Anne Murray

Anne Murray, CC , ONS , LL.D (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. 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 80s, 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), "Shadows in the Moonlight" (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 (also her last country #1-she has 11 #1 country songs in all). 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 favor 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.

Trivia

In the movie ', 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 that she got the joke of the song and was not offended by it.

Related Topics:
Academy Award - Blame Canada - Best Song

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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."

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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.

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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 U.K. pop chart, where it peaked at #22.

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

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

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Her 1999 album "What a Wonderful World" sold over 1 million copies in the US. It peaked in the US Billboard charts at #4 Country, #38 Pop and #1 Contemporary Christian. Her 2001 album "Country Croonin'" sold over 500,000 copies in the US alone and was a top-ten US country album. She is the most succesful crossover female artist in music history and her span on the US Billboard charts started in 1970 and her latest album (All of Me-2005) went #13 Country and also hit the Billboard 200 at number 66.

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• 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.
• 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 Eliott Trudeau
• She has duets with Kenny Rogers, Aaron Neville, Dave Loggins, Vince Gill, Glen Campbell, Bryan Adams 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 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".
• Her fans are known as "Anne fans" or "Snowbirders".
• All her albums have been re-released on CD by EMI music Canada under "The Signature Series"
• 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 harrasment
• 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