Growing up in Nova Scotia during the 1950s, Canadian superstar Anne Murray was weaned on the hit songs of such great crooners as Patti Page, Doris Day, Jo Stafford and Rosemary Clooney . . . romantic ballads about the moonlight on Cape Cod Bay . . . about being in love with a man who's "the next of kin to the wayward wind" . . . about moonlight kisses that seem to cool in the warmth of the sun . . . about shouting your love from the highest hills (even telling the golden daffodils) . . . or crying a river when love turns sour.
The tunes on the prolific Murray's latest album, "Croonin'," are pre-rock 'n' roll songs from 1952-58 - such venerable musical chestnuts as Peggy Lee's "Fever," Jo Stafford's "You Belong to Me" and Eddy Arnold's "I Really Don't Want to Know."Murray will be performing many of the songs from the new EMI release, along with plenty of audience-pleasers from her own lengthy list of hits, when she makes a personal appearance on Monday, Oct. 3, at Abravanel Hall.
You could label this her "Croonin' Tour" - except Anne Murray's tours aren't even close to being in the same logistical league as, say, the Rolling Stones.
The Stones, I have heard, will roll into town with 25 truckloads of equipment.
Anne Murray's entourage requires just one truck. She keeps things fairly simple. Just eight musicians and backup singers on stage. No pyrotechnics. No blast-'em-out-of-their-seats special effects. Not even a corny stand-up comedian for an opening act.
Murray likes to give audiences what they pay for - a couple of hours of pleasant, down-home entertainment.
- THAT PARED DOWN approach also works in the studio.
Back in the early '50s, when such singers as Patti Page or Doris Day recorded their songs, they were backed up by large orchestras with dozens of violins.
"We just pared everything right down so it was all quite small. Even the string overdubs were just string quartets," she said.
For "Croonin'," she and co-producer Tommy West were working with studio musicians Murray was familiar with. The singer uses mostly Toronto-based musicians.
"And when you're using just a quartet, all four of them have to be good. One bad musician can hide behind the others in a large group, but not in a quartet."
Likewise, Murray couldn't "hide" behind the instruments.
"We kept this as acoustic and as `unplugged," as they say today, as possible - and for that you really have to be able to sing," she said.
Murray noted that West wanted the focus to be on "the voice" - not splashy orchestrations.
There are only 15 musicians listed on the album notes. All 18 tracks have a much more intimate sound than most of the original versions from four decades ago.
One of Murray's brothers, Bruce, is among the backup singers on the recording.
"He's traveled with me for seven years and has worked on all my albums the past 15 years," Murray said. "All my brothers were musically inclined, some to a greater degree than others. They all sing and play a little. One plays a really good guitar, but most of them just play for fun."
The musicians in the recording studio are different from the ones who accompany Murray on tour.
"There are `road' musicians and there are `studio' musicians, and they're different breeds. You need a certain temperament to go on the road," she said. "And my road musicians are a great bunch. They love to play tennis and golf and that's what we do when we can."
Murray said she had been thinking about recording an album of standards for some time.
"I was weaned on their music," she said, referring to Patti Page, Jo Stafford, the Ames Brothers, Julie London and other singers from the early '50s. "I also sing like them. I guess they were a bigger influence than I knew (at the time). A lot of people have told me over the years that my voice is suited to the standards."
"I've wanted to do an `oldies' album, but I just didn't know what form it would take. Then I was looking through books and going to music of the '50s and it just went . . . BINGO! These are the songs!"
She noted that the era hasn't been forgotten, "but, you know, the odd song has shown up on peoples' albums, but no one has really taken the era and given it a good shape."
When it came to picking specific songs for the recording, it wasn't all that easy.
"One of the dilemmas was there was a lack of uptempo songs. Most of them at that time were novelty songs . . . songs like `How Much Is That Doggy In the Window?' But we thought those would take away from the quality of it.
"So I just picked out the ones I felt were the best songs from that era. If I did leave out a few, it was because they didn't have much of an impact on me. Then there were others that had a great impact on me that, on listening to them again after all these years, just didn't hold the water."
After the recording was released, Murray sent copies to all of the artists that she listed as being influential in the process.
She met Rosemary Clooney recently, following a performance in Toronto.
"She is so great . . . so relaxed and easy on stage."
And Clooney has been quoted as saying that Murray did an even better job of singing "Hey, There" than she did 40 years ago.
Doris Day and Jo Stafford also wrote, indicating their pleasure with the revivals of their original hits.
(For an interview in the Canadian version of TV Guide, Murray said that Tommy West and pianist Doug Riley called Peggy Lee directly from the recording studio and played her Murray's brand new version of "Fever." Lee thought the new recording was great.)
"The response (from the former stars) has been overwhelmingly positive," said Murray
- LIFE IN THE SLOW LANE suits Anne Murray just fine.
During a 20-minute telephone interview from her home in Toronto, the award-winning singer covered lots of insightful territory.
When she answered the phone, she was in the kitchen.
"Can you hold the line for moment? I'm going to move to a another room," she asked as soon as she answered the phone.
"There we go," she said a few seconds later. "I moved out of the kitchen. There was too much noise in there."
Earlier that morning she'd taken her 18-year-old son to school (he's a senior in a public high school) and her 15-year-old daughter had just come home from the orthodontist.
"She's elated! The braces only have to stay on two more months. She'll be buoyed up the rest of the day!" Murray said.
I mentioned that my wife and I were parents of a 16-year-old daughter, along with two older girls, and Murray replied: "Oh, my, my! We could go on all day!"
Murray grew up in a warm, loving family in Nova Scotia, the only girl with three older and two younger brothers. She's managed to avoid the destructive fast-lane that befalls many entertainers.
Instead, she has her priorities - No. 1 of which, obviously, is that it's possible to juggle both family and career. Her North American concert tours don't involved weeks and weeks of one-night stands.
She plans her concert dates to maximize the amount of time she's able to spend with her husband and their two teenagers in Toronto.
"When I'm home, I'm home," she stressed. She makes sure she's there to help with homework at nights and, like countless other parents, taxi her kids to various school activities.
She's made some tough choices along the way, however. Her touring may not be quite as extensive as those stars who focus entirely on their careers, but there's no getting around the fact that Anne Murray has managed to combine the best of both worlds.
"A lot of women see me as a role model," she said, noting she frequently gets letters from other mothers who admire her accomplishments.
"Of course, you never know if you're doing the right thing," she said, commenting on her parenting skills. "There's no `school' for this, but my kids seem to be very `together.' And I'm very fortunate that my husband, Bill, is very supportive. He's stayed at home and there's always that constant. And I'm never away for very long."
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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Where, when
Tickets for the Anne Murray concert on Monday, Oct. 3, at 8 p.m. in Abravanel Hall are $27.50, $24.50, $22.50 and $18.50.
They're at the following Art Tix outlets: Capitol Theatre, 50 W. 200 South, and Albertson's stores at 6989 S. 1300 East (Fort Union); 2040 S. 2300 East (Sugar House); 25 W. Center, Orem; 1800 Park Ave., Park City, and 3945 Washington Blvd., Ogden, or call 355-2787.
The concert is under the auspices of Space Agency Concerts & Theatricals.
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The songs that inspired Murray's new album
The 18 tracks on Murray's "Croonin' " album (available on both compact disc and cassette), were inspired by the following artists and these recordings:
- Patti Page: "Old Cape Cod," 1957, and "Allegheny Moon," 1956.
- Gogi Grant: "The Wayward Wind," 1956.
- Doris Day: "Secret Love," 1954.
- Peggy Lee: "Fever," 1958.
- Jeri Southern: "When I Fall in Love," 1952.
- Jo Stafford: "You Belong to Me," 1952, and "Make Love to Me," 1954.
- The Chordettes: "Born to Be With You," 1956.
- Bing Crosby and Grace Kelly: "True Love," 1956.
- The De Castro Sisters: "Teach Me Tonight," 1955.
- Julie London: "Cry Me a River," 1955.
- Rosemary Clooney: "Hey There," 1954.
- The Ames Brothers: "It Only Hurts for a Little While," 1956.
- Les Paul and Mary Ford: medley of "I'm Confessin' That I Love You" and "I'm a Fool to Care," 1952/1954.
- Perry Como: "Wanted," 1954.
- Eddy Arnold: "I Really Don't Want to Know," 1954.
- The Four Lads: "Moments to Remember," 1955.