Bluebird (Anne Murray song)

"Bluebird"
Single by Anne Murray
from the album You Will
ReleasedNovember 1990
GenreCountry
Length3:34
LabelCapitol Nashville
Songwriter(s)Ron Irving
Producer(s)Jerry Crutchfield
Anne Murray singles chronology
"Feed This Fire"
(1990) 		"Bluebird"
(1990) 		"New Way Out"
(1991)

"Bluebird" is a song recorded by Canadian country pop singer Anne Murray for her 1990 album release You Will from which it was the second track sent for promotion to radio.[1]

The song had first been recorded by its composer Ron Irving in 1980 as "Bluebird Lullaby",[2] reaching number 28 on the RPM Country 50 Singles chart in March 1981:[3] Irving, a native of Powell River (BC) then playing guitar and singing in lower mainland clubs, had written the song to be performed at his wedding.[2] From 1985 Irving had fronted the group Bootleg whose 1988 self-titled album had included a remake of "Bluebird Lullaby": (quote Irving:) "My band had kind of run its course and was breaking up. Then I got the call that there was a song from our album that Anne [Murray] was going to record."[4] On the strength of Murray's recording "Bluebird Lullaby" (as "Bluebird") Irving would be signed as a staff writer at BMG Publishing Group.[5]

Murray would say of "Bluebird": "It had been twenty years since I did a bird song so I figured it was time for another" [6] - referencing her 1970 breakout hit "Snowbird".[6] Sung to a calypso arrangement,[7][8] "Bluebird" would be the follow-up to Murray's Top Ten C&W hit "Feed This Fire", "Bluebird" would peak at number 39 on the Billboard C&W chart where Murray would subsequently have one final chart showing: "Everyday" (number 56, 1991).[9] "Bluebird" was more of a success in Canada, rising as high as number 3 on the RPM100 Country Tracks chart in March 1991.[10]

  1. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2009). Joel Whitburn's Top Country Songs: 1944-2005. NYC: Crown Publishing. p. 265. ISBN 978-0898201772.
  2. ^ a b Powell River Living October 2016 p. 30
  3. ^ "RPM Country 50 Singles" (PDF). Collectionscanada.gc.ca. April 11, 1981. Retrieved 2022-03-17.
  4. ^ "LIVE & LOCAL: 'Labour of love' for Timewalkers foursome (With video)". Archived from the original on 2017-01-10. Retrieved 2017-01-09.
  5. ^ "Timewalkers take note of a good song for Dream Café - Penticton News". Archived from the original on 2017-01-10. Retrieved 2017-01-09.
  6. ^ a b """Snowbird"" Songbird at Symphony Hall". Deseret News. 28 September 1990. Archived from the original on January 10, 2017.
  7. ^ "Canadian Anne Murray Performs Hit After Hit for Adoring Utah Fans". Deseret News. 3 October 1990. Archived from the original on January 13, 2017.
  8. ^ Billboard vol 102 #46 (17 November 1990) p. 77
  9. ^ "Anne Murray Songs • Top Songs / Chart Singles Discography". Musicvf.com.
  10. ^ "RPM 100 Country Tracks" (PDF). Collectionscanada.gc.ca. March 16, 1981. Retrieved 2022-03-17.