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Loudon Wainwright III

Loudon Wainwright III grew up in the town of Bedford in wealthy Westchester County north of New York City, the son of Loudon S. Wainwright, Jr., a writer and editor at Life magazine and a direct descendant of colonial governor Peter Stuyvesant.

Wainwright became a folk singer/songwriter in the late '60s, singing humorous and nakedly honest autobiographical songs. Signed to Atlantic Records, he recorded Album I (1970) and Album II (1971), accompanying himself on acoustic guitar, before switching to Columbia Records, for which he made the folk-rock Album III (1972), which featured the Top 40 novelty hit "Dead Skunk."

Attempted Mustache (1973) and the half-live Unrequited (1975) did not continue that commercial success, though Wainwright's humor and engaging stage persona made him a cult figure and a concert favorite.

Meanwhile, his songs were recorded by others, notably Kate (his wife, since divorced) and Anna McGarrigle, and Wainwright appeared in the off-Broadway show Pump Boys and Dinettes and played a featured role on the successful M*A*S*H television series.

He moved to Arista Records for T Shirt (1976) and Final Exam (1978), on which he was backed by a rock band, but departed the major labels for a more appropriate home on the folk-based indie Rounder for A Live One (1980) and Fame and Wealth (1983).

Wainwright began to gain more notice in England than in the U.S., and he moved to London in 1985. I'm Alright (1985) and More Love Songs (1986) were co-produced by British singer/guitarist Richard Thompson. Therapy (1989) found Wainwright on the major-label-distributed Silvertone imprint and back living in the U.S., and he signed to Virgin Records' Charisma subsidiary for History (1992) and the live Career Moves (1993). Grown Man, his 15th album, was released in 1995, followed three years later by Little Ship.

In 1999, there appeared a collection of topical, humorous songs Wainwright had been composing since the late '80s for National Public Radio, titled Social Studies; the following year, The BBC Sessions collected favorites and new compositions. The Last Man on Earth followed in 2001, and the live album So Damn Happy marked his debut for Sanctuary in 2003. Another studio album, Here Come the Choppers, was released in 2005. It was followed by Strange Weirdos: Music from and Inspired by the Film Knocked Up in 2007 and by Recovery in 2008.

THE GRAMMY AWARDS LOUDON WAINWRIGHT
High Wide & Handsome: The Charlie Poole Project Loudon Wainwright III [2nd Story Sound Records] Grammy in the Best Traditional Folk category.

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Recording

Loudon Wainwright III: Five-Disc Box Set

Loudon Wainwright III: Five-Disc Box Set

Source: JamBase

SHOUT! FACTORY TO CELEBRATE LOUDON WAINWRIGHT III WITH CAREER-SPANNING BOX SET 40 ODD YEARS OUT MAY 3 40 Odd Years into an exceptionally prolific and storied career, Loudon Wainwright III is being celebrated with an aptly named career-spanning 4-CD/1-DVD box set, including a 40-page book, with an essay by renowned journalist/author David Wild and an introduction by filmmaker and box set co-producer Judd Apatow, to be released by Shout! Factory on May 3, 2011. The first 200 to pre-order from ...

126

Performance / Tour

Loudon Wainwright III Tour

Loudon Wainwright III Tour

Source: JamBase

LOUDON WAINWRIGHT III TO TOUR IN SUPPORT OF HIGH WIDE AND HANDSOME: THE CHARLIE POOLE PROJECT

Loudon Wainwright III Fresh from his Best Traditional Folk Album Grammy nomination for High Wide and Handsome: The Charlie Poole Project (2nd Story Sound Records), Loudon Wainwright III will tour throughout 2010 to support the highly acclaimed two-CD package.

On the lavishly packaged set, Wainwright performs the beguiling ballads, blues and novelty songs of country pioneer Poole, as well as nine new ...

136

Recording

Loudon Wainwright III Music a Family Affair

Loudon Wainwright III Music a Family Affair

Source: All About Jazz

Music a family affair for Loudon Wainwright III Why wouldnt you write about them? he says of writing songs about family

Loudon Wainwright III latest album Recovery. “Its a play on words about recovering a song," says Wainwright. “I had been performing some of the songs, but some of them I had forgotten about and had to relearn."

Access spoke to Super Bowl musical performers including Bruce Springsteen and Faith Hill about the upcoming big day, and Hill ...

127

Recording

Loudon Wainwright III Covers Himself

Loudon Wainwright III Covers Himself

Source: Michael Ricci

Here's an old song by this kid I used to know

Even when Loudon Wainwright III was writing songs in his early 20s, many of his characters were already looking back wistfully at their younger days -- such as the protagonist of his 1970 recording “School Days," who begins his tale. In Delaware when I was younger. They're songs written by a young man and originally recorded when he was a young man. But now, tragically, I'm not a young ...

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