Loudon Wainwright III | Artist

Loudon Wainwright III is an American songwriter, folk singer, humorist, and actor born 1946 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. He is the father of musicians Rufus Wainwright, Martha Wainwright, and Lucy Wainwright Roche, and is the former husband of the late folk singer Kate McGarrigle. Wainwright is perhaps best known for the 1972 novelty song "Dead Skunk (in the Middle of the Road)" and for playing Captain Calvin Spalding the "singing surgeon" on the American television show M*A*S*H, where he appeared in three episodes in its third season (1974–1975). Wainwright has claimed that, like many of his contemporaries, he was inspired musically by seeing Bob Dylan at the Newport Folk Festival in 1963. He was one of many young folksingers tagged as the "new Dylan" in the early 1970s, a fact that he later satirised in his song, "Talking New Bob Dylan", from the album History (1992). To date, Wainwright has released 24 studio albums, 4 live albums and 6 compilations, highlights include Album II, Attempted Mustache, Fame and Wealth, More Love Songs, History and Last Man on Earth. He won the Grammy for Best Traditional Folk Album for his 2010 release High Wide & Handsome: The Charlie Poole Project. In addition to his music career, Wainwright has appeared in more than 18 television programmes and feature films. Reflecting upon his career in 1999, he stated, "You could characterize the catalog as somewhat checkered, although I prefer to think of it as a tapestry." In October 2017, Wainwright released his autobiography, Liner Notes: On Parents & Children, Exes & Excess, Death & Decay, and a Few of My Other Favorite Things. As a point of interest, as a boy, Wainwright graduated from St. Andrew's School in Delaware, where the movie Dead Poets Society was filmed.

Artist Website: lw3.com

Featured Albums: Loudon Wainwright III

Related Artists: Kate & Anna McGarrigle, Martha Wainwright, Rufus Wainwright, Lucy Wainwright Roche, The Wainwright Sisters, The Roches