It was just a few days ago that I happily wrote a story about the legendary Lynn Anderson releasing a great new Gospel album, 'Bridges'. The album had that same phenomenal voice we remember from all of Lynn's great country hits, most notably of course her signature hit '(I Never Promised You A) Rose Garden'.

And so it is with great sadness that I read the following in The Tennessean of Lynn's death on Thursday night, July 30.

Country singer Lynn Anderson, best known for her classic recording “(I Never Promised You a) Rose Garden,” died last night of a heart attack at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.

She had been hospitalized for pneumonia following a trip to Italy. She was 67 years old.

Lynn Rene Anderson was born September 26, 1947 in Grand Forks, North Dakota, and raised in California. She came from a musical family: her parents Casey and Liz Anderson were both songwriters; the latter penned the Merle Haggard hits “(My Friends Are Gonna Be) Strangers” and “I’m a Lonesome Fugitive.”

Ms. Anderson’s debut single, a duet with Jerry Lane called “For Better or for Worse,” was released in 1966, when she was just 19 years old. It failed to chart. However, later that year her single “Ride, Ride, Ride,” cracked the country charts, and its successor, “If I Kiss You (Will You Go Away)” was a Top 5 hit.

For two years during the late 1960s, Ms. Anderson was a regular on the popular “Lawrence Welk Show,” an outlet which exposed her to a nationwide audience. "It was appointment viewing," said Stubbs. "Lynn Anderson really helped expand the boundaries of country music because there wasn't a lot of (it) on network television at that time."

Ms. Anderson wed producer/songwriter Glenn Sutton in 1968. He produced several of her hit songs—and wrote some too, including “You’re My Man” and “Keep Me in Mind”—but the couple would divorce in 1977.

In 1970, Ms. Anderson moved from California to Nashville, and signed with Columbia Records. In October of that year, she released what would become her signature song, and one of country music’s classics. The lilting “(I Never Promised You a) Rose Garden,” penned by Joe South, became a worldwide hit. In the U.S., it spent five weeks atop the country music charts and crossed over to the pop charts as well.  The recording also netted Ms. Anderson a Best Female Country Vocal Performance Grammy Award, and in 1971 the Country Music Association named her Female Vocalist of the Year. Over the last four decades, “Rose Garden” has been covered numerous times by a wide variety of artists including k.d. lang, Martina McBride, Suicide Machines and Southern Culture on the Skids.

Her popularity began to fade during the second half of the 1970s, and in 1980, she released her final recording for Columbia. After a short hiatus from recording, Ms. Anderson returned to music and signed with Permian Records. It was with this label that she released her final Top 10 single, “You’re Welcome to Tonight” (a duet with Gary Morris) in 1983. Since then, she’s recorded a handful of albums, including the Grammy-nominated “Bluegrass Sessions,” in 2004.

In recent years Ms. Anderson had multiple arrests for driving under the influence. Following her September 2014 arrest in Nashville, Ms. Anderson apologized to her fans in a statement and affirmed that she was committed to her recovery. In June of 2015, she released the inspirational gospel album "Bridges."

Ms. Anderson was also a horse breeder and an award-winning, lifelong equestrian who became involved in therapeutic horse riding programs for children.

She is survived by her father and three children. Funeral arrangements will be announced shortly.

 

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