Murray McLauchlan

Murray Edward McLauchlan, (born 30 June 1948) is a Canadian singer, songwriter, guitarist, pianist, and harmonica player. He is best known for his Canadian hits "The Farmer's Song," "Whispering Rain," and "Down by the Henry Moore".

Early life

McLauchlan was born in Paisley, Renfrewshire, Scotland; he immigrated to Canada with his family when he was five years old. He grew up in suburban Toronto. At 17, he began playing at coffeehouses in Toronto's Yorkville area and later attended Central Tech as an art student before deciding to become a full-time musician.

Career In the 1960s, McLauchlan moved to New York City, but had little success in promoting his musical career there. In 1970, McLauchlan returned to Toronto and signed with True North Records; he released an album, Songs from the Street in 1971. Over the next several years he had success in the pop, adult contemporary, country, and folk-music fields, with such songs as "Child's Song," the Juno Award-winning "The Farmer's Song" (1973), and "Hurricane of Change" (also 1973).

In 1974 McLauchlan embarked on a long tour in the United States. He later released "Do You Dream of Being Somebody" (1975), and "Whispering Rain" (1979).

In 1980, McLauchlan released the album Into a Mystery, with backing vocals by Carole Pope.

McLauchlan has held a commercial pilot license (CPL) with Instrument flight rating (IFR) and endorsements for multi-engine aircraft and seaplanes for decades. During a performance in the 1980s, McLauchlan commented to audiences, half-jokingly, of "giving this music thing a little more time" before giving it up and returning to flying for a living.

In the late 1990s, McLauchlan was flying commercial airplanes as a "bush pilot" in Northern Canada. In 1984 he starred in a television special called Floating over Canada, in which he piloted a Cessna 185 float plane across Canada.

Awards McLauchlan has won 11 Juno Awards throughout the 1970s and 1980s, and been nominated for a total of 23 Juno awards. In 1993, he was made a Member of the Order of Canada.

In 2001, McLauchlan was the recipient of the National Achievement Award at the annual SOCAN Awards held in Toronto.

McLauchlan was chosen to be inducted into the Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame in September 2016.

In 2018, McLauchlan received a Governor General's Performing Arts Award for Lifetime Achievement https://www.gg.ca/en/media/news/2018/governor-generals-performing-arts-awards

In 2022 Murray was inducted into the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame, presented to him by Gordon Lightfoot https://www.cshf.ca/songwriter/murray-mclauchlan

Family He is married to Denise Donlon, and they have a son, Duncan (b. March 1992).

Discography

Murray McLauchlan solo career (1971–2021)

Albums Year Album Chart Positions CRIA Label CAN Country CAN 1971 Song from the Street 38 True North 1972 Murray McLauchlan 38 1973 Day to Day Dust 13 1974 Sweeping the Spotlight Away 34 1975 Only the Silence Remains 39 1976 Boulevard 14 Gold 1977 Hard Rock Town 33 1978 Greatest Hits 57 Gold Live at the Orpheum (promo only) Columbia 1979 Whispering Rain 14 42 Gold True North 1980 Into a Mystery 18 61 1981 Storm Warning 45 1982 Windows 1983 Timberline 22 1984 Heroes 1985 Midnight Break 94 1988 Swinging on a Star 24 Capitol 1991 The Modern Age 1996 Gulliver's Taxi True North 2006 The Songbook...New Arrivals (Songs From The Musical "Eddie") Capitol/EMI 2007 Songs from the Street: The Best of Murray McLauchlan True North 2011 Human Writes True North 2017 Love Can't Tell Time True North 2021 Hourglass True North

With Lunch at Allen's (2004–present)

Albums Year Album Chart Positions CRIA Label CAN Country CAN 2004 Lunch at Allen's Capitol/EMI 2007 Catch the Moon Capitol/EMI 2010 More Lunch at Allen's Linus 2012 Zuzu’s Petals - A Lunch At Allen’s Christmas 2017 If It Feels Right

Singles