Mary Margaret O'Hara is a Canadian singer-songwriter, who has been hailed as one of the greatest cult heroines in rock music despite having released very few of her own recordings. She is the sister of comedic actress Catherine O'Hara. O'Hara was a student at the Ontario College of Art and Design in Toronto, Ontario in the 1970s, and was involved in the music scene as a member of Toronto bands Songship and Go Deo Chorus. In 1984, O'Hara signed a recording contract with Virgin Records, but her first album did not appear until 1988 because O'Hara's perfectionism and unconventional recording habits made the record difficult to complete. Andy Partridge of XTC had been scheduled to produce recordings with her, but abandoned the project allegedly because he couldn't cope with O'Hara's eccentricities. In 1987, Michael Brook saw O'Hara in performance and was captivated by her unique style, and soon took on the job of producing O'Hara's attempts at an album. Ultimately adding new vocals to, and remixing material that was originally recorded by Joe Boyd in 1984. [1] When Miss America was finally released in 1988, O'Hara's songwriting (a fusion of jazz, country, rock and pop) and distinctive vocal style -- which can move from a pure, angelic croon to a loud wail in seconds -- quickly won her raves from critics and fellow musicians alike. It was hailed in many quarters as one of the best and most distinctive records of the decade, and has in fact made an appearance in some music magazines' polls of the best records of the 20th century. The British music magazine Mojo sings her praises regularly. In 1991, O'Hara followed up with a four-song EP of Christmas material. Following the Christmas EP, O'Hara took on several acting roles and appeared as a vocalist on recordings by a variety of other artists, including Morrissey, John & Mary, Bruce Cockburn, Holly Cole, Meryn Cadell, The Henrys and Neko Case. She also contributed songs to a number of compilation albums, including tributes to Vic Chesnutt and Kurt Weill, and participated in a 1994 Christmas concert with Holly Cole, Rebecca Jenkins, Jane Siberry and Victoria Williams, which was released as the album Count Your Blessings. During an R.E.M. concert in Toronto in 1999, Michael Stipe brought O'Hara on stage and declared her a "national treasure". Other artists who are said to be fans of hers include Kristin Hersh, Radiohead, Dave Matthews and Rickie Lee Jones. However, she did not release a new recording under her own name until 2001, when she and long time guitarist Rusty McCarthy contributed to the soundtrack for the Canadian film Apartment Hunting (in which she also acted). On October 4 and 5, 2006, O'Hara performed "Hallelujah" (with Gavin Friday) and "The Window" at "Came So Far For Beauty" the Leonard Cohen Tribute organised by Hal Willner at The Point Theatre in Dublin, Ireland. She performed at the All Tomorrow's Parties festival in Minehead, England, over the weekend of April 27 to 29, 2007, and with Howe Gelb and friends at the Barbican Centre in London on May 2, 2007. O'Hara sang backup vocals for Morrissey in his song November Spawned a Monster. O'Hara has almost made several small film appearances, most notably with Tom Waits in Candy Mountain in 1986.
Footnotes
- ^ Larry Crane, "Interview with Joe Boyd", Tape Op, July/Aug 2007
