Murray Edward McLauchlan, CM (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;[1][2] he immigrated to Canada with his family when he was five years old. He grew up in suburban Toronto.[3] 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.[4] In 1970, McLauchlan returned to Toronto and signed with True North Records; he released an album, Songs from the Street in 1971.[5] 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).[6]
In 1974 McLauchlan embarked on a long tour in the United States.[7] 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.[6]
In 1987, McLauchlan appeared on the children's television show, Sharon, Lois & Bram's Elephant Show singing his The Farmer's Song. He appeared in Season 4 of The Elephant Show on the "Urban Cowboy" episode.
McLauchlan hosted the highly rated CBC Radio program Swinging On a Star from 1989 to 1994.[8][9]
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"[10] 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.[8] This special was broadcast in Canada on CBC as well as in the U.S. on public television (PBS). This TV special featured several songs from Murray's then current album, "Heroes" and featured a number of special musical guests: Buffy Sainte-Marie, Ian Tyson, Gordon Lightfoot, Sylvie Tremblay, Levon Helm (of The Band), and Edith Butler, all of them representing different aspects and/or regions of Canada.
In 1998, Penguin (Viking Books) released his autobiography The Ballad of Murray McLauchlan: Getting Out of Here Alive.[4]
In 2004 McLauchlan helped form a group known as "Lunch At Allen's" featuring McLauchlan, Marc Jordan, Cindy Church and Ian Thomas. The group formed as a result of meeting in Toronto for lunch at Allen's restaurant after McLauchlan's heart bypass surgery. Three CDs have been released as a result of this collaboration: Lunch at Allens (2004), Catch the Moon (2007) and More Lunch at Allens (2010).
During the summer of 2016, he was performing in Lunch at Allen's in Ontario, Canada.[11]
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.[12][1][13]
^[Barney Bentall "Weathering change 25 years on, Murray McLauchlan toils happily in relative solitude"]. Toronto Star - Toronto, Ont. Mitch Potter 14 December 1996 Page: SW.15
^Festival of Friends concert at Gage Park, Hamilton, Ontario
^
Doolan, Susan (10 June 2016). "Lunch At Allen's brings talented musicians back to Barrie". Barrie Examiner. Archived from the original on 11 June 2016. Retrieved 13 June 2016. Their approach to a concert is like a band, not as a singer-songwriter event. They all play on each others' songs and sing and harmonize together.
