Anne Murray To Release Career-Spanning Set

Internationally renowned music legend Anne Murray will have her storied career encapsulated once more with the most authoritative collection yet assembled – overseen by Murray herself. The Ultimate Collection will be released September 29 in single disc, 2-CD, Digital formats via UMe. A Double-Vinyl configuration will be available November 17.

“The original idea was to come up with a greatest hits compilation along with several of the songs that many people wouldn’t have heard but were particular favorites of mine,” explains Murray. “The hits were easy but then to decide what should go on the second disc, I went over the songs that I used to do in sound check, things I used to do in the unplugged segment of the show, personal favorites of mine. Some of them are from early on in my career so they have kind of a special meaning for me too.”

These songs also have special meaning for Anne Murray’s fellow Canadians along with millions worldwide. Murray’s immediately identifiable, distinctive voice has carried messages of joy, comfort, and consolation through these time-tested songs that continue to resonate as powerfully today.

Murray’s career began with chance encounters which resulted in remarkable achievements. The young singer from Nova Scotia was offered a couple of songs, including Snowbird – which soared beyond all borders and still sails the stratosphere to this day. Not long after, a television performance on Glen Campbell’s Goodtime Hour brought Murray into people’s homes and into their hearts, places she would occupy throughout her recording and performing years. Over the next decades, Anne Murray would sell over 55 million albums worldwide and did so while effortlessly moving between pop, country, and adult contemporary formats. The accolades were equally multitudinous, with several standout achievements.

On receiving the Grammy in 1978, Murray recalls: “When I started in my career I didn’t have any intention of being any one kind of singer, I thought: ‘Well, maybe you can do a little bit of everything.’ When I was nominated in the pop category for ‘You Needed Me’ I was so relieved in that they had seen the song as a pop song and seen me as a pop singer alongside of people like Barbara Streisand, Olivia Newton-John, Carly Simon, Donna Summer, and not only did they see me there, I also won. After that, even my career in country music became bigger. I was trying to do a little bit of everything but, in the end, it didn’t matter to me as long as people enjoyed the music. That was what was important to me. Get to the people, and so I did.”

Murray is a Canadian music trailblazer, with a string of firsts: first Canadian female solo singer to reach No. 1 on the U.S. charts, first to earn a Gold record (for Snowbird), and the first woman to win Album of the Year at the Country Music Awards, to name but a few. Her successes made a path for further Canadian artists to follow en route to conquering the world stage – Céline Dion, Shania Twain, kd lang, Alanis Morissette, and Sarah McLachlan among them.

Anne Murray retired from recording and her last live tour was nearly a decade ago. Assembling The Ultimate Collection does not signal a forthcoming addendum in the studio or on the stage. “When I retired, I was ready to do so. I knew it and everyone around me knew it. I miss the people on the road,” she admits, “I miss some of the fan interaction. I keep in touch with the people in my band who were family to me and still are. We are having a reunion this summer – we have a reunion every three years – getting together to sing and play and have fun.”

During her illustrious career, Anne Murray received four Grammys, a record-breaking 24 Junos, three American Music Awards, three Country Music Association Awards, and three Canadian Country Music Association Awards. She is a Companion of the Order of Canada, the highest honor that can be awarded to a Canadian civilian and, in 2007, Canada Post issued a limited edition Anne Murray stamp. She has been inducted into the Juno Hall of Fame, the Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame, The Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame, and Canadian Broadcast Hall of Fame. Murray has a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, on Canada’s Walk of Fame as well as Nashville’sWalkway of Stars. Murray has been involved in many charitable initiatives, most notably her years of work with Colon Cancer Canada. She continues to oversee the Anne Murray Centre, a charitable foundation and museum of her memorabilia which was established in 1989.

The Ultimate Collection is available for pre-order here, the digital format offering an instant-grat of Anne Murray’s classic You Needed Me.

See a video of Murray recalling the genesis of the song and her fight for its selection as a single at AnneMurray.com

TRACKLISTING

DISC 1 – Single disc tracklist identical to disc one of 2-CD format