Listen to the full interview here: https://www.npr.org/2026/01/20/nx-s1-5678599/anne-murray-album-here-you-are

Nearly two decades after announcing her retirement from music, Anne Murray is opening the vault once more.

On her 80th birthday last fall, the Canadian icon released Here You Are, a collection of previously unreleased recordings made between 1978 and 1995.

“I didn’t remember a lot of them,” she says. “I’ve recorded in excess of probably as many as 400-500 songs over the years. It was like hearing them again for the first time.”

Murray first became a household name in 1969 with “Snowbird,” which helped make her the first Canadian artist to earn a U.S. gold record. Her career went on to include four Grammy Awards, a record 26 Juno Awards and honors on both the Hollywood Walk of Fame and Canada’s Walk of Fame.

Since retiring from music in 2008, Murray has spent much of her time living quietly in Nova Scotia, so when she was surprised with a tribute at the Grand Ole Opry last October, she was taken aback by the applause she heard when she walked onstage.

“I said, ‘Who’s here?’ ” she says. “I’ve been out of the limelight for so long. Then I went, ‘Oh! That’s for me!’ ”

Today, Murray joins World Cafe to talk about why she felt ready to open the vault, what it was like hearing these songs with fresh ears, and she shares stories from her long and illustrious career.

This episode of World Cafe was produced and edited by Kimberly Junod. Our digital producer is Miguel Perez. World Cafe’s engineer is Chris Williams. Our programming and booking coordinator is Chelsea Johnson and our line producer is Will Loftus.

Complete sessions: https://www.npr.org/sections/world-cafe/
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The Record Company – Full Set (XPoNential Music Festival 2021)