Anne Murray
Encyclopedia
Morna Anne Murray CC, ONS
(born June 20, 1945) is a Canadian singer in pop
, country
and adult contemporary styles whose albums have sold over 54 million copies.
Murray was the first Canadian female solo singer to reach #1 on the U.S. charts, and also the first to earn a Gold record for one of her signature songs, "Snowbird
" (1970). She is often cited as the woman who paved the way for other Canadian international success stories such as Céline Dion
, Sarah McLachlan
and Shania Twain
. She is also the first woman and the first Canadian to win "Album of the Year" at the Country Music Association Awards
for her 1984 album A Little Good News.
Murray has received four Grammy Awards, 24 Juno Awards (she holds the record for the most Junos awarded to an artist), three American Music Awards, three Country Music Association Awards and three Canadian Country Music Association Awards. She has been inducted into the Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame, the Juno Hall of Fame, The Songwriters Hall of Fame and the Hit Parade Hall of Fame. She is a member of the Country Music Hall of Fame Walkway of Stars in Nashville, and has her own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in Los Angeles and on Canada's Walk of Fame in Toronto.
In 2011, Billboard
ranked her number 10 on their list of the 50 Biggest AC Artists Ever.
" and "Little Bit of Soap". On the label her name was misspelled "Anne Murry".
While at university, Murray was encouraged to audition for the 1960s CBC
musical variety television show Singalong Jubilee, but Murray was not offered a singing position. Two years later she received a call from Singalong Jubilee co-host and associate producer, Bill Langstroth, and was asked to return for a second audition. Following that second audition, Murray was cast for the show.
After a summer of singing in local venues across the Maritimes, Murray began teaching Physical Education at a high school in Summerside, Prince Edward Island
. After one year of teaching, she was offered a spot on a television show Let's Go, and returned to Singalong Jubilee.
As a regular member of the "Singalong Jubilee" cast, Murray appeared on the Singalong Jubilee Vol. III soundtrack and Our Family Album - The Singalong Jubilee Cast records released by Arc Records. The show's musical director, Brian Ahern, advised Murray that she should move to Toronto and record a solo album. Murray's first album, What About Me, was produced by Ahern in Toronto and released in 1968 on the Arc label.
(Arc AS 782). The lead single was the cut of the same name, was written by Scott McKenzie
, and was a sizable Canadian radio hit. The project was produced by Brian Ahern, and covered songs by Joni Mitchell
, Ken Tobias
and John Denver
. After a year-long stint on Arc, Murray switched to Capitol Records in 1969 to record her second album, This Way Is My Way, which was released in the fall of the same year. This album featured the single that launched her successful career, "Snowbird
", which became a #1 hit in Canada. "Snowbird" became a surprise hit on the U.S. charts as well, reaching #8 on the Billboard Hot 100
chart in 1970. It was also the first of eight #1 Adult Contemporary hits for Murray. The song led to Murray being awarded the first Gold record ever given to a Canadian artist in the United States (RIAA certified Gold on November 16, 1970). As one of the most successful female artists at that time, Murray became in demand for several television appearances in Canada and the United States, eventually becoming a regular on the hit U.S. TV series The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour
.
After the success of "Snowbird", Murray had a number of subsequent singles that charted both pop and country simultaneously. During the 1970s and early 1980s, her hits included Kenny Loggins
' "Danny's Song
" (1972) (peaked at #7 on the Hot 100) and "A Love Song
" (1973); "He Thinks I Still Care" and her Top 10 cover of The Beatles
' "You Won't See Me
" (1974); her all-time career-peaking #1 Hot 100 hit "You Needed Me
" (1978) — oddly, though, the biggest pop and commercially successful hit of her career (and, she claims, her personal favourite song in her entire repertoire) stalled out at #4 on Billboard's country singles chart and #3 on Billboard's U.S. Adult Contemporary chart; "I Just Fall in Love Again
", "Shadows in the Moonlight
", and "Broken Hearted Me
" (all from 1979); her revival of The Monkees
' 1967 #1 hit "Daydream Believer
" and "Could I Have This Dance
" from the Urban Cowboy
motion picture soundtrack, both from 1980; "Blessed Are the Believers
" (1981); "Another Sleepless Night
" (1982); "A Little Good News" (1983); 1984's "Just Another Woman in Love
" and "Nobody Loves Me Like You Do
" (a duet with Dave Loggins
of 1974's "Please Come to Boston
" fame and cousin of Murray's frequent songwriter Kenny); and "Time, Don't Run Out On Me" from 1985.
She performed "O Canada
" at the first American League
baseball game played in Canada on April 7, 1977, when the Toronto Blue Jays
played the Chicago White Sox
at Exhibition Stadium
. Murray reprised the Canadian national anthem prior to Game 3 of the 1992 World Series
at SkyDome
.
Murray was a celebrity corporate spokeswoman for The Bay
, and she also did commercials and sang the company jingle ("You Can Count on the Commerce") for the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC
).
Murray's last Hot 100 charting pop hit was "Now and Forever (You and Me)" from 1986; it also was her last #1 on both American and Canadian country charts. Her last charting single in the U.S. was 1991's "Everyday," which appeared in Billboard's Country Singles chart, and her last charting single in Canada was 2000's "What a Wonderful World
".
Murray was ranked #24 in Country Music Television
's 40 Greatest Women of Country Music in 2002.
Murray is a Companion of the Order of Canada, the highest honour that can be awarded to a Canadian civilian. She was a recipient of the Order of Nova Scotia in its inaugural year.
In 1996, Murray signed on with a new manager, Bruce Allen, who also has managed careers for Bryan Adams
, Michael Bublé
, Martina McBride
and Jann Arden
. She recorded her first live album in 1997 and in 1999, she released What a Wonderful World
, a Platinum selling inspirational album, which went to Billboard #1 Contemporary Christian, # 4 Country and #38 on the pop charts. She released Country Croonin'
in 2002, the follow-up to her successful 1993 album, Croonin'
. In 2004, she released I'll Be Seeing You in Canada only, which features a collection of songs from the early 20th century through to the mid-1940s. The American version, titled All of Me
, features a bonus disc containing many of her hit singles, followed in 2005.
In 2006 Murray received a tremendous honour when the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame chose her and Leonard Cohen
as recipients of the Legacy Award for their extraordinary contributions to and support of the Canadian songwriting industry. Murray was recognized for her unfailing support of Canada’s songwriters, through her performances and her recordings.
On June 29, 2007, Canada Post issued the limited edition Anne Murray Stamp. She was recognized along with three other iconic Canadian recording artists: Paul Anka, Gordon Lightfoot and Joni Mitchell.
Murray's final studio album Anne Murray Duets: Friends & Legends
, was released in November 2007 in Canada and January 2008 in the U.S. The album comprises 17 tracks that include many of Murray's biggest hits over her four-decade career, re-recorded as duets with other established, rising, and – in one case – deceased female singers. These artists included Canadian superstars Céline Dion
and Shania Twain
along with other fellow Canadians k.d. lang
, Nelly Furtado
, Jann Arden
, a CD-closing French-language duet with Québec's Isabelle Boulay
, and Murray's daughter, Dawn Langstroth
; Australia's decades-long veteran Olivia Newton-John
; Nashville's Emmylou Harris
, Martina McBride
, Shelby Lynne
, and pop/country/contemporary Christian crossover artist Amy Grant
; songwriting and recording legend Carole King
; influential folk-rock duo Indigo Girls
; Irish sextet Celtic Woman
; Britain's late blue-eyed soul
legend and close personal friend of Murray's, Dusty Springfield
; and a duet of her landmark, career-establishing #1 hit from 1970, "Snowbird," with world's biggest selling soprano, Sarah Brightman
.
Anne Murray Duets: Friends and Legends was recorded in four cities - Toronto, Nashville, New York and Los Angeles. According to Billboard magazine, the album reached #2 on the Canadian pop album charts and was certified Double Platinum in Canada after merely two months, representing sales of over 200,000 units. Anne Murray Duets: Friends and Legends was the second-highest debuting CD on the Billboard Top 200 albums chart for the week ending February 2, 2008. It entered the chart at #42, making it her highest-charting U.S. CD release since 1999's What a Wonderful World, which peaked at #38 on the Top 200 and was certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America
(RIAA). Also for the week ending February 2, 2008, the CD debuted at #8 on Billboards Top Country Albums chart and at #3 on its Top Internet Albums chart. Murray was nominated for the 2008 Juno Award
for Album of the Year
and Pop Album of the Year
.
Murray's album What a Wonderful World was re-released in July 2008 in North America as a 14-song package. A new Christmas album, titled Anne Murray's Christmas Album
with bonus DVD was released in October 2008, and Sony BMG Music released an Elvis Presley Christmas album, titled Elvis Presley Christmas Duets, on October 14, 2008 featuring a virtual duet of "Silver Bells" with Anne Murray.
According to Linda Thompson (Elvis Presley
's girlfriend from 1972–1976), Presley was a fan of Murray.
On October 10, 2007, Murray announced that she would embark on her final major tour. She toured in February and March 2008 in the U.S., followed by the "Coast-to-Coast – One Last Time" tour in April and May in Canada. Anne Murray's final public concert was held at the Sony Centre in Toronto on May 23, 2008.
On August 25, 2008 Murray appeared on the popular TV program Canadian Idol as a mentor.
In January, 2009, Alfred A. Knopf Canada announced that Murray, in collaboration with author Michael Posner, would be writing a memoir of her private life and 40-year career in show business. The autobiography, titled All of Me, was released on October 27, 2009. The autobiography is a self-portrait of Canada’s first great female recording artist. All of Me documents Murray's life, from her childhood in the tragedy-plagued small coal-mining town of Springhill, Nova Scotia, to her success on the world stage. The book remains on Canada's non-fiction best sellers list.
Following the release of her autobiography, All of Me, Murray embarked on a 15-city book signing tour, starting in Nashville on October 27, 2009 and ending in Ottawa on November 24, 2009. The tour also included a special In Conversation interview with Michael Posner at the International Festival of Authors in Toronto on October 30, 2009.
On February 12, 2010, Murray was one of the eight Canadians who carried the Olympic flag
during the opening ceremonies of the XXI Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver
.
. Her father, James Carson Murray, was the town doctor and her mother, Marion Margaret Murray, was a registered nurse who focused her life on raising her family and community charity work. Murray was raised as the only girl in a family of five brothers - David, Daniel, Harold, Stewart and Bruce.
After expressing an early interest in music, she studied piano for six years; by age fifteen, she began taking voice lessons. Every Saturday morning, she took a bus ride from Springhill to Tatamagouche, Nova Scotia, for her singing lesson with her teacher, Karen Mills. One of Murray's earliest performances was of the religious song "Ave Maria" at her high school graduation in 1962.
Following high school, Murray attended Mount Saint Vincent University
in Halifax for one year. She later studied Physical Education at University of New Brunswick
in Fredericton. After receiving her degree, Murray taught physical education at a high school in Summerside, Prince Edward Island for one year.
Murray married Bill Langstroth on June 20, 1975, and gave birth to two children: William, in 1976, and the better-known of her children, Dawn Langstroth
, in 1979, a singer/songwriter and artist who has recorded with her mother a number of times, including the duet "Let There Be Love" in 1999 for Murray's What A Wonderful World album. Anne and Dawn were featured in a mother-daughter duet of "Nobody Loves Me Like You Do" on Murray's hit 2008 U.S. CD (released in late 2007 in Canada), Anne Murray Duets: Friends & Legends, Murray's highest-charting release in nine years.
In recent years, Murray has faced many personal challenges: her departure from Capitol Records
after more than a quarter-century; the apparent suicide of Gene MacLellan
, the composer of her first hit single, "Snowbird", which hit #1 in both Canada and the U.S. and virtually established her international singing career overnight; the death of her beloved manager and close friend, Leonard T. Rambeau, from colon cancer; the separation and subsequent divorce from her husband, Bill; her daughter Dawn's battle with anorexia (Dawn and Anne reluctantly did the US talk-show circuit to raise awareness of the deadly affliction); and most recently, the loss of her best friend to cancer (she recorded her 2005 album All of Me as a tribute to her).
She emerged from those personal adversities in 1999 with her best-selling album in 20 years, What a Wonderful World, which was certified Platinum, and her 2002 CD Country Croonin’ was certified Gold by the RIAA. Murray's 2007/2008 Anne Murray Duets: Legends & Friends CD was the second-highest debuting album on Billboard's Top 200 Albums chart (U.S.) for the week ending February 2, 2008, and was Murray's highest-charting album in the U.S. since What a Wonderful World was released in 1999. The CD also debuted on Billboard's Top Country Albums chart at #8 and Top Internet Albums chart at #3 for the same week.
Murray has always kept strong ties with her hometown, Springhill, Nova Scotia
, located about an hour south of Moncton, New Brunswick, and two hours north of Halifax, Nova Scotia. The Anne Murray Centre, located in Springhill, houses a vast collection of memorabilia from both her personal life and professional career in a series of award winning, three-dimensional displays. The Anne Murray Centre, which opened on July 28, 1989, is a registered Canadian charity. As a non-profit association, all the revenue generated from its operation is used to provide employment for local people and for its ongoing maintenance. The Anne Murray Centre has successfully fostered tourism in the area and has promoted awareness of the music of Nova Scotia and Canada.
Anne Murray was also instrumental in the construction of the Dr. Carson and Marion Murray Community Centre in Springhill, Nova Scotia. Murray served as the honorary chair of the fundraising campaign to replace the town arena that collapsed after a peewee hockey game in 2002. Named for her parents, the Dr. Carson and Marion Murray Community Centre sports an NHL-size ice sheet with seating for 800 people, a walking track, multi-purpose room, community room with seating for up to 300, and a gym. The Dr. Carson and Marion Murray Community Centre has become an integral part of the Springhill community since opening on September 15, 2004.
Murray's personal success combined with her visible love and support for Springhill was featured in the article, “Women of Success – Impact on The Economy of Their Hometowns,” in Progressive Choices – Canadian Women In Business magazine (Summer/Fall 2004 edition).
When a devastating tsunami brought tragedy on December 26, 2004, Anne Murray joined other Canadian music stars in the Canada for Asia Telethon, a three-hour, tsunami relief concert broadcast on CBC Television (January 13, 2005) to support CARE Canada’s efforts. Bryan Adams and Murray closed the show with a duet, "What Would It Take".
Murray is also passionate about environmental affairs, and she has been a public supporter of renowned Canadian environmentalist and geneticist Dr. David Suzuki
’s Nature Challenge.
Anne Murray has also been involved in a variety of charitable organizations. In addition to being the Honorary National Chairperson of the Canadian Save The Children Fund, she has served as a spokeswoman for many charities throughout her career - most recently Colon Cancer Canada. On May 20, 2009, Colon Cancer Canada launched the inaugural Anne Murray Charity Golf Classic. Over $150,000 was raised through the event.
Murray's father, Dr. Carson Murray, died in 1980 at the age of 72 from complications from leukemia. Her mother, the former Marion Margaret Burke, died April 10, 2006, at the age of 92 after suffering a series of strokes during heart surgery.
A longtime golf enthusiast, Murray made history in October 2003 at the Turning Stone Resort & Casino in Verona, New York, by becoming the first woman to score a hole-in-one on the 108-yard, par 3, 17th hole at the Kaluhyat Golf Club.
On May 11, 2007, Golf For Women magazine named Murray the world's best female celebrity golfer, noting her 11 handicap.
(such as Anne Murray in Nova Scotia, Intimate Evening with Anne Murray, Anne Murray RSVP, A Special Anne Murray Christmas, Legends & Friends, Greatest Hits II, What A Wonderful World, Ladies Night Show, Anne Murray in Walt Disney World and Anne Murray's Classic Christmas) and has appeared on Solid Gold
, Sesame Street
, The Muppet Show
, Saturday Night Live
, The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
, Dean Martin Summer Show, Singalong Jubilee, Dinah!, The Today Show, Dolly!, The Mike Douglas Show
, Christmas in Washington, Boston Pops, The Helen Reddy Show, The Oprah Winfrey Show
, 20/20, CNN
, Perry Como's Christmas in New Mexico, The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour
, Night of a 100 Stars, Live with Regis and Kathie Lee, The Pat Sajak Show
, Royal Canadian Air Farce and Good Morning America. Her 2005 CBC special Anne Murray: The Music of My Life broke ratings records for a Thursday night, with more than 7 million Canadian viewers tuned in. The guests on her TV specials have included Julio Iglesias
, Patti LaBelle
, Céline Dion
, Bryan Adams
, Dusty Springfield
, Bananarama
, Dionne Warwick
, John Denver
, k.d. lang
, Kris Kristofferson
, Barenaked Ladies
, Alan Thicke
, Roch Voisine
, Glen Campbell
, Valerie Harper
, Ruth Buzzi
, Rita MacNeil
, Andrea Martin
, The Rankin Family
, Diana Krall
, Dawn Langstroth
, Jann Arden
, and Miss Piggy
. The record for the
highest-rated variety special in Canadian television history is Anne Murray's Family Christmas, which garnered a 43 per cent share on CBC with 4.2 million viewers.
Order of Nova Scotia
The Order of Nova Scotia is a civilian honour for merit in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. Instituted on 2 August 2001, when Lieutenant Governor Myra Freeman granted Royal Assent to the Order of Nova Scotia Act, the order is administered by the Governor-in-Council and is intended to honour...
(born June 20, 1945) is a Canadian singer in pop
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
, country
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
and adult contemporary styles whose albums have sold over 54 million copies.
Murray was the first Canadian female solo singer to reach #1 on the U.S. charts, and also the first to earn a Gold record for one of her signature songs, "Snowbird
Snowbird (song)
"Snowbird" is a song by the Canadian songwriter Gene MacLellan. Though it has been recorded by many performers , it is best known through Anne Murray's 1970 version, which launched her into a long career of international exposure. It was a #2 hit on Canada's pop chart and went to #1 on both the...
" (1970). She is often cited as the woman who paved the way for other Canadian international success stories such as Céline Dion
Celine Dion
Céline Marie Claudette Dion, , , is a Canadian singer. Born to a large family from Charlemagne, Quebec, Dion emerged as a teen star in the French-speaking world after her manager and future husband René Angélil mortgaged his home to finance her first record...
, Sarah McLachlan
Sarah McLachlan
Sarah Ann McLachlan, OC, OBC is a Canadian musician, singer and songwriter. Known for her emotional ballads and mezzo-soprano vocal range, as of 2006, she has sold over 40 million albums worldwide. McLachlan's best-selling album to date is Surfacing, for which she won two Grammy Awards and four...
and Shania Twain
Shania Twain
Shania Twain, OC is a Canadian country pop singer-songwriter. Her album The Woman in Me , brought her fame and her 1997 album Come On Over, became the best-selling album of all time by a female musician in any genre, and the best-selling country album of all time. It has sold over 40 million...
. She is also the first woman and the first Canadian to win "Album of the Year" at the Country Music Association Awards
Country Music Association Awards
The Country Music Association Awards, also known as the CMA Awards, or the CMAs, and not to be confused with the ACM Awards, are voted on by business members of the Country Music Association. The first CMA awards were presented at an untelevised ceremony in Nashville's Municipal Auditorium in 1967...
for her 1984 album A Little Good News.
Murray has received four Grammy Awards, 24 Juno Awards (she holds the record for the most Junos awarded to an artist), three American Music Awards, three Country Music Association Awards and three Canadian Country Music Association Awards. She has been inducted into the Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame, the Juno Hall of Fame, The Songwriters Hall of Fame and the Hit Parade Hall of Fame. She is a member of the Country Music Hall of Fame Walkway of Stars in Nashville, and has her own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in Los Angeles and on Canada's Walk of Fame in Toronto.
In 2011, Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
ranked her number 10 on their list of the 50 Biggest AC Artists Ever.
Early career
In 1965 Anne Murray appeared on the University of New Brunswick student project record "The Groove" (500 pressed). She sang two songs on the record - "Unchained MelodyUnchained Melody
"Unchained Melody" is a 1955 song with music by Alex North and lyrics by Hy Zaret. It has become one of the most recorded songs of the 20th century, by some counts having spawned over 500 versions in hundreds of different languages....
" and "Little Bit of Soap". On the label her name was misspelled "Anne Murry".
While at university, Murray was encouraged to audition for the 1960s CBC
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly known as CBC and officially as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian crown corporation that serves as the national public radio and television broadcaster...
musical variety television show Singalong Jubilee, but Murray was not offered a singing position. Two years later she received a call from Singalong Jubilee co-host and associate producer, Bill Langstroth, and was asked to return for a second audition. Following that second audition, Murray was cast for the show.
After a summer of singing in local venues across the Maritimes, Murray began teaching Physical Education at a high school in Summerside, Prince Edward Island
Summerside, Prince Edward Island
Summerside is a Canadian city in Prince County, Prince Edward Island. It is the second largest city in the province and the principal municipality for the western part of the island.- History :...
. After one year of teaching, she was offered a spot on a television show Let's Go, and returned to Singalong Jubilee.
As a regular member of the "Singalong Jubilee" cast, Murray appeared on the Singalong Jubilee Vol. III soundtrack and Our Family Album - The Singalong Jubilee Cast records released by Arc Records. The show's musical director, Brian Ahern, advised Murray that she should move to Toronto and record a solo album. Murray's first album, What About Me, was produced by Ahern in Toronto and released in 1968 on the Arc label.
Success
Murray's debut album was on the Canadian Arc label, titled What About MeWhat About Me (Anne Murray album)
What About Me is the debut studio album by Anne Murray issued in 1968 on Arc Records. Upon its release, the album was only issued in Canada .-Track listing:...
(Arc AS 782). The lead single was the cut of the same name, was written by Scott McKenzie
Scott McKenzie
Scott McKenzie is an American singer. He is best known for his 1967 hit single and generational anthem, "San Francisco ".-Life and career:...
, and was a sizable Canadian radio hit. The project was produced by Brian Ahern, and covered songs by Joni Mitchell
Joni Mitchell
Joni Mitchell, CC is a Canadian musician, singer songwriter, and painter. Mitchell began singing in small nightclubs in her native Saskatchewan and Western Canada and then busking in the streets and dives of Toronto...
, Ken Tobias
Ken Tobias
Kenneth Wayne Paul Tobias is a Canadian singer-songwriter. He is noted for penning a chart-topping hit for The Bells and for several top-selling recordings of his own.-Early career:...
and John Denver
John Denver
Henry John Deutschendorf, Jr. , known professionally as John Denver, was an American singer/songwriter, activist, and humanitarian. After growing up in numerous locations with his military family, Denver began his music career in folk music groups in the late 1960s. His greatest commercial success...
. After a year-long stint on Arc, Murray switched to Capitol Records in 1969 to record her second album, This Way Is My Way, which was released in the fall of the same year. This album featured the single that launched her successful career, "Snowbird
Snowbird (song)
"Snowbird" is a song by the Canadian songwriter Gene MacLellan. Though it has been recorded by many performers , it is best known through Anne Murray's 1970 version, which launched her into a long career of international exposure. It was a #2 hit on Canada's pop chart and went to #1 on both the...
", which became a #1 hit in Canada. "Snowbird" became a surprise hit on the U.S. charts as well, reaching #8 on the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
chart in 1970. It was also the first of eight #1 Adult Contemporary hits for Murray. The song led to Murray being awarded the first Gold record ever given to a Canadian artist in the United States (RIAA certified Gold on November 16, 1970). As one of the most successful female artists at that time, Murray became in demand for several television appearances in Canada and the United States, eventually becoming a regular on the hit U.S. TV series The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour
The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour
The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour was an American network television music and comedy variety show hosted by singer Glen Campbell from January 1969 through June 1972 on CBS. He was offered the show after he hosted a 1968 summer replacement for The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour...
.
After the success of "Snowbird", Murray had a number of subsequent singles that charted both pop and country simultaneously. During the 1970s and early 1980s, her hits included Kenny Loggins
Kenny Loggins
During the next decade, Loggins recorded so many successful songs for film soundtracks that he was referred to as, King of the Movie Soundtrack.He began with "I'm Alright" , "Mr. Night", and "Lead the Way" from Caddyshack...
' "Danny's Song
Danny's Song
"Danny's Song" is the title of a song written by the American singer-songwriter Kenny Loggins. It was written as a gift for his brother Danny for the birth of his son Colin. It first appeared on the album Sittin' In, the debut album by Loggins and Messina...
" (1972) (peaked at #7 on the Hot 100) and "A Love Song
A Love Song
"A Love Song" is a song written by Kenny Loggins and Donna Lyn George. It was first released by the folk-rock duo Loggins & Messina in 1973 on their album Full Sail. Pop / country artist Anne Murray recorded the song the same year....
" (1973); "He Thinks I Still Care" and her Top 10 cover of The Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
' "You Won't See Me
You Won't See Me
"You Won't See Me" is a song by The Beatles, from the album Rubber Soul. Though credited to Lennon–McCartney, it was written by Paul McCartney. This is one of the few songs where McCartney sings lower harmony while Lennon and Harrison sing higher harmony together.-History:The song is about a crisis...
" (1974); her all-time career-peaking #1 Hot 100 hit "You Needed Me
You Needed Me
"You Needed Me" became the second single for Irish Boyband Boyzone from their album By Request. The single became number #1 on the UK Singles Chart, beating the debut solo single of Spice Girl Geri Halliwell, outselling her by just 700 copies...
" (1978) — oddly, though, the biggest pop and commercially successful hit of her career (and, she claims, her personal favourite song in her entire repertoire) stalled out at #4 on Billboard's country singles chart and #3 on Billboard's U.S. Adult Contemporary chart; "I Just Fall in Love Again
I Just Fall in Love Again
"I Just Fall in Love Again" is a song written by Larry Herbstritt, with co-writers Steve Dorff, Harry Lloyd, and Gloria Sklerov. Herbstritt had composed the melody and chords for the chorus and a chord progression for the verse, which he took to his friend Steve Dorff. Harry Lloyd and Gloria...
", "Shadows in the Moonlight
Shadows in the Moonlight (song)
"Shadows in the Moonlight" is a song recorded by country and pop music singer Anne Murray. Released in 1979, the song reached #1 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart that July, and was one of three chart-toppers for her during the year. "Shadows in the Moonlight" was Murray's third No...
", and "Broken Hearted Me
Broken Hearted Me
"Broken Hearted Me" is a country and adult contemporary song recorded by Canadian singer Anne Murray. Released in 1979, the song reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart in December, and was the third chart-topper for her during the year....
" (all from 1979); her revival of The Monkees
The Monkees
The Monkees are an American pop rock group. Assembled in Los Angeles in 1966 by Robert "Bob" Rafelson and Bert Schneider for the American television series The Monkees, which aired from 1966 to 1968, the musical acting quartet was composed of Americans Micky Dolenz, Michael Nesmith and Peter Tork,...
' 1967 #1 hit "Daydream Believer
Daydream Believer
"Daydream Believer" is a song composed by John Stewart shortly before he left the Kingston Trio. The song was originally recorded by The Monkees, with Davy Jones singing lead vocals. The single hit the number one spot on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart in December 1967, remaining there for four...
" and "Could I Have This Dance
Could I Have This Dance
"Could I Have This Dance" is a 1980 single by Anne Murray. "Could I Have This Dance" was included in the 1980 film "Urban Cowboy" and would be Anne Murray's fifth number one country hit as a solo artist. The single went to number one for one week and spent a total of ten weeks on the country chart...
" from the Urban Cowboy
Urban Cowboy
Released as a 2× vinyl record album, re-released on CD in 1995.Side A:#Hello Texas – Jimmy Buffett #All Night Long – Joe Walsh #Times Like These – Dan Fogelberg #Nine Tonight – Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band...
motion picture soundtrack, both from 1980; "Blessed Are the Believers
Blessed Are the Believers
"Blessed Are the Believers" is a 1981 single written by Charlie Black, Rory Michael Bourke, and Sandy Pinkard and recorded by Anne Murray. "Blessed Are the Believers" was the first release from Anne Murray's "Where Do You Go When You Dream" album...
" (1981); "Another Sleepless Night
Another Sleepless Night (song)
"Another Sleepless Night" is a single by Canadian country music artist Anne Murray. Released in January 1982, it was the fourth single from her album Where Do You Go When You Dream. The song reached #1 on the RPM Country Tracks chart in Canada and #4 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart in...
" (1982); "A Little Good News" (1983); 1984's "Just Another Woman in Love
Just Another Woman in Love
"Just Another Woman in Love" is a 1984 single written by Patti Ryan and Wanda Mallette and recorded by Anne Murray. "Just Another Woman in Love" was Anne Murray's eighth number one on the country chart. The single went to number one for one week and spent a total of thirteen weeks on the U.S....
" and "Nobody Loves Me Like You Do
Nobody Loves Me Like You Do
"Nobody Loves Me Like You Do" is the title of a song written by James Dunne and Pamela Phillips, and recorded by Anne Murray with Dave Loggins as a duet. The song was Dave Loggins' only hit on the country chart. The single went to number one for one week and spent a total of thirteen weeks on the...
" (a duet with Dave Loggins
Dave Loggins
David Allen "Dave" Loggins is a singer, songwriter and musician. He is widely remembered for his 1974 composition "Please Come to Boston", which was a top-10 hit in the U.S. for him, and was subsequently covered by numerous other artists. He was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame...
of 1974's "Please Come to Boston
Please Come to Boston
"Please Come to Boston" is the title of a song written and recorded by American singer-songwriter Dave Loggins. It was released in May 1974 as the first single from Loggins' album Apprentice and was produced by Jerry Crutchfield. The song spent two weeks at number five on the Billboard Hot 100...
" fame and cousin of Murray's frequent songwriter Kenny); and "Time, Don't Run Out On Me" from 1985.
She performed "O Canada
O Canada
It has been noted that the opening theme of "O Canada" bears a strong resemblance to the "Marsch der Priester" , from the opera Die Zauberflöte , composed in 1791 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, and that Lavallée's melody was inspired by Mozart's tune...
" at the first American League
American League
The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, or simply the American League , is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league based in the Great Lakes states, which eventually aspired to major...
baseball game played in Canada on April 7, 1977, when the Toronto Blue Jays
Toronto Blue Jays
The Toronto Blue Jays are a professional baseball team located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Blue Jays are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball 's American League ....
played the Chicago White Sox
Chicago White Sox
The Chicago White Sox are a Major League Baseball team located in Chicago, Illinois.The White Sox play in the American League's Central Division. Since , the White Sox have played in U.S. Cellular Field, which was originally called New Comiskey Park and nicknamed The Cell by local fans...
at Exhibition Stadium
Exhibition Stadium
Canadian National Exhibition Stadium was a multi-purpose stadium, that formerly stood on the Exhibition Place grounds, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada....
. Murray reprised the Canadian national anthem prior to Game 3 of the 1992 World Series
1992 World Series
-Game 1:Saturday, October 17, 1992 at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium in Atlanta, GeorgiaBraves fans had plenty to worry about in regard to both starting pitchers. Tom Glavine's post-season career had been less than stellar, including giving up eight runs in the second inning of Game 6 of the NLCS...
at SkyDome
Rogers Centre
Rogers Centre is a multi-purpose stadium, in Downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated next to the CN Tower, near the shores of Lake Ontario. Opened in 1989, it is home to the Toronto Blue Jays of Major League Baseball and the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League...
.
Murray was a celebrity corporate spokeswoman for The Bay
The Bay
The Bay is a chain of 91 department stores that operate across parts of Canada. It is the main brand of Hudson's Bay Company , North America's oldest company. It has its headquarters in the Simpson Tower in Toronto. In French, the chain is known as la Baie, short for "Compagnie de la Baie d'Hudson"...
, and she also did commercials and sang the company jingle ("You Can Count on the Commerce") for the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC
Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce
The Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce is one of Canada's chartered banks, fifth largest by deposits. The bank is headquartered at Commerce Court in Toronto, Ontario. CIBC's Institution Number is 010, and its SWIFT code is CIBCCATT....
).
Murray's last Hot 100 charting pop hit was "Now and Forever (You and Me)" from 1986; it also was her last #1 on both American and Canadian country charts. Her last charting single in the U.S. was 1991's "Everyday," which appeared in Billboard's Country Singles chart, and her last charting single in Canada was 2000's "What a Wonderful World
What a Wonderful World
"What a Wonderful World" is a song written by Bob Thiele and George David Weiss. It was first recorded by Louis Armstrong and released as a single in 1968. Thiele and Weiss were both prominent in the music world . Armstrong's recording was inducted in the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1999...
".
Murray was ranked #24 in Country Music Television
Country Music Television
Country Music Television, or CMT, is an American country music-oriented cable television network. Programming includes music videos, taped concerts, movies, biographies of country music stars, game shows, and reality programs...
's 40 Greatest Women of Country Music in 2002.
Murray is a Companion of the Order of Canada, the highest honour that can be awarded to a Canadian civilian. She was a recipient of the Order of Nova Scotia in its inaugural year.
In 1996, Murray signed on with a new manager, Bruce Allen, who also has managed careers for Bryan Adams
Bryan Adams
Bryan Adams, is a Canadian rock singer-songwriter, guitarist, bassist, producer, actor and photographer. Adams has won dozens of awards and nominations, including 20 Juno Awards among 56 nominations. He has also received 15 Grammy Award nominations including a win for Best Song Written...
, Michael Bublé
Michael Bublé
Michael Steven Bublé is a Canadian singer. He has won several awards, including three Grammy Awards and multiple Juno Awards. His first album reached the top ten in Canada and the UK. He found worldwide commercial success with his 2005 album It's Time, and his 2007 album Call Me Irresponsible was...
, Martina McBride
Martina McBride
Martina McBride is an American country music singer and songwriter. McBride has been called the "Céline Dion of Country Music" for her big-voiced ballads and soprano range....
and Jann Arden
Jann Arden
Jann Arden is a Canadian singer-songwriter.-Life and career:Arden was born and raised near Calgary in Springbank, Alberta and attended Springbank Community High School. Her breakthrough came with her critically acclaimed 1993 debut album Time for Mercy and her first single "I Would Die For You"...
. She recorded her first live album in 1997 and in 1999, she released What a Wonderful World
What a Wonderful World (Anne Murray album)
-Chart performance:...
, a Platinum selling inspirational album, which went to Billboard #1 Contemporary Christian, # 4 Country and #38 on the pop charts. She released Country Croonin'
Country Croonin'
-Chart performance:...
in 2002, the follow-up to her successful 1993 album, Croonin'
Croonin'
-Chart performance:...
. In 2004, she released I'll Be Seeing You in Canada only, which features a collection of songs from the early 20th century through to the mid-1940s. The American version, titled All of Me
All of Me (Anne Murray album)
-Chart performance:...
, features a bonus disc containing many of her hit singles, followed in 2005.
In 2006 Murray received a tremendous honour when the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame chose her and Leonard Cohen
Leonard Cohen
Leonard Norman Cohen, is a Canadian singer-songwriter, musician, poet and novelist. Cohen published his first book of poetry in Montreal in 1956 and his first novel in 1963. His work often explores religion, isolation, sexuality and interpersonal relationships...
as recipients of the Legacy Award for their extraordinary contributions to and support of the Canadian songwriting industry. Murray was recognized for her unfailing support of Canada’s songwriters, through her performances and her recordings.
On June 29, 2007, Canada Post issued the limited edition Anne Murray Stamp. She was recognized along with three other iconic Canadian recording artists: Paul Anka, Gordon Lightfoot and Joni Mitchell.
Murray's final studio album Anne Murray Duets: Friends & Legends
Anne Murray Duets: Friends & Legends
Duets: Friends & Legends is a studio album by Canadian country/pop artist Anne Murray. The album features seventeen of Murray's best-known songs re-recorded as duets with her favourite female singers. While the record mostly consists of new studio tracks, Murray's duet with Celine Dion on "When I...
, was released in November 2007 in Canada and January 2008 in the U.S. The album comprises 17 tracks that include many of Murray's biggest hits over her four-decade career, re-recorded as duets with other established, rising, and – in one case – deceased female singers. These artists included Canadian superstars Céline Dion
Celine Dion
Céline Marie Claudette Dion, , , is a Canadian singer. Born to a large family from Charlemagne, Quebec, Dion emerged as a teen star in the French-speaking world after her manager and future husband René Angélil mortgaged his home to finance her first record...
and Shania Twain
Shania Twain
Shania Twain, OC is a Canadian country pop singer-songwriter. Her album The Woman in Me , brought her fame and her 1997 album Come On Over, became the best-selling album of all time by a female musician in any genre, and the best-selling country album of all time. It has sold over 40 million...
along with other fellow Canadians k.d. lang
K.D. Lang
Kathryn Dawn Lang, OC , known by her stage name k.d. lang, is a Canadian pop and country singer-songwriter and occasional actress...
, Nelly Furtado
Nelly Furtado
Nelly Kim Furtado is a Canadian singer-songwriter, record producer and actress. Furtado grew up in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada.Furtado first gained fame with her debut album, Whoa, Nelly!, and its single "I'm Like a Bird", which won a 2001 Juno Award for Single of the Year and a 2002 Grammy...
, Jann Arden
Jann Arden
Jann Arden is a Canadian singer-songwriter.-Life and career:Arden was born and raised near Calgary in Springbank, Alberta and attended Springbank Community High School. Her breakthrough came with her critically acclaimed 1993 debut album Time for Mercy and her first single "I Would Die For You"...
, a CD-closing French-language duet with Québec's Isabelle Boulay
Isabelle Boulay
Isabelle Boulay is a francophone Canadian pop singer.-Biography:In 1990, some friends registered her at the Petite-Vallée song festival without her consent, but she completed a performance there and was regarded as a huge success. The following year she won at the Granby song festival for her...
, and Murray's daughter, Dawn Langstroth
Dawn Langstroth
Dawn Langstroth is a Toronto-based singer/songwriter and painter. She has released two EPs, self-titled "Dawn Langstroth" and "No Mercy", and released her debut album "Highwire" in 2009...
; Australia's decades-long veteran Olivia Newton-John
Olivia Newton-John
Olivia Newton-John AO, OBE is a singer and actress. She is a four-time Grammy award winner who has amassed five No. 1 and ten other Top Ten Billboard Hot 100 singles and two No. 1 Billboard 200 solo albums. Eleven of her singles and 14 of her albums have been certified gold by the RIAA...
; Nashville's Emmylou Harris
Emmylou Harris
Emmylou Harris is an American singer-songwriter and musician. In addition to her work as a solo artist and bandleader, both as an interpreter of other composers' works and as a singer-songwriter, she is a sought-after backing vocalist and duet partner, working with numerous other artists including...
, Martina McBride
Martina McBride
Martina McBride is an American country music singer and songwriter. McBride has been called the "Céline Dion of Country Music" for her big-voiced ballads and soprano range....
, Shelby Lynne
Shelby Lynne
Shelby Lynne is an American singer, songwriter and actress. The success of the 1999 album I Am Shelby Lynne led to her winning the Grammy Award for Best New Artist, even though she had been active in the music industry for some time...
, and pop/country/contemporary Christian crossover artist Amy Grant
Amy Grant
Amy Lee Grant is an American singer-songwriter, musician, author, media personality and actress, best known for her Christian music. She has been referred to as "The Queen of Christian Pop"...
; songwriting and recording legend Carole King
Carole King
Carole King is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. King and her former husband Gerry Goffin wrote more than two dozen chart hits for numerous artists during the 1960s, many of which have become standards. As a singer, King had an album, Tapestry, top the U.S...
; influential folk-rock duo Indigo Girls
Indigo Girls
The Indigo Girls are an American folk rock music duo, consisting of Amy Ray and Emily Saliers. They met in elementary school and began performing together as high school students in Decatur, Georgia, part of the Atlanta metropolitan area...
; Irish sextet Celtic Woman
Celtic Woman
Celtic Woman is an all-female musical ensemble conceived and assembled by Sharon Browne and David Downes, a former musical director of the Irish stage show Riverdance...
; Britain's late blue-eyed soul
Blue-eyed soul
Blue-eyed soul is a media term that was used to describe rhythm and blues and soul music performed by white artists, with a strong pop music influence. The term was first used in the mid-1960s to describe white artists who performed soul and R&B that was similar to the music of the Motown and...
legend and close personal friend of Murray's, Dusty Springfield
Dusty Springfield
Mary Isobel Catherine Bernadette O'BrienSources use both Isabel and Isobel as the spelling of her second name. OBE , known professionally as Dusty Springfield and dubbed The White Queen of Soul, was a British pop singer whose career extended from the late 1950s to the 1990s...
; and a duet of her landmark, career-establishing #1 hit from 1970, "Snowbird," with world's biggest selling soprano, Sarah Brightman
Sarah Brightman
Sarah Brightman is an English classical crossover soprano, actress, songwriter and dancer. She is famous for possessing a vocal range of over 3 octaves and singing in the whistle register...
.
Anne Murray Duets: Friends and Legends was recorded in four cities - Toronto, Nashville, New York and Los Angeles. According to Billboard magazine, the album reached #2 on the Canadian pop album charts and was certified Double Platinum in Canada after merely two months, representing sales of over 200,000 units. Anne Murray Duets: Friends and Legends was the second-highest debuting CD on the Billboard Top 200 albums chart for the week ending February 2, 2008. It entered the chart at #42, making it her highest-charting U.S. CD release since 1999's What a Wonderful World, which peaked at #38 on the Top 200 and was certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America
Recording Industry Association of America
The Recording Industry Association of America is a trade organization that represents the recording industry distributors in the United States...
(RIAA). Also for the week ending February 2, 2008, the CD debuted at #8 on Billboards Top Country Albums chart and at #3 on its Top Internet Albums chart. Murray was nominated for the 2008 Juno Award
Juno Award
The Juno Awards are presented annually to Canadian musical artists and bands to acknowledge their artistic and technical achievements in all aspects of music...
for Album of the Year
Juno Award for Album of the Year
The Juno Award for "Album of the Year" has been awarded since 1975, as recognition each year for the best album in Canada. It was also known as Best Album , and Best Selling Album .-Best Album :...
and Pop Album of the Year
Juno Award for Pop Album of the Year
The Juno Award for "Pop Album of the Year" has been awarded since 1999, as recognition each year for the best pop album in Canada.-Best Pop Album :*1999 - Barenaked Ladies, Stunt-Best Pop/Adult Album :...
.
Murray's album What a Wonderful World was re-released in July 2008 in North America as a 14-song package. A new Christmas album, titled Anne Murray's Christmas Album
Anne Murray's Christmas Album
Anne Murray's Christmas Album is the seventh Christmas album by Canadian country-pop artist Anne Murray. The album was released on October 7, 2008 through Manhattan Records and features ten previously released Christmas song and five new recordings....
with bonus DVD was released in October 2008, and Sony BMG Music released an Elvis Presley Christmas album, titled Elvis Presley Christmas Duets, on October 14, 2008 featuring a virtual duet of "Silver Bells" with Anne Murray.
According to Linda Thompson (Elvis Presley
Elvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley was one of the most popular American singers of the 20th century. A cultural icon, he is widely known by the single name Elvis. He is often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll" or simply "the King"....
's girlfriend from 1972–1976), Presley was a fan of Murray.
On October 10, 2007, Murray announced that she would embark on her final major tour. She toured in February and March 2008 in the U.S., followed by the "Coast-to-Coast – One Last Time" tour in April and May in Canada. Anne Murray's final public concert was held at the Sony Centre in Toronto on May 23, 2008.
On August 25, 2008 Murray appeared on the popular TV program Canadian Idol as a mentor.
In January, 2009, Alfred A. Knopf Canada announced that Murray, in collaboration with author Michael Posner, would be writing a memoir of her private life and 40-year career in show business. The autobiography, titled All of Me, was released on October 27, 2009. The autobiography is a self-portrait of Canada’s first great female recording artist. All of Me documents Murray's life, from her childhood in the tragedy-plagued small coal-mining town of Springhill, Nova Scotia, to her success on the world stage. The book remains on Canada's non-fiction best sellers list.
Following the release of her autobiography, All of Me, Murray embarked on a 15-city book signing tour, starting in Nashville on October 27, 2009 and ending in Ottawa on November 24, 2009. The tour also included a special In Conversation interview with Michael Posner at the International Festival of Authors in Toronto on October 30, 2009.
On February 12, 2010, Murray was one of the eight Canadians who carried the Olympic flag
Olympic symbols
The Olympic symbols are icons, flags and symbols used by the International Olympic Committee to promote the Olympic Games. Some—such as the flame, fanfare, and theme—are more common during Olympic competition, but others, such as the flag, can be seen throughout the year.-Motto:The Olympic motto is...
during the opening ceremonies of the XXI Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver
2010 Winter Olympics opening ceremony
The Opening Ceremony of the 2010 Winter Olympics was held on February 12, 2010 beginning at 6:00 pm PST at BC Place Stadium in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. This was the first Olympic opening ceremony to be held indoors...
.
Personal life
Morna Anne Murray was born on June 20, 1945, in the small coal-mining town of Springhill, Nova ScotiaSpringhill, Nova Scotia
-Coal mining:The first industrial coal mining in the area took place in the 1870s after a rail connection was built by the Springhill and Parrsboro Coal and Railway Company to the newly completed Intercolonial Railway at neighbouring Springhill Junction....
. Her father, James Carson Murray, was the town doctor and her mother, Marion Margaret Murray, was a registered nurse who focused her life on raising her family and community charity work. Murray was raised as the only girl in a family of five brothers - David, Daniel, Harold, Stewart and Bruce.
After expressing an early interest in music, she studied piano for six years; by age fifteen, she began taking voice lessons. Every Saturday morning, she took a bus ride from Springhill to Tatamagouche, Nova Scotia, for her singing lesson with her teacher, Karen Mills. One of Murray's earliest performances was of the religious song "Ave Maria" at her high school graduation in 1962.
Following high school, Murray attended Mount Saint Vincent University
Mount Saint Vincent University
Mount Saint Vincent University is a university located in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. It was established in 1873 and is locally referred to as The Mount.-History:...
in Halifax for one year. She later studied Physical Education at University of New Brunswick
University of New Brunswick
The University of New Brunswick is a Canadian university located in the province of New Brunswick. UNB is the oldest English language university in Canada and among the first public universities in North America. The university has two main campuses: the original campus founded in 1785 in...
in Fredericton. After receiving her degree, Murray taught physical education at a high school in Summerside, Prince Edward Island for one year.
Murray married Bill Langstroth on June 20, 1975, and gave birth to two children: William, in 1976, and the better-known of her children, Dawn Langstroth
Dawn Langstroth
Dawn Langstroth is a Toronto-based singer/songwriter and painter. She has released two EPs, self-titled "Dawn Langstroth" and "No Mercy", and released her debut album "Highwire" in 2009...
, in 1979, a singer/songwriter and artist who has recorded with her mother a number of times, including the duet "Let There Be Love" in 1999 for Murray's What A Wonderful World album. Anne and Dawn were featured in a mother-daughter duet of "Nobody Loves Me Like You Do" on Murray's hit 2008 U.S. CD (released in late 2007 in Canada), Anne Murray Duets: Friends & Legends, Murray's highest-charting release in nine years.
In recent years, Murray has faced many personal challenges: her departure from Capitol Records
Capitol Records
Capitol Records is a major United States based record label, formerly located in Los Angeles, but operating in New York City as part of Capitol Music Group. Its former headquarters building, the Capitol Tower, is a major landmark near the corner of Hollywood and Vine...
after more than a quarter-century; the apparent suicide of Gene MacLellan
Gene MacLellan
Gene MacLellan was a Canadian singer-songwriter from Prince Edward Island.Among his notable compositions were "Snowbird", made famous by Anne Murray, "Put Your Hand in the Hand, "The Call", "Pages of Time" and "Thorn in My Shoe"...
, the composer of her first hit single, "Snowbird", which hit #1 in both Canada and the U.S. and virtually established her international singing career overnight; the death of her beloved manager and close friend, Leonard T. Rambeau, from colon cancer; the separation and subsequent divorce from her husband, Bill; her daughter Dawn's battle with anorexia (Dawn and Anne reluctantly did the US talk-show circuit to raise awareness of the deadly affliction); and most recently, the loss of her best friend to cancer (she recorded her 2005 album All of Me as a tribute to her).
She emerged from those personal adversities in 1999 with her best-selling album in 20 years, What a Wonderful World, which was certified Platinum, and her 2002 CD Country Croonin’ was certified Gold by the RIAA. Murray's 2007/2008 Anne Murray Duets: Legends & Friends CD was the second-highest debuting album on Billboard's Top 200 Albums chart (U.S.) for the week ending February 2, 2008, and was Murray's highest-charting album in the U.S. since What a Wonderful World was released in 1999. The CD also debuted on Billboard's Top Country Albums chart at #8 and Top Internet Albums chart at #3 for the same week.
Springhill, Nova Scotia
-Coal mining:The first industrial coal mining in the area took place in the 1870s after a rail connection was built by the Springhill and Parrsboro Coal and Railway Company to the newly completed Intercolonial Railway at neighbouring Springhill Junction....
, located about an hour south of Moncton, New Brunswick, and two hours north of Halifax, Nova Scotia. The Anne Murray Centre, located in Springhill, houses a vast collection of memorabilia from both her personal life and professional career in a series of award winning, three-dimensional displays. The Anne Murray Centre, which opened on July 28, 1989, is a registered Canadian charity. As a non-profit association, all the revenue generated from its operation is used to provide employment for local people and for its ongoing maintenance. The Anne Murray Centre has successfully fostered tourism in the area and has promoted awareness of the music of Nova Scotia and Canada.
Anne Murray was also instrumental in the construction of the Dr. Carson and Marion Murray Community Centre in Springhill, Nova Scotia. Murray served as the honorary chair of the fundraising campaign to replace the town arena that collapsed after a peewee hockey game in 2002. Named for her parents, the Dr. Carson and Marion Murray Community Centre sports an NHL-size ice sheet with seating for 800 people, a walking track, multi-purpose room, community room with seating for up to 300, and a gym. The Dr. Carson and Marion Murray Community Centre has become an integral part of the Springhill community since opening on September 15, 2004.
Murray's personal success combined with her visible love and support for Springhill was featured in the article, “Women of Success – Impact on The Economy of Their Hometowns,” in Progressive Choices – Canadian Women In Business magazine (Summer/Fall 2004 edition).
When a devastating tsunami brought tragedy on December 26, 2004, Anne Murray joined other Canadian music stars in the Canada for Asia Telethon, a three-hour, tsunami relief concert broadcast on CBC Television (January 13, 2005) to support CARE Canada’s efforts. Bryan Adams and Murray closed the show with a duet, "What Would It Take".
Murray is also passionate about environmental affairs, and she has been a public supporter of renowned Canadian environmentalist and geneticist Dr. David Suzuki
David Suzuki
David Suzuki, CC, OBC is a Canadian academic, science broadcaster and environmental activist. Suzuki earned a Ph.D in zoology from the University of Chicago in 1961, and was a professor in the genetics department of the University of British Columbia from 1963 until his retirement in 2001...
’s Nature Challenge.
Anne Murray has also been involved in a variety of charitable organizations. In addition to being the Honorary National Chairperson of the Canadian Save The Children Fund, she has served as a spokeswoman for many charities throughout her career - most recently Colon Cancer Canada. On May 20, 2009, Colon Cancer Canada launched the inaugural Anne Murray Charity Golf Classic. Over $150,000 was raised through the event.
Murray's father, Dr. Carson Murray, died in 1980 at the age of 72 from complications from leukemia. Her mother, the former Marion Margaret Burke, died April 10, 2006, at the age of 92 after suffering a series of strokes during heart surgery.
A longtime golf enthusiast, Murray made history in October 2003 at the Turning Stone Resort & Casino in Verona, New York, by becoming the first woman to score a hole-in-one on the 108-yard, par 3, 17th hole at the Kaluhyat Golf Club.
On May 11, 2007, Golf For Women magazine named Murray the world's best female celebrity golfer, noting her 11 handicap.
TV work
Murray has had five highly-rated US specials on CBS (over 40 million viewers each), countless Canadian specials on CBCCanadian Broadcasting Corporation
The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly known as CBC and officially as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian crown corporation that serves as the national public radio and television broadcaster...
(such as Anne Murray in Nova Scotia, Intimate Evening with Anne Murray, Anne Murray RSVP, A Special Anne Murray Christmas, Legends & Friends, Greatest Hits II, What A Wonderful World, Ladies Night Show, Anne Murray in Walt Disney World and Anne Murray's Classic Christmas) and has appeared on Solid Gold
Solid Gold (TV series)
Solid Gold is an American syndicated music television series that debuted on September 13, 1980. Like many other shows of its genre, such as American Bandstand, Solid Gold featured musical performances and various other elements such as music videos...
, Sesame Street
Sesame Street
Sesame Street has undergone significant changes in its history. According to writer Michael Davis, by the mid-1970s the show had become "an American institution". The cast and crew expanded during this time, including the hiring of women in the crew and additional minorities in the cast. The...
, The Muppet Show
The Muppet Show
The Muppet Show is a British television programme produced by American puppeteer Jim Henson and featuring Muppets. After two pilot episodes were produced in 1974 and 1975, the show premiered on 5 September 1976 and five series were produced until 15 March 1981, lasting 120 episodes...
, Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live is a live American late-night television sketch comedy and variety show developed by Lorne Michaels and Dick Ebersol. The show premiered on NBC on October 11, 1975, under the original title of NBC's Saturday Night.The show's sketches often parody contemporary American culture...
, The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson is a talk show hosted by Johnny Carson under the Tonight Show franchise from 1962 to 1992. It originally aired during late-night....
, Dean Martin Summer Show, Singalong Jubilee, Dinah!, The Today Show, Dolly!, The Mike Douglas Show
The Mike Douglas Show
The Mike Douglas Show is an American daytime television talk show hosted by Mike Douglas that aired in syndication from 1961 to 1982, distributed by Westinghouse Broadcasting and for much of its run, originated from studios of two of the company's TV stations.The program featured light banter with...
, Christmas in Washington, Boston Pops, The Helen Reddy Show, The Oprah Winfrey Show
The Oprah Winfrey Show
The Oprah Winfrey Show is an American syndicated talk show hosted and produced by its namesake Oprah Winfrey. It ran nationally for 25 seasons beginning in 1986, before concluding in 2011. It is the highest-rated talk show in American television history....
, 20/20, CNN
CNN
Cable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
, Perry Como's Christmas in New Mexico, The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour
The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour
The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour was an American network television music and comedy variety show hosted by singer Glen Campbell from January 1969 through June 1972 on CBS. He was offered the show after he hosted a 1968 summer replacement for The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour...
, Night of a 100 Stars, Live with Regis and Kathie Lee, The Pat Sajak Show
The Pat Sajak Show
The Pat Sajak Show is an American late-night television talk show which aired on CBS from January 9, 1989 to April 13, 1990.-Cast:The show was hosted by Pat Sajak, best known as host of the game show Wheel of Fortune...
, Royal Canadian Air Farce and Good Morning America. Her 2005 CBC special Anne Murray: The Music of My Life broke ratings records for a Thursday night, with more than 7 million Canadian viewers tuned in. The guests on her TV specials have included Julio Iglesias
Julio Iglesias
Julio José Iglesias de la Cueva , better known simply as Julio Iglesias, is a Spanish singer who has sold over 300 million records worldwide in 14 languages and released 77 albums. According to Sony Music Entertainment, he is one of the top 15 best selling music artists in history,...
, Patti LaBelle
Patti LaBelle
Patricia Louise Holte-Edwards , better known under the stage name, Patti LaBelle, is a Grammy Award winning American singer, author and actress who has spent over 50 years in the music industry...
, Céline Dion
Celine Dion
Céline Marie Claudette Dion, , , is a Canadian singer. Born to a large family from Charlemagne, Quebec, Dion emerged as a teen star in the French-speaking world after her manager and future husband René Angélil mortgaged his home to finance her first record...
, Bryan Adams
Bryan Adams
Bryan Adams, is a Canadian rock singer-songwriter, guitarist, bassist, producer, actor and photographer. Adams has won dozens of awards and nominations, including 20 Juno Awards among 56 nominations. He has also received 15 Grammy Award nominations including a win for Best Song Written...
, Dusty Springfield
Dusty Springfield
Mary Isobel Catherine Bernadette O'BrienSources use both Isabel and Isobel as the spelling of her second name. OBE , known professionally as Dusty Springfield and dubbed The White Queen of Soul, was a British pop singer whose career extended from the late 1950s to the 1990s...
, Bananarama
Bananarama
Bananarama are an English female pop duo who have had success on the pop and dance charts since 1982. Rather than relying on a two part harmony, the duo generally sings in unison, as do their background vocalists. Although there have been line-up changes, the group enjoyed their most popular...
, Dionne Warwick
Dionne Warwick
Dionne Warwick is an American singer, actress and TV show host, who became a United Nations Global Ambassador for the Food and Agriculture Organization, and a United States Ambassador of Health....
, John Denver
John Denver
Henry John Deutschendorf, Jr. , known professionally as John Denver, was an American singer/songwriter, activist, and humanitarian. After growing up in numerous locations with his military family, Denver began his music career in folk music groups in the late 1960s. His greatest commercial success...
, k.d. lang
K.D. Lang
Kathryn Dawn Lang, OC , known by her stage name k.d. lang, is a Canadian pop and country singer-songwriter and occasional actress...
, Kris Kristofferson
Kris Kristofferson
Kristoffer "Kris" Kristofferson is an American musician, actor, and writer. He is known for hits such as "Me and Bobby McGee", "For the Good Times", "Sunday Mornin' Comin' Down", and "Help Me Make It Through the Night"...
, Barenaked Ladies
Barenaked Ladies
Barenaked Ladies is a Canadian alternative rock band. The band is currently composed of Jim Creeggan, Kevin Hearn, Ed Robertson, and Tyler Stewart. Barenaked Ladies formed in 1988 in Scarborough, Ontario, then a suburban municipality outside the City of Toronto...
, Alan Thicke
Alan Thicke
Alan Thicke is a Canadian actor, songwriter, and game and talk show host. He is best known for his role as Jason Seaver, the patriarch on the ABC television series Growing Pains.- Early life :...
, Roch Voisine
Roch Voisine
Joseph Armand Roch Voisine, OC better known as Roch Voisine, is a Canadian Acadian singer-songwriter, actor, and radio and television host...
, Glen Campbell
Glen Campbell
Glen Travis Campbell is an American country music singer, guitarist, television host and occasional actor. He is best known for a series of hits in the 1960s and 1970s, as well as for hosting a variety show called The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour on CBS television.During his 50 years in show...
, Valerie Harper
Valerie Harper
Valerie Harper is an American actress, known for her role as Rhoda Morgenstern on the 1970s television show The Mary Tyler Moore Show, and for her starring roles on the sitcoms Rhoda and Valerie.-Early life and career:Harper was born at the Good Samaritan Hospital in Suffern, Rockland County,...
, Ruth Buzzi
Ruth Buzzi
Ruth Ann Buzzi is an American comedienne and actress of theatre, film, and television. She is especially known for her performances on the comedy-variety show Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In from 1968 to 1973.-Early life:...
, Rita MacNeil
Rita MacNeil
Rita MacNeil, CM, ONS is a Canadian country and folk singer from the community of Big Pond on Nova Scotia's Cape Breton Island. Her biggest hit, "Flying On Your Own", was a crossover Top 40 hit in 1987 and was covered by Anne Murray the following year, although she has had hits on the country...
, Andrea Martin
Andrea Martin
Andrea Louise Martin is an American and Canadian actress and comedienne. She has appeared in films such as My Big Fat Greek Wedding, on stage in productions such as My Favorite Year, Fiddler on the Roof and Candide, and in the television series, SCTV.-Personal life:Martin, the oldest of three...
, The Rankin Family
The Rankin Family
The Rankin Family is a Canadian musical family group from Mabou, Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia. The group has won many Canadian music awards, including 15 East Coast Music Awards, six Juno Awards, four SOCAN Awards, three Canadian Country Music Awards and two Big Country Music Awards.- Career...
, Diana Krall
Diana Krall
Diana Jean Krall, OC, OBC is a Canadian jazz pianist and singer, known for her contralto vocals. She has sold more than 6 million albums in the US and over 15 million worldwide; altogether, she has sold more albums than any other female jazz artist during the 1990s and 2000s...
, Dawn Langstroth
Dawn Langstroth
Dawn Langstroth is a Toronto-based singer/songwriter and painter. She has released two EPs, self-titled "Dawn Langstroth" and "No Mercy", and released her debut album "Highwire" in 2009...
, Jann Arden
Jann Arden
Jann Arden is a Canadian singer-songwriter.-Life and career:Arden was born and raised near Calgary in Springbank, Alberta and attended Springbank Community High School. Her breakthrough came with her critically acclaimed 1993 debut album Time for Mercy and her first single "I Would Die For You"...
, and Miss Piggy
Miss Piggy
Miss Piggy is a Muppet character who was primarily played by Frank Oz on The Muppet Show. In 2001, Eric Jacobson began performing the role, although Oz did not officially retire until 2002....
. The record for the
highest-rated variety special in Canadian television history is Anne Murray's Family Christmas, which garnered a 43 per cent share on CBC with 4.2 million viewers.