One of Canada's most celebrated folk and country singers, Murray McLauchlan has managed to become a hero in his homeland without making much of an impression in the United States, though he's certainly earned the respect of many of his peers in both America and Canada. Literate but unpretentious, personal but not cloying, McLauchlan's music has a rough-hewn charm that speaks by turns with wit and passionate sincerity, and he's as comfortable with discussing social issues as he is with broken hearts and opening a bottle on Saturday night. McLauchlan won the Juno Award as Best Country Male Vocalist five times between 1980 and 1989, and in 2016 was inducted into the Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame. ~ Mark Deming