Childhood & Early Life
Anne Murray was born on June 20, 1945 at the coal mining town of Springhill in Nova Scotia, Canada. Her father was James Carson Murray was a doctor, while her mother Marion Margaret Murray was a registered nurse. She had five brothers.
She was interested in music from an early age and studied piano for six years. At the age of 15 she started taking lessons on vocal music.
She graduated from the high school in Springhill in 1962 and enrolled at the ‘Mount Saint Vincent University’, Halifax, to study physical education for one year.
Later she joined the ‘University of New Brunswick’, Fredericton, from where she received her degree on physical education in 1966.
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Career
She auditioned unsuccessfully for a television series called ‘Singalong Jubilee’ in 1964.
In 1966 she auditioned for the series for a second time and this time she was successful.
After graduating from the ‘University of New Brunswick’ in 1966 she taught physical education at a Summerside high school on ‘Prince Edward Island’ for one year.
Her teaching career ended when she became a soloist for a television series ‘Singalong Jubilee’ in 1967.
Her first album ‘What About Me’ was released in 1968.
In 1969 she made her major debut with Capitol Records with the release of the album ‘This Way Is My Way’.
In 1970 she sang ‘Snowbird’ written by a Canadian songwriter, Gene MacLellan which became an instant hit. She received an American ‘Gold Record’ signifying the sale of more than 500,000 copies and became the first female Canadian artist to do so.
During the 1970s she started to appear regularly on popular variety shows such as ‘The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour’, ‘The Muppet Show’, the ‘American Bandstand’ and the ‘Saturday Night Live’ shows.
After her marriage in 1975, she dropped out of the world of music for a few years and concentrated on bringing up her family.
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She recorded an album for children, ‘There’s a Hippo in My Tub’ in 1977 which won her the Juno award in 1979.
She performed extensively during the 1980s and released at least one album every year except for the year 1985.
In 1980 she recorded the song ‘Could I have This Dance’ to get her third Grammy award.
In 1983 she recorded the song ‘A Little Good News’ which brought the fourth Grammy for her.
She opened the ‘Anne Murray Center’ in Springhill, Nova Scotia, in 1989 to promote music in the area.
She did not work from 1993 to 1996 after the death of her longtime friend and manager. Thereafter, she signed on with a new manager and her career took a turn for the better.
She released her first live album in 1997.
Her album on inspirational songs, ‘What a Wonderful World’ came out in 1999.
In the late 1990s she and her daughter Dawn appeared on talk shows to help prevent an eating disorder called ‘Anorexia Nervosa’ in young women.
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She released her album ‘What a Wonderful Christmas’ in 2001 which was a great hit.
Her album ‘Country Crooning’, a collection of country songs, came out in 2002.
In 2005 she released her 33rd studio album titled ‘All of Me’.
In late 2005 she joined a Canadian contingent of performers to raise funds for tsunami affected victims in Southeast Asia.
Awards & Achievements
In 1971 Anne Murray received her first Juno award for ‘Best Female Vocalist’.
In 1974 she received her first Grammy award for ‘Best Country Vocal Performance’.
She got her second Grammy award in 1978.
In 1979 she got the Juno awards for ‘Best Children’s Album’ and for ‘Best Female Vocalist’.
She got the Grammy award for the third time in 1980 in the category for the ‘Best Country Vocal Performance’.
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In 1983 she got her fourth Grammy in the ‘Best Country Vocal Performance’ category.
She received the ‘Companion of the Order of Canada’ which is the highest honor given to a civilian by the Canadian Government in 1984.
She was inducted into the ‘Canadian Music Hall of Fame’ in 1993.
She became a chartered inductee in the ‘Canadian Walk of Fame’ in 2000.
She received a Legacy Award from the ‘Canadian Songwriter’s Hall of Fame’ in 2006.
