Anne Murray Releases First Album in 17 Years From Forgotten Archive Recordings

Anne Murray has made a surprise return to the spotlight with the release of Here You Are, her first new project in nearly two decades. The 11-track album, released in September to mark her 80th birthday, brings together previously unreleased recordings discovered by a devoted fan. Blending country, pop, and adult contemporary styles, the 33-minute collection was assembled from forgotten material and features contributions from her daughter, Dawn Langstroth, and nephew, Dale Murray.

In her first interview with People in decades, Murray opened up about the album's unexpected origins. "It's shocking because it just came out of left field. Just totally out of left field," Murray shares. "I never would've known about it had it not been for this superfan who dug deep and found all of these things that were in the archives."

She admits, "I really didn't pay much attention because I thought, 'Well, if there are songs that have been discarded, they've been put to the side, I mustn't have wanted them at that time either, and so they mustn't be that great.' "

"Well, he says, 'Yeah. But you should have listened to them.' I finally came around, and I finally listened. I have to say I was very pleasantly surprised at what I heard. I was shocked, actually, as I said. I went, 'Wow. How could I leave these behind? They're good songs.' "

"It was so fun to get back in the studio again, after all these years. It was just a labor of love that was totally unexpected," Murray says, though she admits that this surprise effort to release a project is likely to be her last.

Beyond the album, Murray's career was recently celebrated at the Grand Ole Opry on Oct. 27 with The Music of My Life: An All-Star Tribute to Anne Murray, featuring performances by Trisha Yearwood, Martina McBride, and k.d. lang. The tribute and album together mark a fitting recognition of her enduring influence and her humble, grounded approach to decades of musical success.