An accomplished and versatile singer/songwriter, author, and actor, Loudon Wainwright III emerged in the early 1970s with a sound that combined elements of folk, blues, and rock, and a lyrical style steeped in cynical humor, candid personal observations, and social commentary. After three well-received albums, his 1972 novelty hit "Dead Skunk," along with appearances on the immensely popular television series M*A*S*H, helped cement his reputation and grow his cult following. Since then he has released dozens of albums, including the Grammy-nominated I'm Alright (1985) and the Grammy-winning High Wide & Handsome: The Charlie Poole Project (2009), and has appeared with regularity in films and on television. In 2021 he teamed up with Vince Giordano & the Nighthawks for a collection of old standards, I'd Rather Lead a Band, and in 2022, at the age of 75, he brought out a stylistically varied collection of original songs, Lifetime Achievement.