Jane McGarrigle

Laury Jane McGarrigle (April 26, 1941 – January 24, 2025) was a Canadian songwriter, musician and music publisher, known mainly for her work with her younger sisters, singers Kate & Anna McGarrigle. She was the co-author of a book about the three sisters' childhood and musical experiences.

Early and personal life

McGarrigle was born and grew up in Montreal, Quebec, with her sisters Kate and Anna.[1][2] She died on January 24, 2025, at the age of 83.[3]

Career

When McGarrigle's younger sisters formed a singer-songwriter duo, Kate & Anna McGarrigle, Jane wrote and performed several songs with them.[4] She produced their album Love Over and Over.[5][1]

The song "Love Is", which she co-wrote, has been recorded by Nana Mouskouri, Emmylou Harris, and Renato Russo (who also recorded the co-written "Man Is an Island").[6] She served as her sisters' music manager for a time,[7] and also managed producers Pierre Marchand (Sarah McLachlan) and Robbi Finkel (Cirque du Soleil) and the group Three O'Clock Train.[8][9]

McGarrigle co-composed, with her sisters, the scores to the Canadian film Tommy Tricker and the Stamp Traveller[10] and its sequel The Return of Tommy Tricker.

She appeared in the 1999 film The McGarrigle Hour, a collection of concert footage.[11]

McGarrigle was a member of the Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada (SOCAN) and served on its board of directors from 1990 to 2000.[12] She was also on the board of the Songwriters Association of Canada. In 2013, she was part of a SOCAN representative group for a streamed panel, "Can the Music Industry be Saved?"[13]

With her sister Anna, she co-authored Mountain City Girls, a family memoir published in 2015 by Random House Canada.[14][15] The book contains stories about the childhood and musical careers of the three sisters.[7]

References

1. "Anna and Jane McGarrigle’s memoir overflows with wit" Archived March 30, 2019, at the Wayback Machine. Macleans Magazine, by Christopher Loudon, November 7, 2015
2. Griffin, John (December 6, 1986). "The McGarrigles: Montreal's singing sisters are on the road again, and while music is their message, their family is still their life", The Gazette, p. G1.
3. Canadian Music Industry Icon Jane McGarrigle, Dead At 84
4. (August 24, 1985). "The McGarrigles' laid-back act goes south", The Globe and Mail, p. 11.
5. Pareles, Jon (February 6, 1983). "In Pop, the McGarrigle Sisters Know No Bounds", The New York Times, p. A21.
6. (July 1994). "SOCAN's new Board of Directors", Words & Music 1 (7): 6.
7. "McGarrigle sisters tell family and folk music history with 'Mountain City Girls'" Archived March 30, 2019, at the Wayback Machine. CTV News, Victoria Ahearn, November 16, 2015
8. Lepage, Mark (November 4, 1989). "Derailed Three O'Clock Train tries to get back on a good sound track", The Gazette, p. H1.
9. Metella, Helen (January 19, 1992). "Mack MacKenzie and Three O'Clock Train", Edmonton Journal, p. C5.
10. Schnurmacher, Thomas (November 22, 1988). "Demers children's film is a family affair for all... the McGarrigles", The Gazette, p. F7.
11. https://www.courant.com/news/connecticut/hc-xpm-2000-01-27-0001271012-story.html Archived March 30, 2019, at the Wayback Machine " ALL IN THE MCGARRIGLE FAMILY HOUR"]. Roger Catlin, THE HARTFORD COURANT, January 27, 2000.
12. (July–August 1998) "Members gather in Toronto for 1998 AGM", Words & Music 5 (7): 3
13. "SOCAN representatives weigh in at S.A.C. "Can the music business be saved?" panel". January 30, 2013. Archived from the original on January 10, 2017. Retrieved January 9, 2017.
14. Brownstein, Bill (November 6, 2015). "Anna and Jane McGarrigle nurture their roots in Mountain City Girls". Montreal Gazette. Archived from the original on July 18, 2018. Retrieved January 9, 2017.
15. "Review: The McGarrigle sisters look back on their careers in Mountain City Girls" Archived June 8, 2016, at the Wayback Machine. The Globe and Mail , Brad Wheeler, December 11, 2015

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External Links

• Jane McGarrigle discography at Discogs
• Jane McGarrigle at IMDb