RV Lifestyle As I ponder what it means to be a Canadian snowbird in the time of the COVID pandemic, my mind goes to Anne Murray and her famous song, Snowbird. In the summer of 1970AnneMurray released Gene MacLellan’s song, Bidin’ My Time. A DJ at a radio station in Cleveland flipped the single and played the B-side, another song by MacLellan called Snowbird. The track quickly became popular with local listeners, and eventually went on to become a surprise hit worldwide. The song sold more than one million copies in the United States −making AnneMurray the first Canadian female artist to receive a gold record in that country − and established the careers of both Murray and MacLellan. Located in Springhill, Nova Scotia, the Anne Murray Centre had hoped to celebrate the 50th anniversary of that remarkable accomplishment last year with a live event, but COVID put those plans on hold. With the pandemic still affecting travel and live events, the centre decided to present an online celebration − 50+ Years of Snowbird − on its Facebook page. Anne was a big fan of MacLellan’s songwriting and would end up covering more than half a dozen of his songs. In her book, All of Me, Murray said, “Gene was not only a hugely gifted songwriter, but also one of the most naturally soulful singers I’ve ever heard. He was a sweet, shy man of uncommon humanity, with a wonderful sense of humour.” Gene’s daughter, CatherineMacLellan, took part in this online event. “It’s a beautiful, broken-hearted love song,” said MacLellan. “It’s a really simple song that for some reason just keeps living on. Nomatter where I’ve been in the world, from Australia to the U.K. and Europe, people remember and love that song. It fascinates me. It took off in a way no one expected.” The song symbolizes the relationship between her father and Murray, she said, and it’s one of which she believes her late father was very proud. She said that he was pleased to see Murray receive international acclaim, which helped open the lucrative international market to Canadian singers and songwriters. “Anne was really the first Canadian music superstar that made it big across the world,” said MacLellan who is an accomplished singer/songwriter in her own right, having released seven full-length albums. She has won multiple East Coast Awards, Canadian Folk Music Awards and P.E.I. Music Awards, as well as a Juno in 2015 for her album, The Raven’s Sun. In 2017, Catherine released If It’s Alright With You, a tribute album to her father, and created a stage show by the same name. She also produced an award-winning documentary about him calledThe Song and the Sorrow. She will be interviewed by author Charlie Rhindress, who has written bestselling books about Rita MacNeil and Stompin’ TomConnors and is currently working on a book about Nova Scotia’s most accomplished female singers, including Murray. “I have spent most of my career telling Atlantic Canadian stories and celebrating people fromthe region, so I amthrilled to talk to Catherine about her father andSnowbird,” Rhindress said. “The year Snowbird swept the Juno Awards, Anne jokingly referred to herself, Gene and her producer Brian Ahern as the Maritime Mafia. That song was instrumental in putting the East Coast of Canada on the map as a force to be reckoned with in the music industry.” 24 | www.snowbirds.org
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