Early years In 1965, Murray appeared on the
University of New Brunswick student project record "The Groove" (500 pressed). She sang two songs on the record – "
Unchained Melody" and "Little Bit of Soap". On the label, her name was misspelled "Anne Murry". While there, she was encouraged to audition for the 1960s
CBC musical variety television show
Singalong Jubilee, but was not offered a singing position. After a summer of singing in local venues across the Maritimes, Murray began teaching physical education at the high school in
Summerside, Prince Edward Island. After one year of teaching, she was cast for
Singalong Jubilee. As a regular member of the "Singalong Jubilee" cast, Murray appeared on the
Singalong Jubilee Vol. III soundtrack and
Our Family Album – The Singalong Jubilee Cast records released by Arc Records. The show's musical director,
Brian Ahern, advised Murray that she should move to Toronto and record a solo album. Her first album,
What About Me, was produced by Ahern in Toronto and released in 1968 on the Arc label.
Chart success, 1970s–1980s "
What About Me," the lead single and title cut on Murray's debut album, was written by
Scott McKenzie and was a sizable Canadian radio hit. The album covered songs by
Joni Mitchell,
Ken Tobias, and
John Denver. After a year-long stint on Arc, Murray switched to Capitol Records in 1969 to record her second album,
This Way Is My Way, which was released that fall. It featured the single that launched her career, "
Snowbird", which became a No. 1 hit in Canada. "Snowbird" became a surprise hit on the U.S. charts as well, reaching No. 8 on the
Billboard Hot 100 in 1970. It was also the first of her eight No. 1 Adult Contemporary hits. "Snowbird" was the first Gold record ever given to a Canadian artist in the United States (RIAA certified Gold on November 16, 1970). "Snowbird" was released during the first substantial wave of Canadian songs and artists to achieve widespread success in the United States, following the breakthrough success of
The Guess Who in 1969. As one of the most successful female artists at that time, she became in demand for several television appearances in Canada and the United States, eventually becoming a regular on the hit U.S. television series
The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour. After the success of "Snowbird", Murray had a number of subsequent singles that charted both pop and country simultaneously. During the 1970s and 1980s, her hits included
Kenny Loggins's "
Danny's Song" (1972) (peaked at No. 7 on the Hot 100), "
A Love Song" (1973), "
He Thinks I Still Care",
The Beatles' "
You Won't See Me" (1974); her all-time biggest Hot 100 hit "
You Needed Me" (1978), "
I Just Fall in Love Again", "
Shadows in the Moonlight", "
Broken Hearted Me" (1979), "
I'm Happy Just to Dance With You" (1980), which hit No. 64 on the Hot 100 and No. 23 on the Country chart,
The Monkees' 1967 No. 1 hit "
Daydream Believer", "
Could I Have This Dance" from the
Urban Cowboy motion picture soundtrack (1980), "
Blessed Are the Believers" (1981), "
Another Sleepless Night" (1982), "
A Little Good News" (1983), "
Just Another Woman in Love", "
Nobody Loves Me Like You Do", and "Time, Don't Run Out on Me" (1985). She performed "
O Canada" at the first
American League baseball game played in Canada on April 7, 1977, when the
Toronto Blue Jays played the
Chicago White Sox at
Exhibition Stadium. She reprised the Canadian national anthem prior to the first World Series game held in Canada, Game 3 of the
1992 World Series at the
SkyDome. Following the last game at
Maple Leaf Gardens, she concluded the arena's closing ceremony by singing "
The Maple Leaf Forever" at centre ice wearing a
Toronto Maple Leafs jersey. Murray was a celebrity corporate spokeswoman for
The Bay, and she also did commercials and sang the company jingle ("You Can Count on the Commerce") for the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (
CIBC). Murray's last Hot 100 hit was "
Now and Forever (You and Me)" from 1986; it was also her last No. 1 on both the American and Canadian country charts.
1990s–2000s Murray's last charting single in the U.S. was 1991's "Everyday", which appeared on
Billboards Country Singles chart. In 1996, Murray signed on with a new manager,
Bruce Allen. She recorded her first
live album in 1997, and in 1999, she released
What a Wonderful World, a platinum inspirational album, On October 10, 2007, Murray announced that she would embark on her final major tour. She toured in February and March 2008 in the U.S. on the "Coast-to-Coast – One Last Time" tour followed by a run in April and May in Canada. Murray's final public concert was held at the
Sony Centre in Toronto on May 23, 2008. The studio album
Anne Murray Duets: Friends & Legends was released in November 2007 in Canada and January 2008 in the U.S. The album comprised 17 tracks that included many of Murray's biggest hits over her four-decade career, re-recorded as duets with other established, rising, and – in one case – deceased female singers. These artists included
Céline Dion,
Shania Twain,
k.d. lang,
Nelly Furtado,
Jann Arden,
Québec's
Isabelle Boulay, Murray's daughter
Dawn Langstroth,
Olivia Newton-John,
Emmylou Harris,
Martina McBride,
Shelby Lynne,
Amy Grant,
Carole King, the
Indigo Girls, Irish sextet
Celtic Woman,
Dusty Springfield, and
Sarah Brightman. The duet with soprano Brightman was of her 1970 hit song, "Snowbird".
Anne Murray Duets: Friends and Legends was recorded in four cities – Toronto, Nashville, New York, and Los Angeles. According to
Billboard magazine, the album reached No. 2 on the Canadian pop album charts and was certified Double Platinum in Canada after merely two months, representing sales of over 200,000 units. The album was the second-highest debuting CD on the
Billboard Top 200 albums chart for the week ending February 2, 2008. It entered the chart at No. 42, making it her highest-charting U.S. CD release since 1999's
What a Wonderful World, which peaked at No. 38 on the Top 200 and was certified Platinum by the
Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Murray was nominated for the 2008
Juno Award for
Album of the Year and
Pop Album of the Year. Murray's album
What a Wonderful World was re-released in July 2008 in North America as a 14-song package. A new Christmas album, titled ''
Anne Murray's Christmas Album with bonus DVD was released in October 2008. Sony BMG Music also released an Elvis Presley Christmas album, titled Christmas Duets'' on October 14, 2008, featuring a virtual duet of "Silver Bells" with Murray. Murray retired from both recording and performing after the issue of her final Christmas album in 2008, later explaining, "I did it for 40 years and that's long enough to do anything...I wanted to go out still singing well, and not having to make excuses." Despite continuing offers to take part in live concert appearances, duets and other recording activities, Murray has remained firmly retired since then, and insists she hasn't second-guessed the decision for a moment: "I was one of those who couldn't. I have too much trouble settling for less." She later remarked in 2026: "I found that my voice couldn't take working three nights on, a night off, two nights on (...) my voice would not do what I wanted it to do on a consistent basis." In June 2025, she announced the album
Here You Are, which was released on September 5, 2025: a compilation of previously unreleased tracks recorded earlier in her career, including a cover of
Bryan Adams's "
Straight from the Heart". Murray also lent her voice to
voice-tracking for a
Sirius XM Christmas music channel, Holidays with Anne Murray and Friends, during the 2025 holiday season. On October 27, 2025, a Nashville tribute to Murray's career was held at the Opry House, home to the Grand Ole Opry, with
Trisha Yearwood,
k.d. lang, and
Randy Travis in attendance. The evening included a surprise appearance by Nancy Jones, the widow of country singer
George Jones, who was among those who called for Murray to be inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame.
Television Murray has had five highly-rated U.S. specials on CBS (over 40 million viewers each) and several Canadian specials on
CBC including
Anne Murray in Nova Scotia,
Intimate Evening with Anne Murray,
Anne Murray RSVP,
A Special Anne Murray Christmas,
Legends & Friends,
Greatest Hits II,
What a Wonderful World,
Ladies Night Show,
Anne Murray in Walt Disney World and ''Anne Murray's Classic Christmas
. Her 2008 television special, Family Christmas'', garnered a 43 per cent share on CBC with 4.2 million viewers. She has appeared on
The Johnny Cash Show,
The Bobby Vinton Show ,
Solid Gold ,
Sesame Street ,
The Muppet Show ,
Family Guy ,
The Midnight Special ,
Saturday Night Live ,
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson ,
Dean Martin Summer Show ,
Singalong Jubilee ,
Dinah! ,
The Today Show ,
Dolly!,
The Mike Douglas Show,
Christmas in Washington,
Boston Pops,
The Helen Reddy Show,
The Oprah Winfrey Show,
20/20,
CNN, ''
Perry Como's Christmas in New Mexico, The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour , Night of a 100 Stars, Live with Regis and Kathie Lee, The Pat Sajak Show, Royal Canadian Air Farce and Good Morning America''. Her 2005 CBC special
Anne Murray: The Music of My Life broke ratings records for a Thursday night, with more than 7 million Canadian viewers tuned in. She also appeared on ABC-TV's
American Bandstand, and on regional US dance/variety programs. On August 25, 2008, Murray appeared on the TV program
Canadian Idol as a mentor.
Anne Murray: Full Circle, a documentary film by Adrian Buitenhuis and Morgan Elliott, was broadcast by
CBC Television in 2021. ==Personal life==