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Anne Murray
Anne Murray's Christmas album
Background information
Birth name	Morna Anne Murray
Also known as	Anne Murray
Born	June 20, 1945 (age 61)
Origin	Springhill, Nova Scotia
Genre(s)	Pop Adult Contemporary Country
Occupation(s)	Singer, Talk Show Host, Actress
Instrument(s)	Vocals
Years active	1970-present
Label(s)	Capitol Records, Liberty Records, Straightaway Records
Website	Anne Murray Official Website

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.

Contents 1 TV work 2 Music 3 Early career 4 Later career 5 Personal life 6 Awards and honors 7 Music-related facts 8 Other trivia 9 Performances 10 Producers who worked with Anne 11 Record labels 12 Discography 12.1 Selected Singles 12.2 Albums 13 Grammy awards 14 DVDs 15 Books 16 External links

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 millennium, she has had several highly successful 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.

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 (eleven #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.

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 (Song)" 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.

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.

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.

• Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1750 Vine Street (1980)
• Companion of the Order of Canada (1984)
• Induction into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame (1993)
• Governor-General's Performing Arts Award (1995)
• Star on Canada's Walk of Fame (1998)
• East Coast Music Association Director's special achievement award (2001)
• Induction into the Canadian Country Music Association Hall of Fame (2002)
• Awarded the Order of Nova Scotia (2002)
• As of 2004, has 25 albums that have either gone multi-platinum, platinum or gold in the USA alone [1]
• Winner of four Grammy Awards (including one in the Pop category), three CMA awards, and also has countless Canadian Junos, American Music Awards, etc.
• The Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame has honored Anne as a Legacy Award recipient at their 3rd Annual Induction Gala on February 5, 2006.

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.

• 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.
• Jerry Seinfeld and Bruce Springsteen were both opening acts for Anne Murray.
• John Lennon said that her version of "You Won't See Me" was the best Beatles cover ever.
• Elvis considered Anne as his favourite female singer.
• Anne's music is "out of this world": Roberta Bondar, the first Canadian female astronaut, played her songs in space.
• She has a flower named after her: "The Anne Murray iris".
• Her album There's a Hippo in my Tub has inspired a cartoon series.
• Her 1980 hit, "Could I Have this Dance", remains one of the top wedding song requests to this day.
• She once had the same manager as Alice Cooper.
• Her hometown of Springhill, NS is home to the "Anne Murray Centre" which is a non-profit museum housing her memorabilia. The town was economically depressed and was the site of a great mining disaster when Anne was young.
• As an undergraduate at the University of New Brunswick, she recorded a song that was issued by Radio UNB in 1965 as part of an audio yearbook.
• George Bush Sr. often quoted from Anne's hit "A Little Good News" and said she was his favourite singer. In addition to George Bush Sr., she has also performed for Queen Elizabeth II, Ronald Reagan, and Pierre Elliott Trudeau.
• She has duets with Kenny Rogers, Aaron Neville, Dave Loggins, Vince Gill, Glen Campbell, Bryan Adams, Cliff Richard as well as with her brother Bruce and her daughter Dawn.
• Her hit "Snowbird" is one of the most played songs in the history of music with over 4 million spins.

*"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 Grammys.
• The name "Anne Murray" is a registered trademark.
• 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.

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

• 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

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

Year	Single	U.S. Country Singles	U.S. Pop Singles	U.S. A.C. Singles	U.K. Singles	Album
1970	"Snowbird"	#10	#8	#1	#23	Snowbird
1971	"Put Your Hand In the Hand"	#67	-	-	-	Snowbird
1971	"Talk It Over In the Morning"	-	#57	#7	-	Talk It Over In the Morning
1971	"Things"	#22	-	-	-	Keeping In Touch
1971	"A Stranger In My Place"	#27	-	-	-	Country
1972	"Cotton Jenny"	#11	#71	-	-	Country
1973	"Danny's Song"	#10	#7	#1	-	Danny's Song
1973	"What About Me?"	#20	#64	#2	-	Danny's Song
1974	"He Thinks I Still Care"	#1	-	-	-	Country
1974	"Love Song"	#5	#12	#1	-	Love Song
1974	"Son of a Rotten Gambler"	#5	-	-	-	Love Song
1974	"You Won't See Me"	-	#8	#1	-	Love Song
1976	"The Call"	#19	#91	#6	-	Keepin' In Touch
1978	"Walk Right Back"	#4	#103	#15	-	Let's Keep It That Way
1978	"You Needed Me"	#4	#1	#3	#22	Let's Keep It That Way
1979	"I Just Fall In Love Again"	#1	#12	#1	#22	New Kind of Feeling
1979	"Shadows In the Moonlight"	#1	25	#1	-	New Kind of Feeling
1979	"Broken Hearted Me"	#1	#12	#1	-	I'll Always Love You
1980	"Daydream Believer"	#3	#12	#1	#61	I'll Always Love You
1980	"Could I Have This Dance"	#1	#33	#3	-	Somebody's Waiting
1980	"I'm Happy Just to Dance With You"	#23	#64	-	-	Somebody's Waiting
1980	"Lucky Me"	#9	#42	-	-	Somebody's Waiting
1981	"Blessed Are the Believers"	#1	#34	#10	-	Where Do You Go When You Dream
1981	"It's All I Can Do"	#9	#53	-	-	Where Do You Go When You Dream
1981	"We Don't Have to Hold Out"	#16	-	-	-	Where Do You Go When You Dream
1982	"Another Sleepless Night"	#4	#44	#11	-	A Little Good News
1982	"Hey! Baby"	#7	-	#26	-	A Little Good News
1982	"Somebody's Always Saying Goodbye"	#7	-	#36	-	Hottest Night of the Year
1983	"A Little Good News"	#1	#74	#11	-	A Little Good News
1984	"Just Another Woman In Love"	#1	-	#7	-	Heart Over Mind
1984	"Nobody Loves Me Like You" (with Dave Loggins)	#1	#103	#10	-	Heart Over Mind
1985	"Time Don't Run Out On Me"	#2	-	#11	-	Heart Over Mind
1986	"Now and Forever (You & Me)	#1	#92	#7	-	Something to Talk About
1987	"Are You Still In Love With Me?"	#20	-	#33	-	Harmony
1990	"Feed This Fire"	#5	-	-	-	You Will

Year	Album	RIAA Certification
1970	Snowbird	Gold
1971	Anne Murray	-
1971	Talk It Over in the Morning	-
1972	Anne Murray/Glen Campbell	-
1972	Annie	-
1973	Danny's Song	-
1974	Country	Gold
1974	Love Song	-
1975	Highly Prized Possession	-
1976	Keeping In Touch	-
1976	Together	-
1978	Let's Keep It That Way	Platinum
1979	I'll Always Love You	Gold
1979	New Kind of Feeling	Platinum
1980	Anne Murray's Greatest Hits	Platinum
1980	I'll Always Love You	-
1980	Somebody's Waiting	-
1980	A Country Collection	-
1981	Where Do You Go When You Dream	Gold
1982	Christmas Wishes	2 X Platinum
1982	The Hottest Night of the Year	-
1983	Greatest Hits	4 X Platinum
1983	Little Good News	Gold
1984	Heart Over Mind	Gold
1986	Something to Talk About	Gold
1987	Harmony	-
1988	As I Am	-
1989	Greatest Hits Vol.	-
1990	You Will	-
1992	15 of the Best	-
1993	Croonin	-
1997	The Very Best of Anne Murray	Gold
1998	An Intimate Evening With Anne Murray]]	-
1999	What a Wonderful World	Platinum
2001	What a Wonderful Christmas	-
2002	Country Croonin	Gold
2005	All of Me	-

• 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

In the UK, Murray was named the top Country Female Vocalist of 1974.

• 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

• 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

• Annemurray.com - Anne Murray's official website
• Order of Canada Citation
• Anne Murray's daughter's website