The defining Loudon Wainwright III song, according to Rufus Wainwright
In rock, sometimes you can tell whose kid is whose. A blonde, bass-playing singer in a power trio that mainly spent their career supporting The Police? It doesn’t need saying. A photogenic, charismatic frontman of a Dublin rock band with a keening, powerful tenor? Give ya three guesses. An opera fanatic theatre kid who’s adapted Shakespeare sonnets to song and done entire tribute shows to Judy Garland? That’s a lineage slightly more difficult to trace, but Rufus Wainwright has always been an enigma. Especially when contrasted with his father, Loudon Wainwright III.
Looking into the Wainwright family history, you can see why he wanted to put as much distance between himself and his father as possible. Born to the elder Wainwright and his then-wife, fellow folk singer Kate McGarrigle, they divorced when Rufus was three. Rufus has gone on to say that his father was an itinerant figure, making the occasional appearance in his life but mainly focusing on touring and making music.
This meant that Rufus, along with his sister Martha, grew up in their mother’s orbit. Starting their own musical journey at a young age with their mother’s group, The McGarrigle Sisters and Family. In 1999, Rufus began his own solo career with his self-titled debut album and has gone on to have a career just as, if not more successful than, his father’s.
Both Wainwright children have, unfairly or not, had to be very open about how much their troubled relationship with their father has influenced their music. Rufus wrote the breathtaking ‘Dinner at 8’ about their differences. Martha, typically, went a little more for the jugular with her breakout song ‘Bloody Mother Fucking Asshole’. Over the years, though, a degree of understanding between the two generations began to blossom.
In an interview with Uncut magazine, Rufus said, “My father has always communicated with his loved ones through song, for better or for worse. And even though occasionally it can be a little traumatic, at least he’s reaching out, you know?” He said this while talking about the records that shaped him, putting his father’s 1985 album I’m Alright on the list and singling out the song ‘One Man Guy’ for praise. He said of the record, “It was part of his lonely London period. He was touring and travelling a lot, and I didn’t see him very much, so this record helped me understand who he was.”
Today, the relationship between both generations seems to be more stable than ever. Rufus and Martha have covered their father’s music and even shared a stage with him occasionally. Below, you’ll find a live version of ‘One Man Guy’ that the Wainwright family performed in 2011. Rufus, at the time, was in the middle of a five-night residency at London’s Royal Opera House (named The House of Rufus, natch), each night a different show, and this one was a joint concert, a celebration of their family’s history.
I dare you to watch this video of Loudon, Rufus, Martha and their half-sister Lucy harmonising their way through the song and not get a little misty-eyed. It’s true that no family should have to air their dirty laundry so publicly, but if these people can understand each other, anyone can.
