chose as his idols Edith Piaf, Al Jonson and Judy Garland.

Wainwright started performing in clubs and moved to New York in 1996. Two years later Rufus released the debut self-titled album. After the tour with Sean Lennon the artist decided to have a rest and rent a room in Chelsea Hotel in New York City. There he wrote the major part of the second album Poses during half a year. The disc was released in 2001 and featured his sister Martha (who is now a rising artist herself) on backing vocals. The unusual and elaborated arrangements, pleasant operatic baritone and peculiar melodies gained him a firm success. In 2000s Wainwright became drug-addicted. After a call to his friend Elton John Rufus underwent medication and rehabilitation in a clinic. Due to this problem he had to make a pause in musical career, but in 2003 the singer made a forceful comeback with the album Want One, which got its continuation Want Two in 2004.

In 2006, it became known that Rufus Wainwright was going to perform two times the whole Judy Garland's concert album, which she recorded in 1961. He was going to make this event in the same building, Carnegie Hall in New York. The concerts were a success; Rufus imitating Garland brilliantly even in trifles. He made identical performances in Los Angeles, Paris and London. In the middle of 2007, the musician released his fifth studio album Release The Stars, which featured a wide number of guests celebrities. The same year in December Rufus Does Judy At Carnegie Hall saw light. It is the live records of Wainwright's legendary concert in New York. For now, the talented singer-songwriter is creating his first opera, Prima Donna. In 2010 the musician released his new studio work titled All Days Are Nights: Songs For Lulu.