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Jane McGarrigle with sisters Anna and Kate
FYI
Obituaries: Remembering Artist Manager/Musician Jane McGarrigle, Singer Marianne Faithfull
This week we also acknowledge the passing of pedal steel pioneer Susan Alcorn and American publishing executive Ben Vaughn.
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(Laury) Jane McGarrigle, a Canadian songwriter, musician, music publisher, artist manager and author who worked extensively with her sisters, folk legends Kate & Anna McGarrigle, died on Jan. 24, at age 84, of ovarian cancer.
A Celebrity Access obituary notes that "Jane McGarrigle began her career in music when she was just 14 after she was recruited by nuns to play organ at l’Église de Saint-Sauveur-des-Monts, a historic Catholic church in Saint-Sauveur, Quebec, Canada.
"When McGarrigle’s younger sisters, Kate and Anna, formed a singer-songwriter duo, Jane became a collaborator, writing and performing several songs with them while assisting with the production of albums such as 1982's Love Over and Over, which the duo released in 1982. "
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Jane McGarrigle managed her younger sisters’ music careers from the late 1970s to the mid-1990s. As well as co-writing some songs with the duo, she performed with them in the studio and on tours of Canada, the United States, Europe and Australia.
In 2015, Anna and Jane McGarrigle co-wrote Mountain City Girls, a book detailing their Quebec upbringing. Commenting on the book (published by Penguin Random House), Emmylou Harris, a longtime friend of the McGarrigle clan, wrote that "From the moment I met The Mountain City Girls, Kate, Anna and Jane, I wanted to be a part of that magical McGarrigle circle — the songs, the suppers, the families and fellow travellers, and they blessed me with it all.”
A Globe and Mail review described the memoir as “a non-regretting, red-wine read full of anecdotes and antiquity, with the well-turned phrases of a generation who took care of language.”
Jane McGarrigle was long active in music publishing and copyright advocacy. She served as a board member of the Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada (SOCAN) where she defended publishing rights for musical authors. She also served on the board of the Songwriters Association of Canada for a number of years.
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McGarrigle and her family spent long periods of time living in California, and she often performed with local musicians, including s Dick Oxtot’s Golden Age Jazz Band. In recent years in Montreal, she played dobro and piano with her partner Peter Weldon in their band, The What Four.
Upon learning of her passing, many colleagues of Jane McGarrigle paid tribute on social media.
On Facebook, Montreal music industry veteran Jean-Pierre Leduc posted that "Jane McGarrigle was one of my very best friends for the better part of four decades, and I loved her dearly. We also started a management company together, based on our rapport, contacts and love for adventure. We had a ball.
"Jane passed away on Friday which is hard to fathom, so full of life was this wonderful woman. We made each other laugh hysterically, and that alone is a friend to treasure. I could write a lot more about what made Jane special, and I will, soon. With love to all who knew and adored Jane."
Toronto music journalist and author Nicholas Jennings noted on Facebook that " Although she left the spotlight to sisters Kate & Anna, Jane McGarrigle, who died Friday of ovarian cancer, was a talented artist and businesswoman in her own right."
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Toronto singer-songwriter Blair Packham (on Facebook): "This is sad news. I didn’t know Jane well, but we served together on the board of the Songwriters Association of Canada for a number of years. I admired her wit, her constructive ideas advocating for songwriters, and her ability to cut to the chase. I always looked forward to interacting with her at our meetings, and I’m sad that she is now gone."
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Toronto musician-producer Danny Greenspoon (on Facebook): "Heartbreaking. I had the pleasure of hanging out with her while we both played with Kate and Anna in the late 80’s. I also was so happy to get a call from her and Peter to help them choose a Dobro at the Twelfth Fret many years later. She was a sweet, talented woman. RIP Jane."
Funeral services will be held Monday, February 3, 2025 at 11 a.m. at L'église Saint-Viateur d’Outremont, 1175 Av. Laurier O., Outremont, QC.
Marianne Faithfull, a British pop icon of the 1960s who became an acclaimed singer, songwriter, and actress died on Jan 30, at age 78. A cause of death has yet to be reported.
A Billboard obituary notes that “Faithfull was born in the Hampstead area of North London, the daughter of an Austrian aristocrat and a British intelligence officer. Starting a career as a folk singer in the early ’60s, she made the acquaintance of Rolling Stones producer Andrew Loog Oldham, who introduced her to the band’s circle, and offered her 'As Tears Go By,' a composition co-penned by the band’s Mick Jagger and Keith Richards. The sparse, acoustic ballad hit the top 10 in the U.K. in 1964, and also crossed over to the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at No. 22.
“As Tears Go By” made Faithfull a star, and further hits followed the next year: 'Come and Stay With Me,” “This Little Bird” and “Summer Nights,” all of which hit the U.K. top 10 and the Billboard top 40.
A key figure on the Swinging Sixties London scene, Faithfull regularly made headlines in the British tabloids fixture, especially after starting an affair with Jagger in 1966, ultimately leaving her first husband John Dunbar to live with him. The following year, her presence at a drug bust at Richards’ house also brought her notoriety.
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Her solo career then faded, though she sang backing vocals on The Beatles’ No. 2 hit “Yellow Submarine” and co-wrote the Rolling Stones’ Sticky Fingers classic drug ballad “Sister Morphine,” though it took a long time for her to be given that compositional credit.
A long period marred by drug addiction meant a long gap between records, between 1967’s Love in a Mist album — her last on Decca Records — and 1976’s Dreamin' My Dreams, her only country album.
A remarkable comeback was launched in 1979 with the release of her critically-acclaimed album, Broken English, hailed as her career best. Billboard notes that “The singer/songwriter’s voice had transformed into something lower and more weathered with her drug usage, and the set drew rave reviews for its modern sounds and brittle energy. Substance abuse sapped the momentum the Grammy-nominated set earned Faithfull’s career, until a 1987 reinvention as a jazz and blues singer on her Strange Weather album.
Subsequent albums covered a wide range of musical styles, including cabaret, and her ‘90s work included high-profile guest roles on Roger Waters’ 1990 live tour of his band’s best-selling The Wall, and as a featured vocalist on Metallica’s 1997 single “The Memory Remains.”
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The immense peer respect she earned was showcased on Faithfull’s 2002 album Kissin Time — including songs written by contemporary stars like Beck, Blur and Billy Corgan of Smashing Pumpkins. Her final release, 2018’s Negative Capability, was her highest-charting set on the U.K. albums chart since 1965.
Faithfull had worked as an actress in the ‘60s, and was noted for being the first person to ever say the word “f–k” in a mainstream movie, doing so in the 1967 Michael Winner film I’ll Never Forget What’s’isname. On stage, she appeared in Chekhov’s Three Sisters and played Ophelia to Nicol Williamson’s Hamlet. On film, she played the leather-clad heroine of The Girl on a Motorcycle (1968), and was cast as the demonic Lilith in Kenneth Anger’s Lucifer Rising.
She successfully returned to the stage and screen later in her life, with work including small 21st century rules in the hit British sitcom Absolutely Fabulous (as God), and in the Sofia Coppola-directed biopic Marie Antoinette (as Empress Maria Theresa).
Faithfull had a starring role in 2007’s Irina Palm, as a 60-year-old widow who becomes a sex worker out of necessity, and it earned her a best actress nomination at the European Film Awards.
As word of Marianne Faithfull's passing spread, many Canadian musicians and industry types paid tribute to her on social media, recounting many memorable encounters with this genuinely legendary figure. These excerpts are all taken from Facebook posts.
Musician/composer Jocelyn Lanois: "I met Marianne while I was living in New York City’s east village for four years in the early '90s. I knew producer Hal Wilner and one evening he invited me to visit, saying Marianne was staying with him. I grabbed some cappuccinos and made my way through Washington Square Park to his apartment. Marianne had been working on lyrics for 'A Secret Life,' her collaboration with film composer Angelo Badalamenti.
"That night she stepped out into the living room wearing silk pajamas, carrying a bag of weed and asked if anyone rolled. I said I did and obliged while listening to her speak of being inspired by the music of David Lynch’s Twin Peaks. She was of course witty and funny, with a serious 'take no shit' attitude. Her masterpiece, Broken English, had blown my mind and is still one of my fave albums. No woman had ever written such incredibly courageous, honest and explicit lyrics. Thank you and Bon Voyage great Queen."
Hamilton musician/DJ Pete Lambert: "Saddened by the passing of Marianne Faithfull. I had the pleasure of hanging out with her several times whilst living in London England. I met her through Gaz Mayall as she was one of his mom's best friends. Our band The Trojans was hired by Marianne's son, Nicholas Dunbar, to play at his wedding in the early 90s, after he had made one of the band's videos while attending film school.
"Marianne sat in with the band for a couple of tunes and afterwards held court in her hotel room, reading excerpts to us from her then new biography while reclining on the bed. At one point she started to sing 'Dream' by the Everly Brothers and I joined in on the harmony. We sang the whole song together and finished to great applause, smiles and hugs. She was larger than life, a real shining star in any room. My condolences to John Dunbar, Nicholas and his family and all who were in her orbit. RIP Marianne."
Producer Mark Howard: "I produced her record, Vagabond Ways, recorded in 1999 at my Studio called The Teatro, in California. She had Elton John write a song for this record and Leonard Cohen gave her one of his songs. Roger Waters gave her a song that he wrote for Syd Barrett that was never used on the Pink Floyd records. She'd also written her own songs too, mostly about Mick Jagger."
"When I first met her it was like meeting the Queen with her posh British accent. She whispered in my ear, 'you know it's not true.' I said of course not, regarding her Mars Bar tabloid gossip. While she was doing the press for this record. She got bored of saying the same old things over and over to the press, so she would make up stories that while we were making the record I had midgets walking around the studio with trays with different coloured pills on them.
"In the '60s Marianne wrote a song called 'Sister Morphine,' recorded on the Rolling Stones' Sticky Fingers record. Mick and Keith took the songwriting credit because Marianne had signed a bad contract with her manager that meant he would collect her royalties for it the next 25 years.
"While making Marianne's Vagabond Ways record, her contract was up with her manager, and she was finally given writing credit for 'Sister Morphine'. I received a phone call from Wim Wenders, the director of Wings of Desire, saying that he really loved this record. 'Broken English' was one of my favourite songs of hers when I was growing up and it was a pleasure to make a beautiful record with her. You will always be in my heart Marianne. Rest in peace, Love Mark."
Vancouver music promoter Raymond Ramsay: "Her Broken English album came out on the adventurous boutique label Island records out of England (via Jamaica) and distributed in Canada on RCA (with the indefatigable Kathy Hahn as label manager), and this was her reason for appearing at Richards on Richards in Vancouver.
"Advance promotion for this date was surprisingly low key for an artist of such renown and affiliation as I had little to do with her activities. At the venue I did speak briefly with her, almost in passing, ships y’know? She mounted the stage, sat on a stool and casually lit a cigarette to a collective full house gasp/inhale as this was the first day of the City's new NO SMOKING edict indoors at public places. There she was, maintaining her poise, edgy, blonde and defiant while she exhaled a great column of smoke, a gesture that rewrote the sign…No, smoking allowed!"
Ontario concert promoter Don Blais: "I was very saddened to hear about the passing of Marianne Faithfull today. I had the pleasure of hosting her at Fryfogles in London in 1983. Thanks Gary Topp. One of the most incredible shows I ever promoted. [Canadian] Joe Mavety who co-wrote 'Broken English' put together and rehearsed a band in Toronto. Apparently she never made the rehearsals. The show was sold out big time and I remember anxiously waiting with the band for her to show up. And then she arrived pretty much at show time … came to my office did a quick change, had a couple shots and hit the stage. All I can say is it was amazing. I worked with her again later in the 80s, with solo tour dates in Southern Ontario."
Veteran Toronto concert promoter Gary Topp. "A few shows with her, always an event. An icon on and off the stage and screen, an iconic voice. Lots of mistakes."
Susan Alcorn, a pioneering American pedal steel player, improvisor and composer, has died at age 71.
The High Zero Foundation, an experimental music organization and festival producer in Alcorn’s home base of Baltimore, announced the news on X on Jan. 31. A cause of death has not been reported.
AllAboutJazz once termed Alcorn "One of the world’s premiere exponents of her instrument. She has taken the pedal steel guitar far beyond its traditional role in country music. Having first paid her dues in Texas country & western bands, she began to expand the vocabulary of her instrument through her study of 20th century classical music, visionary jazz, and world musics."
The Guardian writes "As an improvisor and composer, Alcorn has proven to be visionary. Her pieces reveal the complexity of her instrument and her musical experience while never straying from a very direct, intense, and personal musical expression.”
In 2016, Alcorn was voted "Best Other Instrument" by the International Critics Poll. In 2017 she received the Baker Artist Award, and in 2018, along with saxophonist Joe McPhee, she was the recipient of the Instant Award in Improvised Music.
Born in Cleveland, Alcorn started playing guitar at age 12 and began experimenting with slide guitar as a teen after randomly meeting Muddy Waters; by adulthood she had switched to the pedal steel. She played in country bands in Houston in the early ’70s and began experimenting with the instrument in the ’80s, running it through a synthesizer to mimic the sound of other instruments and arranging John Coltrane’s “Naima” for pedal steel.
“I was doing country gigs and listening to Albert Ayler and people at the gigs would tell me I sounded different for some reason,” Alcorn told NPR in a 2020 feature about the experimental pedal steel scene.
A Stereogum obituary reported that "In 1990, Alcorn attended the first Deep Listening retreat organized by Pauline Oliveros, the accordionist and electronic music pioneer, who also lived in Houston. She credited her friendship with Oliveros with further expanding her understanding of what the pedal steel could do.
"Gradually, Alcorn built up a reputation as a one-of-a-kind visionary, one whose 2006 composition 'And I Await The Resurrection Of The Pedal Steel Guitar' helped spark a renaissance surrounding the instrument."
Though known for her solo work, Alcorn also collaborated with numerous notable artists including Pauline Oliveros, Chris Cutler, the London Improvisors Orchestra, the Glasgow Improvisors Orchestra, Joe McPhee, Ken Vandermark, Evan Parker, Michael Formanek, Zane Campbell and Mary Halvorson, among others."
Toronto-based website Musicworks published this extensive feature on Alcorn in 2020, shortly after a performance in that city, at the opening night of the 2020 Women From Space Festival, at the Burdock. Her set included an excerpt of Oscar Peterson’s classic work “Hymn To Freedom.”
Hamilton-based new music promoter Cem Zafir informs Billboard Canada that he booked Alcorn twice for his Something Else festival. "This is very sad, shocking news, a heavy loss," he says. "Susan was such a special artist and human. If you love the pedal steel guitar as I do, her ability to bring it to a more open, improvised setting with such elegance, warmth, and depth, was remarkable, a huge gift.
"We were fortunate to have her visit us twice in 2016 and 2018. She graced our stage as a solo performer twice, plus in a duet with Halifax classical guitarist Amy Brandon, and also with a Hamilton trio of bassist David Lee, guitarist Chris Palmer, and reeds player Connor Bennett. All our staff, board, volunteers, and audiences love her and will miss her very much."
Ben Vaughn, an acclaimed and award-winning music publishing executive and president/CEO of Warner Chappell Music Nashville , died suddenly on Jan. 30, at age 49. A cause of death has not been reported.
In its obituary,The Tennessean reports that "The native of Sullivan, Kentucky, a coal mining town an hour west of the Bluegrass state's Illinois border, spent three decades distinguishing himself as a Belmont University-educated and award-winning song publisher. Vaughn served on the boards of the Academy of Country Music, Country Music Association and Belmont University's Music Industry Advisory Board. He was also inducted as a member of the Honorable Order of Kentucky Colonels philanthropic organization.
Vaughn began his career with six years working at Nashville independent Big Tractor Music, where he began his career as a song publisher before graduating college. He was appointed executive vice president and general manager at EMI Music Publishing in 2009, and had headed Warner Chappell Nashville for the past seven years.
The Tennessean notes that "Under his stewardship, Warner Chappell Nashville was named Country Publisher of the Year at ASCAP nearly a dozen times while achieving similar honors at BMI six times and SESAC three times. In 2019, Warner Chappell swept the honor at the ASCAP, BMI, and SESAC Awards.
In its obituary, The Hollywood Reporter termed Vaughn "a fierce advocate for songwriters, speaking of rights protection initiatives and the economic challenges of the craft and lending his expertise to those in the community."
Artists whose careers were boosted by Vaughn include Rhett Atkins, Thomas Rhett and Dan & Shay.
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