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Rufus Wainwright

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Rhinebeck, New York, USA (1973 – present)

Rufus McGarrigle Wainwright (born 22 July 1973) is a Canadian-American singer-songwriter.

Wainwright was born in Rhinebeck, New York, USA, 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 Wainwright, 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), was nominated for the 1988 Genie Award for Best Original Song and earned him a nomination 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.

Wainwright became interested in opera throughout his adolescent years (for instance, his track

Barcelona features lyrics of Giuseppe Verdi). He also became an enthusiast of such performers as Édith Piaf, Al Jolson and Judy Garland.

After having been a fixture on the Montreal club circuit, Wainwright cut a series of demo tapes, one of which found itself in the hands of DreamWorks executive Lenny Waronker. The label signed him and he released the self-titled Rufus Wainwright album in the spring of 1998.

Tagged as:

singer-songwriter, indie, alternative, folk, canadian
See more…

1	Hallelujah	2,114
2	Cigarettes and Chocolate Milk full track	1,488
3	Going to a Town full track	1,057
4	Complainte de la Butte	828
5	California full track	804
6	Poses full track	802
7	Greek Song full track	682
8	Across the Universe	654
9	Oh What a World full track	650
10	Tiergarten full track	615
10	Do I Disappoint You full track	615
12	Between My Legs full track	577
13	One Man Guy full track	554
14	Grey Gardens full track	546
15	Cigarettes and Chocolate Milk (reprise) full track	531

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LongLiveTheD wrote:
9 hours ago

"Frank Sinatra has passed on the torch to me. But little did he know that he'd be passing it on to a gay opera queen." - Rufus Wainwright

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Salzella wrote:
yesterday afternoon

I love this man. but seriously , he does not suit a beard. my word, no.

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TetrisRock wrote:
yesterday morning

"@AndresAnkh, listen to Poses next!" .... THIS. Or the self-titled, maybe. But I personally prefer Poses. Then go for Want Two.

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WarholChildren wrote:
Friday morning

I want to give this man's music the attention it deserves. Starting right now.

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ste_simpson wrote:
Wednesday evening

Rufus is brilliant.

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Echoes917 wrote:
Wednesday afternoon

Listening to Poses for the first time...I'm really loving it.

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Brentos_ wrote:
last week

For some reason his voice instantly made me think of Thom Yorke. This guy is a lot different though, very talented, I like

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libradog wrote:
last week

oh rufus...

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BluesRok wrote:
10 days ago

If you like movies, you'll love The Movie Group!

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shoreline4 wrote:
11 days ago

or poses!

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paigeh120990 wrote:
11 days ago

go with his self-titled album

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Bromithia wrote:
12 days ago

Want Two.

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jakerperiod wrote:
13 days ago

@AndresAnkh, listen to Poses next!

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AndresAnkh wrote:
last month

i have release the stars and want one, what album should i listen to next?

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[deleted-user] wrote:
last month

<3 Rufus
arrell wrote:
last month

... and before I knew it, I became a Rufus fan.

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AndresAnkh wrote:
last month

pretty things is lovely!

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OMFGItsVico wrote:
last month

@ LongLiveTheD: Says someone who listens to Perez Hilton. Get over yourself. Rufus rules, and so does Radiohead.

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superhans05 wrote:
last month

love his songs!

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pablo_soze wrote:
last month

he is indeed...

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Videos

Events

Jul 17 Prima Donna Palace Theatre, Manchester, United Kingdom
1 shout | 9 attendees
Jul 19 Prima Donna Palace Theatre, Manchester, United Kingdom
Add shout | 10 attendees
Jul 28 2009 Osheaga Festival Parc Jean Drapeau, Montreal QC, Canada
47 shouts | 181 attendees

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News

Rufus on BBC's The Culture Show | News

14 Jul 2009 | from www.rufuswainwright.com

Rufus Wainwright talks about his first opera, Prima Donna, with host Miranda Sawyer on BBC 2's The Culture Show this Wednesday, July 15th at 7pm BST. Tune in!

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