Comments on: 100 Greatest Women, #28: Anne Murray

By: Louise Johnson

Louise Johnson — Sat, 13 Nov 2010 22:58:19 +0000

That would be the “CBC” show, not the “CBS” show… it must be catching – LOL!

By: Louise Johnson

Louise Johnson — Sat, 13 Nov 2010 22:57:21 +0000

The CBS weekly television show that Anne auditioned for was named “Sing Along Jubillee” not “Singing Jubillee”.

Thanks for recognizing her contribution and her talent – long before Shania or Celine – Anne was Canada’s Sweetheart and remains so.

By: Peter

Peter — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 19:59:47 +0000

“Anne also has the distinction of having done one of the best covers of a Fab Four classic–her version of the Beatles’ “You Won’t See Me” (from their 1965 album RUBBER SOUL) was a big hit for Anne in the summer of 1974.”

John Lennon went on the record in the mid-70′s as saying that was his favorite Beatle cover

By: Chad

Chad — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 03:54:02 +0000

You have two of my absolute favorites back to back, although I love them for two different reasons. I grew up on country music in the late 70s and 80s, and the minute I hear Anne Murray’s voice, I melt. Its the musical equivalent of a big, warm hug. I love everything about it, and it makes me feel safe and at home. I really do think she could sing anything, and I’d come to love it.

I haven’t had a chance to comment on Mary Chapin Carpenter yet, but she’s another of my all time favorites. I would never be able to do a list like this because I would have a hard time separating my personal opinions from the larger picture. In my opinion, MCC is one of the best (if not the best) female singer-songwriters in Country Music. I’ve been known to say that she is just too smart for country radio now, and it is their loss. I’m so glad she emerged in the 90s–one of the few times country radio embraced smart, witty, and no non-sense women. I’ve loved her from the beginning (she’s one of a small # of artists in any genre whose CD I will buy the minute it comes out without hearing anything off of it) and I love her more and more.

I would possibly move both of these women up on the list, but it is because of my bias not because they are incorrectly placed on their impact of country music.

Thanks again for such a thought-provoking, well-researched, and thought out list. I can’t imagine the work that went into it.

By: Paul W Dennis

Paul W Dennis — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 03:50:53 +0000

Anne Murray actually was a Middle of the Road Pop artist whose voice fit comfortably into the country music format. When “Snowbird” became a big pop hit and then crossed over onto the country charts (it was a bigger pop hit than a country hit), Capitol started consciously pushing her to the country market, even, in at least two cases, doing double A sides of her 45s with one side pushed to the pop market and the other side pushed to the country stations. Examples of this include:
“He Thinks I Still Care” (#1 country) b/w “You Won’t See Me” (#38 pop)
“Son of a Rotten Gambler (#5 county) b/w “Just One Look (#86 pop)

Some of Anne’s hits were bigger on the pop charts than on the country charts. For instance, her only #1 pop hit “You Needed Me” reached only #4 on the country charts. “Danny’s Song” went to #7 pop but only #10 country, and as mentioned before, “Snowbird” (7 pop / 10 country).

Anne Murray is an excellent singer, one of the few whose vocal prowess would warrant inclusion on this list even if the extent of her influence was that she sold lots of records. She was one heck of a singer and probably is even better at pop standards than she ever was at country music. Unlike another pop singer, Linda Ronstadt who had only ten solo top 40 country records (plus three as part of Trio) , Anne Murray lived in the country top forty for 15+ years posting 38 top fortys plus duets with Glen Campbell, David Loggins and Kenny Rogers. She is clearly one of the top 15 women in country music history . John Morthland, in his excellent book BEST OF COUNTRY MUSIC, decribes her as the best “Countrypolitan” artist to come from the pop side of the ledger, an assessment with which I heartily concur

By: Erik North

Erik North — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 02:04:50 +0000

Besides everything else, Anne also has the distinction of having done one of the best covers of a Fab Four classic–her version of the Beatles’ “You Won’t See Me” (from their 1965 album RUBBER SOUL) was a big hit for Anne in the summer of 1974.

By: Jonathan at MTCM

Jonathan at MTCM — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 00:16:10 +0000

Anne Murray’s “Greatest Hits” was the first album by a country music female to hit 4 million in sales.

I always thought Anne did not get the respect from country music industry she deserved. Part of the problem was she was viewed has a more pop leaning artist. Long before Shania Twain, Anne Murray came down from Canada to make country pop.