Kate McGarrigle

Kate with son Rufus Wainwright

It has been a terrible month already for losing musicians, since Christmas alone we have had the news of the sad deaths of Willie Mitchell,  Vic Chesnutt, Teddy Pendergrass plus many others and now I have just noticed the news that Kate McGarrigle has died at the age of 63 of cancer.

McGarrigle performed widely with her sister, Anna, for more than three decades, recording 10 albums. She was also well-known for being the matriarch of a musical family, the Wainwrights. McGarrigle was the mother of singers Rufus and Martha Wainwright, and the ex-wife of Loudon Wainwright lll.

Click HERE for The Guardian’s obituary

Wailing Wall

A  female CNN journalist heard about a very old Jewish man  who had been
going  to the Wailing Wall to pray, twice a day, every day, for  a long, long time.

So  she went to check it out. She went to the Wailing Wall  and there he was,
walking  slowly up to the holy site.

She  watched him pray and after about 45 minutes, when he  turned to leave,
using  a cane and moving very slowly, she approached him for an  interview.

“Pardon  me, sir, I’m Rebecca Smith from CNN. What’s your  name?

“Morris  Fishbien,” he replied.

“Sir,  how long have you been coming to the  Wailing  Wall and  praying?”

“For  about 60 years.”

“60  years! That’s amazing! What do you pray for?”

“I  pray for peace between the Christians, Jews and the  Muslims.”
“I pray for all the wars and all the hatred to stop. ”
“I pray for all our children to  grow up safely as responsible adults, and to  love
their  fellow man.”

“How  do you feel after doing this for 60 years?”  

“Like I’m talking to a f***ing brick wall!”

“Wailing Wall” – Todd Rundgren

There’s a grand old maid
Across the sea
So the story was recalled to me
And from dawn ’til dark you hear her call
Down in front of the Wailing Wall
And she cries all day so sad and alone
‘Til someone comes along and leads her home
Nobody listens and nobody seems to care
But everyday you’ll find them there and
Kneeling down
For sadness sake
Crying just as though their hearts would break
And from dawn ’til dark you hear them call
Down in front of the Wailing Wall
And they cry all day so sad and alone
‘Til someone comes along and leads them home
You know I don’t listen and you know that I don’t care
But everyday you’ll find me there and
Kneeling down
For sadness sake
Crying just as though my heart would break
And from dawn ’til dark you’ll hear me call
Down in front of the Wailing Wall

 

To buy the music of Todd Rundgren click HERE