Anne Murray born June 20, 1945

Anne Murray (born June 20, 1945) is a Canadian retired country, pop and adult contemporary music singer who has sold over 55 million album copies worldwide during her over 40-year career.

Born Morna Anne Murray in Nova Scotia, music was always one of Murray's hobbies. While she was enrolled at the University of New Brunswick studying physical education, she auditioned for a spot on the Halifax-based weekly CBC television series, Singalong Jubilee, but she wasn't hired because they already had an alto singer. Following that rejection, Murray graduated from college and began teaching physical education at the high-school level. Two years after her initial Singalong Jubilee audition, the show's producer, Bill Langstroth, called her with the information that a new television show, Let's Go, needed an altoist. After some persuasion, Murray agreed to join the program, although she did not give up her teaching job. For the next four years, she sang on Let's Go, eventually striking up a professional relationship with the program's musical director Brian Ahern, who recommended she pursue a solo singing career.

Murray left her teaching job and moved into the limelight through national broadcasts, quickly establishing herself as a fan favourite with solo spots on Singalong Jubilee until 1970. In these early years, Murray sang barefoot and accompanied herself on guitar. Encouraged and produced by Brian Ahern, Murray made her solo recording debut with the folk album What About Me (1968) for the Canadian label Arc Records. The record was well-received and popular for an independent album, thereby earning the attention of Capitol, whose Canadian division signed her to a long-term contract in 1969. The following year, her debut single for the label, "Snowbird," became an international hit, reaching the Top Ten on both the country and pop charts in America, while reaching the British Top 40. Following the success of "Snowbird," Murray moved to Los Angeles, where she began to regularly appear on Glen Campbell's syndicated television show. However, she didn't like the California lifestyle and quickly returned to Canada.

                                  

Capitol Records released Murray’s second solo album, This Way Is My Way, in 1969, and her first hit single, Gene MacLellan’s “Snowbird,” in 1970. Murray’s recording of “Snowbird” typified what would become her characteristic crossover sound: part country, part pop, part adult contemporary. The song was a massive hit, reaching No. 1 on Billboard’s Adult Contemporary chart and making Murray the first Canadian woman to earn a gold record in the United States. “Snowbird” sold more than 1 million copies in 1970 alone and earned Murray two Grammy Award nominations. Murray’s recognizability increased after she made her US national television debut on 4 October 1970 on The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour, where she became a frequent guest. In October 1970, CBC TV aired the first of many Anne Murray specials. Her reputation as a country singer was further entrenched through appearances on Nashville North (The Ian Tyson Show) and The Johnny Cash Show.

Although she became well known in the United States, Murray continued to base her career in Canada. By 1971, she had moved from Nova Scotia to Toronto, but she resisted a permanent move to the United States even though she performed in that country frequently, e.g., opening for Glen Campbell’s concerts and appearing in Las Vegas and Los Angeles. Also in 1971, she made her first tour of Western Canada (to sold-out shows) as well as her debut at Massey Hall in Toronto (four shows over two days). However, the frequency of her television appearances and concerts led to speculation that Murray was becoming overexposed and that an absence of focused planning was damaging her career. Also, by the early 1970s she had followed up “Snowbird” with a string of largely unsuccessful singles and badly needed a hit. She toured Europe and North America in 1972.

Murray began to update her image in an attempt to place her more firmly in the pop genre. In 1973, she found the hit she needed with “Danny’s Song,” which spent two weeks at No. 1 on Billboard’s Adult Contemporary chart and earned a Grammy nomination. She also opened for Glen Campbell in Europe. Then in 1974, she received a Grammy Award for best female country vocal performance for “A Love Song.” That recording reached No. 5 on Billboard’s country chart and No. 1 on the Adult Contemporary chart. Also that year, “Send A Little Love My Way,” which she sang for the film Oklahoma Crude, was nominated for a Golden Globe. She was named an Officer of the Order of Canada in 1975.

Murray entered her period of greatest commercial success in 1978, as a cover of "Walk Right Back" climbed to number four on the country charts, followed shortly afterward by "You Needed Me," her biggest hit since "Songbird"; the single reached number four on the country charts and topped the pop charts, going gold by the end of the year. For the next eight years, she had a virtually uninterrupted string of Top Ten country hits, highlighted by nine number ones. She prospered during the era of urban cowboy, since her music drew as much from pop and easy listening as it did from country.

Anne with Willie Nelson

Murray's sales began to decline in the latter half of the '80s, primarily due to the shifting tastes of the country audience, which was beginning to seek out harder-edged new traditionalist performers. Nevertheless, she maintained a dedicated following during the late '80s and '90s through her occasional recordings ("Feed This Fire" became a surprise Top Ten hit in the summer of 1990) and her concerts. Murray recorded her first live album in 1997 and released What a Wonderful World in 1999. Five years later, she released I'll Be Seeing You in Canada; the album arrived in the United States as All of Me in 2005. 

Anne with Tina Turner

Murray returned in 2007 with Duets: Friends and Legends. Murray went on her last concert tour in early 2008 and gave her final public performance in Toronto in May 2008. She also appeared that year as a mentor on the Canadian Idol television show. In 2009, she published her memoir, All of Me, and in 2010 she was a flag-bearer for the 2010 Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver. She remains retired from the music business.

Anne at the JUNO Awards 2025

Murray had 28 songs on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, eight No. 1 hits on the Adult Contemporary chart and 25 Top 10 hits on the Hot Country Songs chart. Named the Female Recording Artist of the 1970s by the Canadian Recording Industry Association, she has sold more than 55 million albums worldwide. She was nominated for or won a Juno Award every year but one from 1971 to 1995, winning 23 in total, more than any other artist. She has also won four Grammy Awards, nine Big Country Awards, two Canadian Country Music Association Awards and three American Music Awards. A Companion of the Order of Canada and a Member of the Order of Nova Scotia, she has been inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame, Canadian Country Music Association Hall of Fame, Canadian Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame and Canada’s Walk of Fame. Anne received the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2025 JUNOS.

(Edited from The Canadian Encyclopedia & AllMusic)