Anne Murray’s beautiful and distinctive voice has been a common sound in recent months at one woman’s Cape Breton home.
A new show titled, “The Life and Times of Anne Murray” will pay tribute to the Springhill native and will even feature the guitarist from her original band.
Jenn Sheppard of New Waterford has taken on the task of trying to imitate the singer for the show.
“Through this whole process of trying to sound like Anne and reach all those notes, to do it in the same tone and learn the same breathing,” explains Sheppard. “It’s been fantastic for my own skill set. I’ve become a better singer over the past few months.”
The idea of putting the show together came from producers Shelton Chant and Aaron Lewis who run their own production company.
“We’re always trying to come up with ideas that the public will jump on board with,” says Chant. “We’re trying to do something that would celebrate music of Atlantic Canada, with musicians from that area.”
“We had a few conversations about it before it was going to be a reality,” adds Sheppard. “I was excited to know they were even going to try and do it, and when I was asked, well, I was jumping for joy.”
The show will feature 23 songs from Murray’s albums.
Sheppard says it’s a daunting task that took a lot of time to master.
“Singing along with the radio is not the same as trying to be Anne Murray,” she says. “So in some regards I had to unlearn songs and re-learn them the way Anne sings them.”
The show takes place Sunday night at the Savoy Theatre in Glace Bay, which has gone through extensive renovations after suffering damage from recent storms.
“Renovations have gone great,” says Pam Leader of the Savoy Theatre. “We’re into the last stages of painting and we’re ready to do a show.”
Anne Murray has sold more than 54 million albums worldwide.
With files from CTV Atlantic’s Kyle Moore
