“Mr. Wainwright has proved to be far and away the most candid diarist among the singer-songwriters who…brought confessional poetry into popular song…. Mr. Wainwright wrings more human truth out of his contradiction than any other songwriter of his generation.” – New York Times, Stephen Holden
2010 GRAMMY Winner (Best Traditional Folk Album) for High Wide & Handsome: The Charlie Poole Project (Two previous GRAMMY nominations: I’m Alright, 1985 and More Love Songs, 1986).
Best Album of 2009: High Wide & Handsome per NPR’s Ken Tucker (Fresh Air & Entertainment Weekly magazine).
High Wide & Handsome named among the year’s best per Village Voice, No Depression, FolkWax and fRoots.
Songs covered by Johnny Cash, Bonnie Raitt, Earl Scruggs, Mose Allison, Big Star, Freakwater, Norma Waterson, Kate & Anna McGarrigle, Rufus Wainwright.
Film acting credits include: Judd Apatow’s Knocked Up (for which he also recorded the soundtrack) and The 40-Year-Old Virgin; Christopher Guest’s For Your Consideration; Cameron Crowe’s Elizabethtown; Martin Scorsese’s The Aviator; Tim Burton’s Big Fish; 28 Days alongside Sandra Bullock, Viggo Mortensen and Steve Buscemi; Jacknife alongside Robert De Niro and Ed Harris; Neil Simon’s The Slugger’s Wife.
Television acting credits include: Parks and Recreation (w/ Amy Poehler); Undeclared (w/ Seth Rogen & writer/producer Judd Apatow); Grounded for Life; Ally McBeal; The T.V. Show (w/ Rob Reiner, Christopher Guest, Harry Shearer, Michael McKean, Billy Crystal) where he played keyboard with the early Spinal Tap, which made it’s first appearance on this program; a recurring role on M*A*S*H and a role as the original musician/sidekick on The David Letterman Show.
