Anne Murray has never backed away from a challenge.

"Anne Murray Duets: Friends & Legends" began with a call in the fall of 2006 from EMI Music Canada president Deane Cameron requesting a meeting. When Anne arrived at the meeting, she was greeted by a roomful of top EMI Music Canada personnel and a contingent from her own organization.

Anne's reaction, she recalls, was, "'What is this, an intervention?' They said, ‘We want you to do a duets album with some of your favourite singers.' I said, ‘I'm not going to do another album. I did my last album. That's why I called it ‘I'll Be Seeing You' (in 2004).' Well, they said, ‘Just one more.' Then I started thinking about the possibilities and I got very interested."

Canada's foremost pop singer of the past four decades, Anne is one of the best-known entertainers in the world. She has sold over 50 million units to date and still tours to sell-out crowds. Anne has received four Grammy Awards and still holds the record for the...

Anne Murray has never backed away from a challenge.

"Anne Murray Duets: Friends & Legends" began with a call in the fall of 2006 from EMI Music Canada president Deane Cameron requesting a meeting. When Anne arrived at the meeting, she was greeted by a roomful of top EMI Music Canada personnel and a contingent from her own organization.

Anne's reaction, she recalls, was, "'What is this, an intervention?' They said, ‘We want you to do a duets album with some of your favourite singers.' I said, ‘I'm not going to do another album. I did my last album. That's why I called it ‘I'll Be Seeing You' (in 2004).' Well, they said, ‘Just one more.' Then I started thinking about the possibilities and I got very interested."

Canada's foremost pop singer of the past four decades, Anne is one of the best-known entertainers in the world. She has sold over 50 million units to date and still tours to sell-out crowds. Anne has received four Grammy Awards and still holds the record for the most Juno Awards won by an artist. She has a star on Hollywood's Walk of Fame, one on Nashville's Walkway of Stars and another on Canada's Walk of Fame in Toronto. In 1993, she was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall Of Fame.

On "Friends & Legends," recorded with legendary New York-based producer, Phil Ramone, in Toronto, Los Angeles and Nashville, Anne shares some of her favourite musical moments in her career with leading female vocalists in pop and country.

Among her duet partners are: Shania Twain ("You Needed Me"), Martina McBride ("Danny's Song"), Nelly Furtado ("Daydream Believer"), Sarah Brightman ("Snowbird"), k.d. Lang ("A Love Song"), Celine Dion ("When I Fall In Love"), Emmylou Harris ("Another Pot O' Tea"), Isabelle Boulay ("Si Jamais Je Te Revois"), Celtic Woman ("Song For The Mira"), Carole King ("Time, Don't Run Out On Me"), Jann Arden ("Somebody's Always Saying Goodbye"), Amy Grant ("Could I Have This Dance"), Olivia Newton-John ("Cotton Jenny"), Shelby Lynne ("You Won't See Me"), and Indigo Girls ("A Little Good News"). As well, Anne recorded "Nobody Loves Me Like You Do" with her daughter Dawn Langstroth.
As Anne began to choose the album's repertoire and consider duet partners, she was constantly in touch with Phil. Together, they decided they would treat the songs on their own terms, and not adhere rigidly to the arrangement of Anne's classic versions. While Anne had designs of how she imagined the arrangement, she gave Phil free rein to rework the songs.

"We approached the sessions as if we were just handed these songs and told to make this record," explains Ramone. "While arrangements were changed, there are also licks on some songs that I didn't mess with. Musically, we stayed true to the song."

"Friends & Legends" displays Anne's respect of other peoples' talents. While she set the pace, it is obvious she wanted each guest artist to sing the song her own way. Says Anne, "For me, it was a challenge to get that perfect mix, to get that perfect blend, and yet it happened so many times on this album."

This is most evident on the chilling rendition of "I Just Fall In Love Again." In 1979, Anne and her close friend, the late Dusty Springfield, had both separately recorded the song. Anne's version reached no. 12 on the Billboard Hot 100, and the recording earned her a Juno Award for "Single of the Year" in 1980. With the blessing of the Springfield family and estate, Anne was able to record this version with Dusty's original vocals.

"I think our duet is magical," Anne noted. "However, I couldn't believe how eerie it was singing with Dusty, knowing that she was no longer with us. It's difficult to describe, but even those in the control room felt it. This was one of those moments when the little hairs on the back of your neck stand up. I had sung with her so many times over the years. I love Dusty's voice so much. She was my hero."

Ramone says that working with Anne for the first time was an easy task. "What I love about Anne is there are no words minced about whatever she feels. This is not a person you have to think, ‘Will she tell me the truth?' I think she takes no prisoners because her standards are so good and so high."

After recording "Friends & Legends," Anne now side-steps talk of retiring from making albums. "If I do retire from recording, I'm not making a big announcement because I might not be able to do it," she noted with a wry smile. "I'll take it one album at a time."