Anne Murray brought her East Coast style to Toronto's glamorous Imperial Room
As a Maritime singer with few opportunities at home, Anne Murray took a gamble and accepted a chance to play at the famed and fancy Imperial Room in Toronto's Royal York Hotel. As seen in the video above, CBC captured this make-or-break moment in the career of this Canadian icon.
When the singer accepted the gig in 1970, Moxie Whitney was the Imperial Room bandleader and the talent booker. His son, actor Paul Whitney, explains that at the time, "it was the greatest showroom of all the grand hotels." It was known as a place to hear the biggest musical acts. And it was Paul's mother, Jennifer, who recommended her favourite Maritime singer for the venue.
As East Coast music columnist Bob Mersereau explains, Murray was a sharp contrast to the usual performer: "Part of the way she had been portrayed up until that time was, ah, folky, down-home country style, and to put Anne Murray in the Imperial Room, this was a place that country did not go."
Part of the way she had been portrayed up until that time was, ah, folky, down-home country style, and to put Anne Murray in the Imperial Room, this was a place that country did not go.- Bob Mersereau, music columnist
But when Murray took the stage, she wowed the audience. The Nova Scotian's humour shone through, she took her shoes off and most importantly, she impressed them with her talent. In fact, every one of her songs earned her a standing ovation, recalls Arnold Gosewich, the former president of Capitol Records Canada. That doesn't mean she wasn't nervous though, and she confessed this on 1971's CBC special Straight, Clean and Simple.
"As a singer, you sometimes have to justify your... reason for existence. The closer I got to it, the more determined I became that I was, that I was going to do that kind of thing," recalled the singer.
Murray's successful ten days of performances at the Imperial Room was a formative moment in her career, and it was also a turning point for fellow Maritime musicians. As Heather Rankin, musician and part of Cape Breton band, The Rankin Family puts it, "It was a foot in the door. She laid the groundwork for generations of East Coast artists."