Singer Marg Osburne was born in Moncton, New Brunswick in 1927. As a young girl she sang in a community choir, and at the age of 17 she got a job performing at CKCW after a relative dared her to audition. When Don Messer passed through Moncton in 1947 he heard her singing on the radio, and asked her to fill in for his singer Charlie Chamberlain, who was recovering from a car accident at the time. Osburne was an immediate hit with audiences, and after Chamberlain recovered he and Marg sang as a duo for Messer's radio program, which was broadcast out of Charlottetown, PEI. In 1959 Messer's show, which had moved to television on a Halifax station, was picked up by the CBC, which increased Osburne's exposure and popularity, and her records sold fairly well throughout the '60s. After Messer died in 1973, Osburne began a second career as a nightclub singer and racked up a few hits in Canada, one of which ("Falling Leaves") was the only song she ever wrote. She continued to perform until July 16th, 1977, when she collapsed on stage during a show in Rocklyn, Ontario, and passed away before she reached a hospital.

The Best of Marg Osburne, another Arc LP, was produced by Manny Pittson (who also produced Singalong Jubilee) and engineered by Bob Theakston, with musical accompaniment by Vic Mullen (flat-top guitar and mandolin), Cec McEachren (electric guitar), Duke Neilsen (bass) and Warren MacRae (drums). Marg has a gorgeous voice, and on three of the songs I've posted here ("Goin' Down The Road" being the exception) it's multi-tracked for a harmonizing effect. "I Can't Escape From You" is a mournful Hank Williams number. "Goin' Down The Road" is credited to Peter Dee, but it's actually a take on the folk standard "Goin' Down The Road Feelin' Bad" by Woody Guthrie. "Humming Song," by Don Robertson and Ross Jungnickel, is a gentle ballad that ends with, yes, humming, and "Whispering Pines" is an achingly beautiful cover of a Johnny Horton number (not the song from The Band's second album).

I Can't Escape From You
Goin' Down The Road
Humming Song
Whispering Pines