AFTER doing a couple of columns on sons following in their parents' musical footsteps, it would be remiss of me not to do one on daughters.
The list was a little harder to fill, possibly because women are smarter and know how hard it can be to start in the music biz with such expectations.
But there are five daughters who went into the family business, some with great success.
Martha Wainwright
GROWING up, Martha had little hope of being anything other than a musician. Her mum was a singer-songwriter (the late Kate McGarrigle), as is dad (Loudon Wainwright III), her older brother (Rufus Wainwright), half-sister (Lucy Wainwright Roche), and her aunts (Sloan Wainwright and Anna McGarrigle). Martha came to many people's attention with her 2005 song Bloody Mother F***ing Asshole, which was written about her dad. She has recorded songs with most of her family members, as well as working with members of The Who, Steely Dan, The Band and Snow Patrol. While her brother has been doing Judy Garland tribute nights, Martha has been covering Edith Piaf and released a live album of her Piaf shows last year.
Mahalia Barnes
IN the early '90s, Jimmy Barnes put his four kids in a band called The Tin Lids and they released three ARIA nominated albums. The kids - Mahalia, Jackie, Eliza-Jane and Elly-May - have all gone on to musical careers, with Mahalia perhaps enjoying the most success. Aside from performing with her dad and her half-brother David Campbell, Mahalia has also sung with Jade McRae, Roachford, Diesel, Blue King Brown, Kid Confucious, Tim Rogers, Guy Sebastian and more. Her solo work, which could be described as soul-pop, includes a couple of EPs and the album Mahalia Barnes & The Soul Mates - Volume 1, with Volume 2 due out later this year.
Liza Minnelli
PERRHAPS the most famous singing daughter of them all, Liza is the daughter of the legendary Judy Garland. One of only 12 people to have won the showbiz grand slam (an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar and a Tony), she has rarely stopped working professionally since she was 19. Her iconic award-winning turn in Cabaret really put her on the map, but before that she had already released seven albums, including a live recording of a concert she did with her mother. She has now released a total of 20 albums and continues to perform, having fought her way back from a debilitating illness that had doctors predicting she'd never walk or talk again.
Holly Partridge
THE daughter of XTC mastermind Andy Partridge, Holly first popped up singing on XTC's track Playground and also inspired the song Holly Up On Poppy (about her and her rocking horse). She formed all-girl Britpop group The Shebeats in 2006 and the group played extensively throughout the UK but never broke through to the mainstream. A guitarist and singer-songwriter, Holly has recently been working on a solo project which is big on rocking guitars, boppy keys and pop hooks. An album or EP is expected later this year.
Norah Jones
THE daughter of legendary sitar player Ravi Shankar, Jones followed a very different path from her estranged father, studying jazz piano and releasing the "adult contemporary" hit album Come Away With Me in 2002, which sold 22 million copies worldwide and is the biggest selling jazz album of all time. Her follow-up Feels Like Home took on country influences and sold a further 10 million copies worldwide. The darker Not Too Late also topped the charts, as did last year's record The Fall. Jones' status is confirmed by the list of esteemed artists she's worked with, which include Ryan Adams, Outkast, Mike Patton, Herbie Hancock, Bright Eyes, Foo Fighters and Ray Charles.
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