Anne Murray

Of all her many hits, Canadian chanteuse Anne Murray may be best known for her first, a song called "Snowbird," which winged its way to the top of the international charts. Of course, here in South Florida we regularly refer to our neighbors to the north as snowbirds, although that has nothing to do with why this former phys-ed teacher has enjoyed such an enthusiastic following for the past 30 years. Her popularity took flight in the early '70s and continued through to the early '80s after she became a fixture on American radio, thanks to such singles as "Danny's Song," "Love Song," "Walk Right Back," "I Just Fall in Love Again" and "Could I Have This Dance," all of which scored across the board on Top 40 Adult Contemporary and Country formats. Amiable and unassuming, blond and blue-eyed, her softly-lit visage naturally complements her music's easy embrace, accounting for more than 50 million singles sold, four Grammys, a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and the most Canadian Juno Awards ever accumulated. Nevertheless, Murray's name hasn't exactly frequented the charts of late, and, in fact, she declared 2004's aptly-titled album I'll Be Seeing You to be her last. The decision was short-lived; her new LP, Duets: Friends & Legends makes a bid for comeback cred, thanks to cameos from marquee names like Carole King, Emmylou Harris, Nelly Furtado, and Shania Twain. At the very least, it gives this particular snowbird cause to fly south and roost among her faithful.