Anne Murray

Our final Olympic tribute to the great musicians of Canada honours the great Nova Scotian, Anne Murray. What is there to say? Her magical, velvety alto transcends age and genre. Not to mention that she seems like a really nice person, too. And a sports fan, and what’s not to like about that? She sang the national anthems at the first American League game played in Canada in 1977 when the Toronto Blue Jays played the Chicago White Sox at Exhibition Stadium. She has had ownership in hockey teams and is known as an 11-handicap golfer. She’s even had a postage stamp issued in her honour. How cool is that?

Perhaps the most uniquely Anne Murray song is “Could I Have This Dance” from “Urban Cowboy” and a personal favorite of President and Mrs. Obama. Few songs can highlight the depth and smoothness of her range. She is also well known for “Snowbird” and her cover of The Monkees’ “Daydream Believer”. However, one of my favorites is her cover of Kenny Loggins’ “Danny’s Song”, which is imbedded here. Oh, and there’s a Canadian connection: Loggins’ recording partner Jimmy Messina was also a member of Buffalo Springfield with previous honouree Neil Young. She has also recorded with Martina McBride, whose husband played Little League baseball with my older brother in Wichita, Kansas. It’s like of like playing Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon, but with Canada.

Not only was Anne Murray the last person to sing Maple Leaf Forever at the closing of the Maple Leaf Garden in Toronto, she was one of eight Canadians chosen to carry the Olympic flag during the opening ceremonies of the Vancouver Olympics. Again, how cool can you be? She’s the kind of person I would like to be when I grow up.

And a special bonus track, thanks to the beloved husband. It's Ms. Murray singing The Maple Leaf Forever during the final Maple Leafs game at Maple Leaf Gardens. Sadly, there is no accompanying video, but she does sound fabulous.

Neil Young, the anti-Skynyrd

As every good Alabama resident knows, Lynyrd Skynyrd's great rock anthem was in part inspired by Canadian Neil Young's perceived attack on Southern manhood. It turned out to be a rather symbiotic relationship. Oh, well. As much as I have come to love Skynyrd's tribute to the place where I live and work, there is no denying the greatness of Neil Young. From Toronto to Winnipeg and back to Toronto and then to the States, Young is known not only for his seminal music, but for numerous collaborations and breakups. Bachman-Turner Overdrive, Buffalo Springfield, Crosby, Stills[, /&] Nash [& Young], and Crazy Horse, among others have been stations in Young's development as an artist. This video comes from a 2000 CSN&Y reunion tour, although the song was initially recorded by Young as a solo effort in 1970 on the classic album After the Harvest. Take a listen.

Mrs. McManus

Our third Canadian pianist of note is Diana Krall. A native of Nanaimo, British Columbia, shares an important characteristic with her previously feted countrymen, that of singing along with her music. However, in her case, it is intentional. Not only is Ms. Krall a phenomenal jazz pianist, she is a remarkable and uniquely talented vocalist as well. Her deep, smoky contralto voice just screams “jazz” in the mellowest way possible. Well, here, have a listen.

Krall’s best known collaboration is that with her husband, the British genre-bending musician Declan McManus, better known as Elvis Costello. They’ve been married since 2003 and have twin sons, Dexter and Frank.

I love her Christmas album.

Oscar Peterson

One of the greatest jazz pianists of all time, Oscar Peterson was born in Montreal but lived most of his life in suburban Toronto. Like his fellow Canadian Glenn Gould, Peterson seems fond of humming and singing along with his work, but it does seem a trifle more apropos with Richard Rogers than with J.S. Bach. Peterson was a childhood prodigy who was classically trained by a Hungarian emigre who had studied under Franz Liszt. However, he eventually drifted into jazz, as did so many young musicians of the day.

Just to highlight the universality of jazz, the bassist in this recording is Neils-Henning Orsted Pedersen, who was Danish, and the drummer is an Englishman, Martin Drew. Peterson work a lot with trios, sometimes exchanging the drummer for a guitarist, and less frequently with quartets.

Oscar Peterson suffered a debilitating stroke in 1993, after years of failing health. He was offered the opportunity to serve as the Lieutenant-Governor of Ontario, but he declined. Peterson never completely recovered and died at his home in 2007.

Glenn Gould

Eccentric by any standard, Glenn Gould was also a genius by any standard. I remember seeing a movie several years ago called "Thirty-two Short Films about Glenn Gould" that attempted to explain Gould. Gould was considered a foremost interpreter of the works of Bach, and particularly the Goldberg Variations for piano. I must admit that I don't remember that much about the film, but it did pique my curiosity about Bach and Goldberg if nothing else.

Gould was very eccentric; he abhorred physical contact and hated to be touched. For this reason, some have theorized that he had an autism-spectrum disorder. It doesn't sound like a far-fetched idea to me. Another story about Gould that I recall is that he always wore a hat, gloves, coat and scarf when outdoors, no matter what the weather or the location. That would explain why he was arrested for vagrancy somewhere in Florida (Sarasota?) while sitting on a park bench in the afternoon before an evening concert.

Gould had some quirky playing habits. First, he liked to sit very low, not that there's anything wrong with that, as long as one gets the sound one wants. However, his habit of humming and singing along with his playing was the sort of things that drove other musicians nuts, not to mention recording engineers. Enjoy this look at a peculiar and outstanding talent.

Oh, and he's Canadian!

In honour of Canada, Part Deux

Yeah, so I spelled it wrong the first time. I only hope that all of my Canadian friends (this means you, Roudi. Well, and I guess Robert. And I suppose Donovan should be considered as well) will forgive me my insensitive American spelling. As much as an Anglophile that I am, you think I would have made the connection before now.

My next muscial tribute to our neighbors to the north is this entry by the Barenaked Ladies. I fear that they have broken up now, but they gave us many fine tunes including "One Week", "Brian Wilson" and a Christmas recording of "We Three Kings" and "God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen" with fellow Candian Sarah McLachlan. It's a rare treat, but worth looking for. And please note the correct placement of the comma.

I can't remember where or when I first heard this song. It was briefly associated with an ill-fated relationship, but I moved along from there and found that I still enjoy this tune very much. It's a fun little video, too. Enjoy!

In honor of Canada

For the duration of the Winter Olympics, I'll pay tribute to the host country every few days and post some of my favorite music written and performed by Canadians. I love Canada, really!

I've been haunted by this version of "Both Sides Now" since the opening ceremonies on Friday night. Joni Mitchell wrote this song in her early 20's and it was a very upbeat, pop kind of piece. This recording was made in 2000, when Ms. Mitchell was 57 years old. It's an amazing quality to find in a song - that it can evoke one set of emotions in one's inner 24 year old and yet others in this soulful and jazzy rendition from a mature woman. I love it. You go, Joni!

Better than Silence

If I am not going to fulfill my intent to blog, at least I can share some musical favorites. This is the best "serenity now" ever. It is music to soothe the savage beast whenever or wherever it strikes. I prefer this version to others because it is somewhat slower than many. The Dali slide show provides a nice frenetic contrast to the music.