With Canadian flags waving and screams of admiration emanating from the rafters, some of Anne Murray's biggest fans greeted the East Coast songbird at her tribute concert in Nashville, offering a level of pomp worthy of the music legend.
In her 80s, Murray has been around the block several times, but when she walked into the Opry House theater on Monday, even she seemed a little surprised by the enthusiastic reception.
“We love you, Anne!” – shouted a flurry of voices as she settled on a sofa in the fourth row of the hall, dressed in a black sequined shirt and trousers.
“I love you more!” objected another.
That outpouring of love continued for the next two hours as country music's elite entered the home of the Grand Ole Opry for “The Music of My Life: A Tribute to Anne Murray.”
Each musician sprinkled a little more sugar on the honey-voiced woman who had retired from singing nearly two decades ago and decided to remain in the audience for the duration of the performance.
“My high school self is going crazy right now,” Trisha Yearwood admitted shortly before performing Murray’s 1982 single. Someone always says goodbye.
“This is the fabric of our lives.”
Her sentiments were shared by many of Yearwood's peers, some of Murray's longtime friends, and others who simply considered her one of their biggest influences.
All of them positioned Murray as an often unsung ambassador for country music, at least outside her homeland, a voice that was rising on the charts during a fertile era for the genre.
Country Music Hall of Fame snub
While the tribute concert was billed as a celebration of her musical influence, it also served as a reminder of one incredible misstep: Anne Murray was not inducted into the Nashville Country Music Hall of Fame.
No one expressed this fact more directly than Nancy Jones, widow of country star and Hall of Famer George Jones. She turned out to be Murray's biggest supporter that evening.
Jones stepped in when host Brenda Lee was forced to cancel her appearance, and she took her frustrations with the Hall of Fame into account.
“They should be ashamed that she's not there,” she said backstage before the show.
“If it's up to me, I'll do everything I can to get her into the Country Music Hall of Fame here in the United States.”
Jones said there is ample evidence why Murray should already be a draftee.
She was the first woman to win album of the year at the Country Music Association Awards in 1984, and the first Canadian singer to reach number one in the United States, several years earlier.
Murray also has four Grammy Awards and is the most decorated Juno Award winner with 24 wins and two career achievement trophies. She has already been inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame as well as the Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame.
Jones made her case on the Opry stage, using her speech to call on Nashville to give Murray their highest honor. Her proposal was met with overwhelming support from the public and backed by country stars backstage.
Other artists have used their performances for more explicit recognition.
Bluegrass singer Katie Mattea said she had not met Murray until Monday and was overwhelmed by the opportunity to speak directly with her living idol.
“You have made singing to the radio so much easier for an alto like me,” she said before the performance. I'm just falling in love again.
“It’s such a gift to be able to look you in the eye and… tell you what you mean to all of us.”
Michelle Wright, who grew up in Merlin, Ontario, sang the unsinkable Murray's anthem. snow birda song she has been learning since childhood.
Martina McBride landed on Danny's songbut she told those present that another of Murray’s favorites was dear to her, Nobody loves me like you dowhich she sang to her husband at his wedding.
Natalie Grant lifted the crowd with a powerful six-minute performance How great you area Christian hymn that Murray covered on her 1999 album. What a wonderful world.
CD Lang, who has worked with Murray several times over the years, noted that she allowed her to pursue the music career she wanted.
“You paved the way before I got there, and I owe a lot of my success to you,” she said.
Murray seemed particularly fascinated by the nine-piece a cappella group Straight No Chaser, whose interpretation He thinks I still care brought her to applause.
Reba McEntire was unable to attend the event due to her filming commitments in Los Angeles for a television competition. Voiceshe sent a video message recalling how snow bird was one of the first songs she performed in her 10th grade band.
“Thank you so much for everything you’ve done for the women of country music,” she said.
