Quebec Folk Singer Remembers Kate McGarrigle

Rawlings decided to dig through his archives to find the song, named The Log Driver’s Waltz, which also happened to be written by legendary Canadian folk musician Wade Hemsworth.   After searching and searching, Rawlings finally found the historic track, but he now faced another challenge - he didn’t have a machine to play this reel-to-reel tape on.  Not letting this get in the way of re-living his fond memories, Rawlings enlisted the help of master audio-tape restorer Richard Hess of Aurora, Ontario.  Hess was a veritable miracle worker, and was able to bring The Log Driver’s Waltz and many more of Rawlings’ recordings back to life. 

The culmination of this experience was the launch of Autumn Gold, a collection of 12 of Rawlings’ folk classics.  It is available for download at www.chrisrawlings.ca and on Amazon, CD Baby, iTunes, and Spotify.  Songs can also be purchased individually, and half of the proceeds from The Log Driver’s Waltz will go directly to The Kate McGarrigle Fund, which supports teaching and research in sarcoma.  Kate fought this rare form of cancer courageously until her passing in January 2010. 

Now 65, Rawlings still performs live, and has teamed up with fellow musicians Michael Pinsonneault and Gilles Losier for a show at the Petit Campus (57 Prince-Arthur East) on Saturday, September 15 at 8 p.m., as part of the 10th annual Wintergreen Concert Series. For more information, please visit www.hellodarlinproductions.com.

You can also make a donation to The Kate McGarrigle Fund by clicking here.