Snowbird (song)

"Snowbird" is a song written by Canadian singer-songwriter Gene MacLellan. Though it has been recorded by many performers, it is best known through Anne Murray's 1969 recording, which—after appearing as an album track in mid-1969—was released as a single in mid-1970.

"Snowbird"
Single by Anne Murray
from the album This Way Is My Way
B-side	"Just Bidin' My Time"
Released	June 1970
Recorded	Fall 1969[1]
Genre	Folk-pop[2] soft rock[3]
Length	2:10
Label	Capitol
Songwriter(s)	Gene MacLellan
Producer(s)	Brian Ahern
Anne Murray singles chronology
"Bidin' My Time" (1970) "Snowbird" (1970) "Put Your Hand in the Hand" (1971)

The song was a No. 2 hit on Canada's pop chart and went to No. 1 on both the Canadian adult contemporary and country charts. The song reached No. 8 on the U.S. pop singles chart, spent six weeks at No. 1 on the U.S. adult contemporary chart, and became a surprise Top 10 U.S. country hit as well. It was certified as a gold single by the RIAA, the first American Gold record ever awarded to a Canadian solo female artist.^[4] It peaked at No. 23 on the UK Singles Chart. In 2003 it was an inaugural song inductee of the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame.^[5]

Anne Murray and Gene MacLellan had met while both were regulars on the CBC television series Singalong Jubilee and Murray recorded two of MacLellan's compositions, "Snowbird" and "Biding My Time", for her first major label album release, This Way Is My Way, in 1969. Murray would recall: "Gene told me he wrote ["Snowbird"] in twenty minutes while walking on a beach on Prince Edward Island."^[6]

"Snowbird" sold well over a million copies^[7] and was picked as 19th on the 50 Tracks: The Canadian Version list, a partially populist approach to defining the most influential songs by Canadians.

Chart performance

Weekly singles charts Chart (1970) Peak position Australia 77 Canadian RPM Country Tracks[8] 1 Canadian RPM Top Singles[9] 2 Canada RPM Adult Contemporary[10] 10 Ireland (IRMA)[11] 20 New Zealand (Listener)[12] 3 UK 23 US Hot Country Songs (Billboard)[13] 10 US Billboard Easy Listening 1 US Billboard Hot 100[14] 8 US Cash Box Top 100[15] 6

Year-end charts Chart (1970) Rank Canada RPM Top Singles[16] 20 U.S. Billboard Hot 100[17] 42 U.S. Cash Box[18] 64