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Anne Murray

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Not to be confused with Ann Murray.
File:Anne Murray-What a Wonderful Christmas.jpg
Anne Murray on the cover of her Christmas album What a Wonderful Christmas

Anne Murray CC, ONS (born Morna Anne Murray June 20, 1945), is a Canadian singer born in Springhill, Nova Scotia, known for her rich alto voice and her taste in choosing songs that appeal to pop, country and adult contemporary listeners alike. For many, her fame as the representative Canadian singer is rivaled only by Gordon Lightfoot. Unlike many internationally-renowned Canadian singers, she has always resided in Canada and now lives in Toronto, but spends most summers in Nova Scotia.

Murray was the first Canadian female solo singer to reach #1 on the US charts, and also the first to earn a gold record (for one of her signature tunes, 1970's "Snowbird"). 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. So far, her albums have sold over 54 million copies worldwide. She is the most successful crossover female artist in music history, as well as one of the most successful Christmas artists of all time with her Christmas albums selling in the millions. (In fact her album Christmas Wishes is one of the Top 5 selling female holiday albums in history and her "Greatest Hits" album has sold over 7 million copies worldwide). She is also the first woman (and the first Canadian) to win "Album of the Year" at the Country Music Association Awards (USA) for her 1984 album "A Little Good News".

TV work

Anne Murray has had four highly-rated US specials on CBS (over 40 million viewers each), countless Canadian specials on CBC (Anne Murray in Nova Scotia) 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 Mike Douglas Show, Oprah, 20/20, CNN, The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour, Live with Regis and Kathie Lee and The Pat Sajak Show. More recently, in the '90s and into the new millenium, she has had several highly succesful commercials for her albums (The Very Best of Anne Murray, Croonin', What a Wonderful World, Country Croonin', What a Wonderful Christmas and All of Me) in the United States and Canada, with heavy rotation on Nickelodeon and CNN, among other TV channels. She has hosted the Junos in Canada as well as the CMAs in the United States. Her 2005 CBC special Anne Murray-The Music of my Life broke ratings records for a Thursday night, with more than 1 million Canadian viewers tuned in. The guests on her TV specials have included Julio Iglesias, Patti LaBelle, Celine Dion, Bryan Adams, Dusty Springfield, Bananarama, Barenaked Ladies, Alan Thicke, Roch Voisine, Glen Campbell, Varlerie Harper, Diana Krall, Jann Arden, Miss Piggy and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

Music

Anne Murray's music has wide appeal and she is popular with very young children (her commercials were in heavy rotation on cartoon networks and she has a children's album called "There's a Hippo in my Tub" -released twice under the original title and also released under the title "Anne Murray sings for the Sesame Street Generation" in the USA and "Anne Murray Sings for Kids" which was available at McDonald's Restaurants in Canada) ). She has been a consistent favourite of country (11 #1 Billboard songs) and pop fans (several Top Ten Billboard charts including one #1), the older generation, ballroom dancers and newlyweds (especially due to the romantic "Could I Have this Dance"),. She has also made breakthroughs on the Christian music scene ("What a Wonderful World" ,"Robbie's Song for Jesus"). On the other side of the spectrum, Anne Murray had a few dance singles in the mid-eighties(i.e. "Who's Leaving Who") which appealed to a strong gay following. The song was later covered by dance queen Hazell Dean.This caused some backlash with her country fans for a while, especially when she donned an 80's style "punkish" hairdo on the cover of 1986's 750,000 unit selling "Something to Talk About". Anne's music has been pigeonholed (wrongly a lot might say) in the Country category even though she has touched many music styles. Her voice is often compared to that of Karen Carpenter, and country singer Kathy Mattea has had trouble getting over the constant comparison of her voice to Anne's. All said, Anne is best known for her romantic ballads and impeccable phrasing which has made her a staple on both the Easy Listening and Adult Contemporary charts. She is known as "The Lady," and is sometimes referred to as the "Singing Sweetheart of Canada." Her fame has been a boon to her home province of Nova Scotia, where the "Anne Murray Centre" is located.

Early career

Murray first came to the public eye in Canada as a cast member on the 1960's CBC music/comedy television show Singalong Jubilee. (She would later marry the show's host, Bill Langstroth.) She had a Canadian hit with the song "What About Me," the title track for her first album release. Her later live recording of the song, with a faster arrangement, would become the version heard in America.

Her first hit, "Snowbird" (1970), reached the top ten on the US Pop charts, but was a surprise country hit, as well, and a number of her subsequent singles have charted both pop and country simultaneously. During 1970s and early 1980s, her hits included "Danny's Song" (1972), "A Love Song" (1973), a remake of the Beatles' "You Won't See Me" (1974), "The Call" (1976), "You Needed Me" (1978) (an American #1 single), "I Just Fall In Love Again," "Shadows in the Moonlight" and "Broken-Hearted Me" (all 1979), a remake of The Monkees' "Daydream Believer" (1979), "Could I Have This Dance" (from the movie Urban Cowboy, 1980), "Blessed Are the Believers" (1981), "A Little Good News" (1983), and "Time Don't Run Out on Me" (1985).. Her hits started to taper off into the mid '80s, and her last top 100 charting pop hit was "Now and Forever (You and Me)" from 1986 (it hit the country charts at #1-she has 11 #1 country songs in all). Murray was a fixture for a while in Vegas, famous for signing million-dollar deals and even had a casino chip featuring her likeness. Earlier in her career, she had a famous gig at the Troubador, where the now famous picture of her, John Lennon, Mickey Dolenz, Harry Nilson and Alice Cooper was taken.

Later career

Though her singles continued to make the country charts for a few more years, by the early '90s, in the wake of country's neotraditionalist movement, her smooth, polished sound fell out of favour with country radio, as well. She still remains a top concert draw, and performs regularly in the US, Canada, and occasionally in Australia. Though they yielded no chart singles, recent albums, including a 1993 album of standards, Croonin', a 1999 collection of quasi-inspirational songs, "What a Wonderful World", and a 2002 album of country standards, Country Croonin', have all made the country, pop, and/or adult contemporary charts. Her 1999 album What a Wonderful World, for example, sold over 1 million copies in the US alone. It peaked in the US Billboard charts at #4 Country, #38 Pop and #1 Contemporary Christian. Country Croonin' sold over 500,000 copies in the US alone and was a top-ten US country album. Her music has been featured on The Sopranos, the movie Urban Cowboy, the Burt Reynolds film Stick, the Convoy movie, on That 70's Show and on Ellen amongst others. Her span on the US Billboard charts started in 1970 and her latest entry was in 2005.

Personal life

Murray has always staunchly kept her personal life as private as possible. Thus, she has been called "Garbo-esque" in certain media circles.

She wed Bill Langstroth in the 1970s, and that union produced two children, Dawn (an aspiring singer-songwriter) and William (a computer programmer for the Government of Ontario).

In recent years, she has faced many personal challenges: her departure from Capitol Records after some 25 years; the apparent suicide of the author of her first hit "Snowbird" Gene MacLellan; the death of her beloved manager Leonard T. Rambeau of cancer; her separation and divorce from her husband; her daughter's battle with anorexia (they reluctantly did the US talk-show circuit to raise awareness); and most recently, the loss of her best friend to cancer (she recorded her album All of Me as a tribute to her). She has overcome all of these obstacles, and emerged in 1999 with her best selling album in 20 years "What a Wonderful World"-and has followed up with three subsequent albums.

Anne has always kept strong ties to her hometown, Springhill, Nova Scotia, located about an hour south of Moncton, N.B. and two and a half hours north of Halifax, N.S. She has a museum there which houses her memorabilia and employs local people. She has been instrumental in the construction of the local arena, and has been a spokeswoman for many charities.

She has been a victim of a relentless stalker (see "other trivia"), received a diamond in the mail from another admirer.

She supported Dusty Springfield when Springfield's personal and professional life was in turmoil. She featured Springfield as a backup vocalist on several albums and offered a spot on one of her CBC TV specials.

She donated a generous amount to the tsunami relief fund, among others.

She was a celebrity corporate spokeswoman for The Bay, Canada's oldest company, along with Celine Dion, and sang a catchy jingle for the CIBC bank ("You can count on the Commerce").

She founded a successful publishing and entertainment company called Balmur Ltd.

She is an avid golfer and her first hole-in-one was covered prominently in North America.

Her mother, the former Marion Burke, (who was 100% Acadian), died April 10, 2006. Anne was very close with her mother.

Awards and honors

She was the first Canadian female to have a #1 pop single in the United States, with "You Needed Me" in 1978. She was also the first Canadian female to earn a U.S. gold record, for "Snowbird." Murray's Snowbird may have inspired use of the term "snowbird" to describe Canadians and Americans who spend their winters in warmer climates.

Typically, though, largely due to the amount of softer, country-tinged ballads in her repertoire, Murray has had more success on the Adult Contemporary and Country charts in America than on the pop charts. For example, Billboard magazine ranked "I Just Fall In Love Again" as the #1 Country hit of 1979, and it was also one of her eight #1 Adult Contemporary hits (the first was "Snowbird" and the last was "Daydream Believer"), but on the Hot 100 it stalled at #12.

Despite Murray's more successful track record in the Country and Adult Contemporary fields as compared to the pop charts, her only #1 pop hit, "You Needed Me," failed to reach pole position on either the Country (#4) or AC (#3) charts. "You Needed Me" also brought Murray one of her rare appearances on the UK pop chart, where it peaked at #22.

Her 1996 album "Anne Murray" was a top 10 album in Canada and spawned the A/C hit "What Would it Take".

In 1998, Anne sang "When I Fall in Love" with Celine Dion on her DVD called "An Intimate Evening With Anne Murray...Live".

Her single, "Another Sleepless Night" was used in a sketch by surrealist UK Comedians Vic Reeves and Bob Mortimer in their "Bang Bang, It's Reeves & Mortimer" series - in which Vic and Bob dressed up as a couple of German Lederhosen boys with long blonde hair, moustaches and cowboy boots with exponentially expanding breasts - culminating in Vic Reeves highlighting the fact that he had heard tales of a Turkey nearby - which must be overpowered and taken as a gift for the Fuhrer before the Norwegian explorer Amundsen gets there first.

Other trivia

The Anne Murray Centre in Springhill, Nova Scotia

In the movie South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut, the Academy Award-nominated song Blame Canada included a line referring to Murray as a "bitch". Reportedly, the producers of that year's Oscar telecast considered omitting the line when it was to be performed along with the other Best Song nominees, however Murray indicated she got the joke and was not offended.

*"You Needed Me" was #1 in Malaysia for 10 weeks.

  • In 2000 she published a book "What a Wonderful World' which was a best seller in Canada.
  • In 1978, she won the Grammy for best pop vocal, female, beating out Carly Simon, Barbra Streisand, Olivia Newton-John and Donna Summer. She also has 3 Country Grammies.
  • The name "Anne Murray" is a registered trade mark.
  • There is a lesser-known Ann Murray out there - an Irish opera singer
  • Anne Murray founded and co-owned BALMUR LTD, a music publishing and management company
  • Burt Reynolds called Anne on the phone and had her sing "You Needed Me" to his fiancée.
  • Elton John once said: "I know two things about Canada : hockey and Anne Murray".
  • The week ending 4/28/84, according to Billboard, Anne Murray was the top grossing performer for the week, having grossed $466,844.00 US , ahead of Kenny Rogers, Duran Duran, Culture Club, The Grateful Dead and The Scorpions.
  • Like many stars, she has been the victim of a persistent stalker, a farmer from Saskatchewan who has served jail time for his obsession and harassment. The song "Straw Hat and Old Dirty Hank" by the Barenaked Ladies is about this incident.[2]
  • Anne has recorded one French song ("Si Jamais je te Revois"), one bilingual (The French Waltz), and a Spanish version of "Broken Hearted Me"
  • The 1976 Episode of Saturday Night Live in which she appeared with Elliott Gould won an Emmy
  • Her 4 CBS TV specials each reached an estimated 40 million US viewers, and her "Sounds of London" special introduced North American audiences to the girl group Bananarama.
  • Her first album What about Me has been re-released several times and has been bootlegged countless times in the US, Australia and the UK under different titles.
  • Songs she turned down include "Lucille" (a big hit for Kenny Rogers), "True Colors" (later a smash hit for Cyndi Lauper), "Something to talk About" (a breakthrough hit for Bonnie Raitt) and "I Honestly love You", a hit for her Australian country-pop diva equivalent, Olivia Newton-John.
  • Julio Iglesias said of Anne "Singers there are many. But Anne Murray has got class".
  • Barry Manilow once wrote a song and sent it to Anne, saying "There aren't many of us left" (referring to singers capable of tackling the "big" ballads.
  • Anne has recorded over 80 songs (about 8 albums worth of songs) written by Canadians.

Performances

  • with "Northern Lights" on the USA for Africa album
  • 1986 at Labbatt Theatre at Expo 86 in Vancouver
  • 2005 Canadian Tsunami Relief Concert in Toronto, singing with Bryan Adams

Producers who worked with Anne

  • Brian Ahern (now married to Emmylou Harris)
  • Tom Catalano
  • Jim Ed Norman
  • Khyle Lenning
  • Tommy West (former Jim Croce producer)
  • Jack White
  • Mark Spiro
  • David Foster
  • Ed Cherney
  • Jerry Crutchfield

Record labels

  • Capitol Records
  • Capitol Nashville
  • EMI
  • Liberty Records
  • Straightway Records
  • CEMA Special Markets

Albums on US Billboard charts

(based on sales)

  • 1970 Snowbird Country Albums 5 Pop Albums 41 (GOLD)
  • 1971 Anne Murray Country Albums 11 Pop Albums 121
  • 1971 Talk It Over In The Morning Country Albums 26 Pop Albums 179
  • 1972 Anne Murray/Glen Campbell Country Albums 4 Pop Albums 128
  • 1972 Annie Country Albums 14 Pop Albums 143
  • 1973 Danny's Song Country Albums 4 Pop Albums 39
  • 1974 Country Country Albums 6 Pop Albums 32 (GOLD)
  • 1974 Love Song Pop Albums 24
  • 1975 Highly Prized Possession Country Albums 8 Pop Albums 70
  • 1976 Keeping In Touch Country Albums 26 Pop Albums 96
  • 1976 Together Country Albums 15 Pop Albums 142
  • 1978 Let's Keep It That Way Country Albums 2 Pop Albums 12 (PLATINUM)
  • 1979 I'll Always Love You Country Albums 4 (GOLD)
  • 1979 New Kind Of Feeling Country Albums 2 Pop Albums 23 (PLATINUM)
  • 1980 Anne Murray's Greatest Hits Country Albums 2 Pop Albums 16 (4X PLATINUM)
  • 1980 I'll Always Love You Pop Albums 24 (GOLD)
  • 1980 Somebody's Waiting Country Albums 15 Pop Albums 88
  • 1980 A Country Collection Country Albums 7 Pop Albums 73
  • 1981 Where Do You Go When You Dream Country Albums 4 Pop Albums 55 (GOLD)
  • 1982 Christmas Wishes Country Albums 34 Pop Albums 54 (GOLD)
  • 1982 The Hottest Night Of The Year Pop Albums 90
  • 1983 Greatest Hits The Billboard 200 177 (4X PLATINUM)
  • 1983 Little Good News The Billboard 200 72 Country Albums 9 (GOLD)
  • 1984 Christmas Wishes Top Country Albums 34 (2x PLATINUM)
  • 1984 Heart Over Mind The Billboard 200 92 Country Albums 4 (GOLD)
  • 1986 Something to Talk About The Billboard 200 68 Country Albums 2 (GOLD)
  • 1987 Harmony The Billboard 200 149 Top Country Albums 9
  • 1988 As I Am Top Country Albums 29
  • 1989 Greatest Hits, Vol. 2 Top Country Albums 32
  • 1990 You Will Top Country Albums 47
  • 1992 15 of the Best Top Country Albums 62
  • 1993 Croonin Top Country Albums 54
  • 1998 An Intimate Evening with Anne Murray Top Country Albums 45
  • 1999 What a Wonderful World: 26 Inspirational Classics The Billboard pop 200 38 Christian albums 1 Country Albums 4 (PLATINUM)
  • 2001 What a Wonderful Christmas The Billboard 200 83 Top Contemporary Christian 4 Top Country Albums 6
  • 2002 Country Croonin The Billboard 200 109 Top Country Albums 13 (GOLD)
  • 2005 All of Me The Billboard 200 66 Top Country Albums 13

NOTE: The Very Best of Anne Murray (1997) went gold.

Singles on US Billboard charts

  • Snowbird 1970 Pop #8, Country #10, AC #1 (Gold)
  • Sing High - Sing Low 1970 Pop #83, AC #21
  • I Say A Little Prayer/By The Time I Get To Phoenix 1971 (duet with Glen Campbell) Pop #81, Country #40, AC #13
  • Put Your Hand In The Hand 1971 Country #67
  • Talk It Over In The Morning 1971 Pop #57, AC #7
  • Things 1971 Country #22
  • A Stranger In My Place 1971 Country #27
  • Cotton Jenny 1972 Pop #71, Country #11, AC #32
  • Danny's Song 1973 Pop #7, Country #10, AC #1
  • Send A Little Love My Way 1973 Pop #72, Country #79, AC #10
  • What About Me 1973 Pop #64, Country #20, AC #2
  • He Thinks I Still Care 1974 Country #1 (flip side of "You Won't See Me")
  • Just One Look 1974 Pop #86, AC #50
  • Love Song 1974 Pop #12, Country #5, AC #1
  • Son Of A Rotten Gambler 1974 Country #5 (flip side of "Just One Look")
  • You Won't See Me 1974 Pop #8, AC #1
  • Day Tripper 1975 Pop #59, AC #40
  • Sunday Sunrise 1975 Pop #98, Country #49, AC #13
  • A Stranger In My Place 1975 Country #79
  • Golden Oldie 1976 Country #41, AC #44
  • Things 1976 Pop #89, AC #12
  • The Call 1976 Pop #91, Country #19, AC #6
  • Sunday School To Broadway 1977 Country #57, AC #42
  • Walk Right Back 1978 Pop #103, Country #4, AC #15
  • You Needed Me 1978 Pop #1, Country #4, AC #3 (Gold)
  • I Just Fall In Love Again 1979 Pop #12, Country #1, AC #1
  • Shadows In The Moonlight 1979 Pop #25, Country #1, AC #1
  • Broken Hearted Me 1979 Pop #12, Country #1, AC #1
  • Daydream Believer 1980 Pop #12, Country #3, AC #1
  • Lucky Me 1980 Pop #42, Country #9, AC #8
  • I'm Happy Just To Dance With You 1980 Pop #64, Country #23, AC #13
  • Could I Have This Dance 1980 Pop #33, Country #1, AC #3
  • Blessed Are The Believers 1981 Pop #34, Country #1, AC #10
  • It's All I Can Do 1981 Pop #53, Country #9, AC #14
  • We Don't Have To Hold Out 1981 Country #16, AC #33
  • Another Sleepless Night 1982 Pop #44, Country #4, AC #11
  • Hey! Baby 1982 Country #7, AC #26
  • Somebody's Always Saying Goodbye 1982 Country #7, AC #36
  • A Little Good News 1983 Pop #74, Country #1, AC #11
  • Just Another Woman In Love 1984 Country #1, AC #7
  • Nobody Loves Me Like You Do 1984 (duet with Dave Loggins) Pop #103, Country #1, AC #10
  • That's Not The Way (It's S'posed To Be) 1984 Pop #106, Country #46, AC #12
  • I Don't Think I'm Ready For You 1985 Country #7, AC #30
  • Time Don't Run Out On Me 1985 Country #2, AC #11
  • My Life's A Dance 1986 Country #26
  • Now And Forever (You And Me) 1986 Pop #92, Country #1, AC #7
  • On And On 1986 Country #23
  • Who's Leaving Who 1986 Country #62, AC #26
  • Anyone Can Do The Heartbreak 1987 Country #27
  • Are You Still In Love With Me 1987 Country #20, AC #33
  • Flying On Your Own 1988 Country #52
  • Perfect Strangers 1988 Country #52
  • Slow Passin' Time 1988 Country #36
  • If I Ever Fall In Love Again 1989 Country #28
  • Who But You 1989 Country #55
  • Feed This Fire 1990 Country #5
  • Bluebird 1990 Country #39
  • Everyday 1991 Country #56

Uk singles chart

  • Snowbird Oct 1970 #23
  • Destiny Oct 1972 #41
  • You Needed Me Dec 1978 #22
  • I Just Fall In Love Again Apr 1979 #58
  • Daydream Believer Apr 1980 #61

Note: Anne Murray was UK's Country Female vocalist of 1974.

Grammy awards

  • 1974 - Best Country Vocal Performance - Female: Love Song
  • 1978 - Best Pop Vocal - Female: You Needed Me
  • 1980 - Best Country Vocal Performance - Female: Could I Have This Dance
  • 1983 - Best Country Vocal Performance - Female: A Little Good News

DVDs

  • An Intimate Evening with Anne Murray (feat Celine Dion, Bryan Adams, Jann Arden) 1997
  • What a Wonderful World (feat Deborah Cox, Dawn Langstroth) 2001
  • Anne Murray's Classic Christmas (feat Roch Voisine & Barenaked Ladies)
  • Anne Murray in Jamaica 2005

Books

  • Anne Murray-What a Wonderful World (book & CD) (2000)-Balmur Book Publishing
  • Anne Murray Centre Scrapbook (2000)-Raincoast Books/Balmur Publishing
  • Snowbird-The Story of Anne Murray (Barry Grills) (1996) Quarry Press
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