Song:Down By The Henry Moore
Album:The Best Of Murray McLauchlan: Songs From The Street
Though he never made it in the US, folksinger Murray McLauchlan is a legend in Toronto. Down By The Henry Moore is one of his most popular songs. It topped the Canadian country charts in 1974. He was born June 30, 1948 in Paisley, Scotland but his family moved to Toronto when he was five years old. McLauchlan studied art at Central Technical School but he decided on a career in music and he started playing Yorkville coffeehouses. He moved to New York's Greenwich Village for a few years. And though some of his songs were recorded by Tom Rush and Kris Kristofferson, he wasn't able to land a record deal. So he moved back to Toronto and signed with True North Records owned by his manager Bernie Finkelstein. Bruce Cockburn was also on True North. They had similar audiences except McLauchlan had country music leanings. So he got a lot of radio play on Canadian country stations. Down By The Henry Moore is probably McLauchlan's biggest hit. It topped the Canadian Country and Adult Contemporary charts in 1974. Henry Moore was a famous sculptor and one of his sculptures is in Nathan Phillips Square at Toronto City Hall. He also namechecks Toronto landmarks Kensington Market and The Silver Dollar Club. This 2CD comp covers McLauchlan's entire career. McLauchlan left the music business for a while in the 90s to become a bush pilot. He has a commercial pilot's license and he would jokingly threaten to quit the music business all the time. But he returned to the music business and he released a new album last year. He also performs and records with Marc Jordan, Ian Thomas and Cindy Church as Lunch At Allen's. McLauchlan's wife is music industry veteran Denise Donlan and she will receive the Walt Grealis Special Achievement Award at this year's Junos. McLauchlan was inducted into the Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame in 2016. Here's Murray McLauchlan with Canadian rocker Barney Bental performing Down By The Henry Moore at The Diamond Club Feb. 1989. This aired on MuchMusic's Miller Big Ticket.
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