Lynn René Anderson (September 26, 1947 – July 30, 2015) was an American country singer and television personality. Her crossover signature recording, "Rose Garden", was a number one hit internationally. She also charted five number one and 18 top-ten singles on the Billboard country songs chart. Anderson is regarded as one of country music's most significant performers.

Born in Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States, she was raised in California by her mother, Liz Anderson, who was also a country music artist. Daughter Lynn was signed to a recording contract to Chart Records in 1966 after she was heard singing along with her mother at an industry function. Previously she had recorded some demo tapes of her mother's songs and appeared on television in California on regional country music shows. In 1967, she had her first top ten hit with the single "If I Kiss You (Will You Go Away)". Soon after, Anderson joined the cast of The Lawrence Welk Show, where she performed country music weekly to a national audience.

In 1970, Anderson signed with Columbia Records, where she was produced by her first husband, Glenn Sutton. She had her biggest commercial success with "Rose Garden". The song reached positions on the Billboard country, pop, and adult contemporary charts, also charting in the Top-5 in 15 other countries and earning her a Grammy Award for Best Female Country Vocal Performance. Throughout the decade, Anderson also had number-one hits with "You're My Man", "How Can I Unlove You", "Keep Me in Mind", and "What a Man My Man Is". She also became a television personality, with appearances on The Tonight Show, specials with Bob Hope and Dean Martin, and her own prime-time specials.

After a brief hiatus, Anderson returned with the studio album Back (1983). The album spawned three singles, including the top ten hit "You're Welcome to Tonight", with Gary Morris. She continued recording sporadically throughout the 1980s. This included a revival of the pop hit "Under the Boardwalk" and the studio album What She Does Best (1988). Anderson continued releasing new albums into the new millennium, such as 2004's The Bluegrass Sessions. Towards the end of her life, Anderson struggled with alcohol addiction, but continued performing until her death in 2015. For her work as a crossover artist, she was ranked on Rolling Stones list of the "100 Greatest Country Artists of All Time" and CMTs "40 Greatest Women of Country Music".

Early life

Lynn Rene Anderson was born in Grand Forks, North Dakota, on September 26, 1947, to Casey and Liz Anderson. Her grandparents were Scandinavian immigrants who established a North Dakota "saddle club". According to Anderson, she could ride horses before she could walk. While she was still a young child, the family relocated to a subdivision in Fair Oaks, California. Her performing and musical interests continued into high school. During her teens she landed a job working as a secretary for KROY in Sacramento. Upon graduating, she became the station's secretary to the general manager.

While working full-time, Lynn continued entering equestrian competitions. Once winning several competitions, she was dubbed the "California Horse Show Queen" in 1966. it was "Ride, Ride, Ride" that became Anderson's first charting single. Her next release was another Liz Anderson composition, "If I Kiss You (Will You Go Away)". Her debut studio album of the same name was also released in 1967 and peaked at number 25 on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart. She followed it with "Promises, Promises", which reached number four on the country singles list in February 1968. Her second studio release of the same name reached number one on the country albums chart.

thumb|right|160px|Anderson with radio disc jockeys, 1967

When reviewing her 1999 Chart compilation, Greg Adams of AllMusic gave the recording four-and-a-half out of five stars. "Lynn Anderson made some of the best music of her career during her late-'60s period on the Chart label", Adams commented. Billboard magazine also praised these early recordings. In reviewing Big Girls Don't Cry, writers took note of her mass appeal. "The material which includes her fine renditions of 'Honey' and 'Ring of Fire' is diversified and has appeal for all buyers", they wrote.

In 1967, Anderson's career gained further momentum when she was cast on The Lawrence Welk Show. Welk's son, Larry Welk, discovered an Anderson album cover and was drawn to her physicality. Larry's interest drew Lawrence Welk to audition and eventually cast her. Anderson became the show's first country performer and toured with the cast nationwide. However, she was dissatisfied with the material chosen for her to sing on the program and threatened to quit. After meeting with Welk, different arrangements were made for Anderson's performances. The exposure led to continued music success. In 1967, she won the "Top Female Vocalist" award at the Academy of Country Music Awards. She remained with The Lawrence Welk Show until 1968.

While finding chart success and common ground with Welk, Anderson was not finding common ground with the Nashville establishment. "I was seen as a kid from California on the Welk show – not a real country artist", she stated. Thus, she chose to record more traditional material that would help associate her with Nashville's country music scene. Among these songs was a cover of the Osborne Brothers' "Rocky Top". Anderson's version became a bigger hit than the original, climbing to number 17 on the Billboard country singles list in 1970. She had country hits between 1968 and 1969 that further displayed a traditional country style, including "Big Girls Don't Cry", "That's a No No" and a cover of Hank Snow's "I've Been Everywhere". Anderson's sixth studio album was a tribute to the traditional female country performers that preceded her. Entitled Songs That Made Country Girls Famous (1969), the album reached number nine on the country albums chart.

1970–1980: Rose Garden and breakthrough

thumb|left|upright|Anderson in Billboard magazine, 1971

In 1970, Anderson's recording contract was bought by Columbia Records and she began recording for the new label that year. Two years prior, she married songwriter and producer Glenn Sutton, who ultimately became her producer at the label. Her first Columbia release was the Sutton-penned "Stay There, Till I Get There". The song became her fifth top ten hit on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart, rising to number seven in 1970. Her eighth studio album of the same name was also released in 1970. According to writer Greg Adams, the album resembled the traditional country of her previous Chart recordings. Despite the success of Sutton's composition, Anderson claimed that it was hard for Sutton to provide additional material for her. His collaborator, Billy Sherrill, oversaw Sutton and chose many of his compositions for Tammy Wynette to record. "Glenn was very politically connected at Columbia and Epic...so I had to find songs from other sources, which is why a lot of my songs were written by other people", she commented in 2011.

According to Anderson, she had found the original version of "Rose Garden" on "a Joe South album and loved it." She then brought it to the attention of Glenn Sutton. However, Sutton was against recording it because lines in the song were sung from a male perspective. However, he eventually acceded to Anderson after she kept bringing the song into recording sessions. Released as a single in October 1970, the song became Anderson's first number one single, topping the charts for five weeks. The song was an international hit, reaching the Top-5 in 15 other countries. Anderson's eleventh studio album, Rose Garden, was released in December 1970. The record topped the Billboard country albums chart and spent 77 weeks on the survey altogether. It was also her highest-peaking album on the Billboard 200 chart list, reaching number 19. The record certified platinum in sales from the Recording Industry Association of America.

Anderson followed "Rose Garden" with the singles "You're My Man" and "How Can I Unlove You", which both became number one hits on the Billboard country songs chart in 1971. The latter singles appeared on corresponding studio releases. This begun with You're My Man, which reached the top spot on the country albums list. The project also peaked at number 99 on the Billboard 200. Allmusic gave the album four out of five stars, praising the album's pop covers of "Knock Three Times" and "Proud Mary". Her twelfth studio album was also titled How Can I Unlove You. It featured covers of "Take Me Home Country Roads" and "You've Got a Friend". The record peaked at number two on the country albums chart and number 132 on the Billboard 200.

She continued to diversify her music by recording songs of different styles. In 1972, Anderson recorded Johnnie Ray's pop hit "Cry", which became a top five country hit for Anderson. She also reached the top five with a version of Loggins and Messina's "Listen to a Country Song" and Joe South's "Fool Me". She then covered The Carpenters' "Top of the World" after hearing it on their 1972 album, A Song for You. Anderson's version reached number two on the Billboard country songs chart. After discovering that Anderson's version had become a hit, The Carpenters released their own version for the pop market.

thumb|right|150px|Anderson in [[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard magazine, 1972]]

Between 1973 and 1974, the singles "Keep Me in Mind" and "What a Man My Man Is" reached number one. Anderson hosted her own CBS television special in 1977. Regular television appearances helped promote singles that were less successful. This included a one-episode appearance on Starsky and Hutch, where Anderson performed her 1977 single "Wrap Your Love All Around Your Man". After her performance, the song reached number 12 on the Billboard country singles chart. She had further top twenty country hits in the middle decade with "He Turns It into Love Again", "I've Never Loved Anyone More", and "All the King's Horses". In 1980, Anderson released her last studio album for Columbia Records called Even Cowgirls Get the Blues. It produced two top 30 country singles, including the title track, which reached number 26. Two singles were spawned that became major hits. The first was "What I Learned from Loving You", a top twenty hit on the Hot Country Songs chart. The second was a duet with Gary Morris called "You're Welcome to Tonight". It was Anderson's first top ten hit in five years, reaching number nine in 1984.

In 1986, Permian Records filed for bankruptcy. Although the label focused on artist management and production, it dropped all of its major artists, including Anderson. During this period Anderson did not release full-length albums, but did record a single for MCA Records. Titled "Heart of the Matter," the track did not chart. Her 30th studio album, What She Does Best, was issued on Mercury in 1988. The record's title track was also spawned as a single and became a minor hit in 1988.

1990–2015: New musical directions

Anderson left the major label market following her departure from Mercury in 1990. She began to diversify her career during this time. She also recorded a variety of different musical genres. Allmusic's Jason Ankeny gave the album 2.5 out of 5 stars, yet called it one of her "stronger albums". In 1992, Billboard gave the album a positive response. "Anderson has never sounded better or more alluring than she does in this collection built around a western/living free motif", staff writers noted. Six years later, Anderson released the Platinum Entertainment studio project, Latest and Greatest. The album included re-recordings of her hits, and also featured three new tracks. Two of the album's track were composed by Anderson's partner, Mentor Williams. In their review, Allmusic commented that she no longer had her "girlish" edge, but rather a voice comparable to that of K.T. Oslin or Mary Chapin Carpenter.

thumb|upright|Anderson in concert, 2010

In 2000, Anderson released her first live record entitled Live at Billy Bob's Texas, which was issued on the Smith label. In June 2005, Anderson's 34th studio album, The Bluegrass Sessions was issued on the DM label. The album was a collection of Anderson's former hits recorded in a bluegrass style. The track listing included hits such as "Rose Garden", "You're My Man", and "Rocky Top". Zac Johnson of Allmusic gave the release 2.5 out of 5 possible stars. Johnson questioned her authenticity when reviewing the record, noting that some songs sounded "a little forced". Despite the critical response, The Bluegrass Sessions was nominated by the Grammy Awards for Best Bluegrass Album.

Over the next several years, Anderson continued touring and performing as well. In 2007, Anderson was part of the lineup at the CMA Music Festival at the Riverfront Park. Other performers included Terri Clark and Lorrie Morgan. In 2009, she performed at the Stagecoach Festival, which also included additional performers as well. Between 2010 and 2011, she performed alongside the Metropole Symphony Orchestra for a series of concerts. A similar project was issued in 2010 entitled Cowgirl II on the same label. According to Anderson, her reasons for releasing both western albums was to present the genre in a "sophisticated way" for people who did not know the music.

In June 2015, Anderson released her final studio album Bridges. It was also Anderson's first gospel collection and featured a reworking of Dobie Gray's "Drift Away" for the Christian market. Writer Timothy Yap called the album's songwriting "top notch" in his review of the album. The album was released a month prior to her death in July 2015. Over the course of her life, Anderson had won 16 national championships, eight world championships and some celebrity championships. In a 1995 interview, Anderson told reporter Gene Stout that she mainly moved to New Mexico so that she could raise horses. "I’ve been kind of a cowgirl most of my life, so New Mexico is the perfect place for me. It suits me very well. Ninety percent of the time I’m in cowboy boots and a cowboy hat", she recounted.

Anderson worked with disabled children and facilitated in learning to ride horses. The couple had one child together, Lisa Sutton.

In 1978, Anderson married Louisiana oilman and entrepreneur Harold "Spook" Stream. She had met Stream at a rodeo event and developed a romantic relationship shortly afterward. Following their divorce, Anderson and Stream fought over custody of their two children. Although attempting to gain visitation rights, Anderson ultimately lost custody of the children.

Anderson reconnected with songwriter Mentor Williams following her divorce. The pair reunited at a Nashville press event, and the relationship turned romantic in 1989. The two later moved to a ranch in Taos, New Mexico, the home state of Williams. Anderson and Williams lived in New Mexico until her death in 2015. They never married but remained in a committed relationship. "He’s technically my boyfriend, but really he’s like my husband", Anderson said in 2013.

thumb|right|170px|Anderson's memorial, located in the Woodlawn Memorial Park Cemetery

Anderson had issues with alcohol towards the end of her life. In December 2004, she was arrested and charged with driving under the influence in Denton, Texas. A driver following Anderson called the police after noticing her car weaving in and out of lanes. After failing a field sobriety test, she was arrested and released on a $1000 bond. On January 24, 2005, Anderson was accused of shoplifting a Harry Potter DVD from a local supermarket in Taos, New Mexico. Upon her arrest she punched the arresting officer. She was charged with shoplifting, resisting arrest and assault on a police officer. The assault charges were later dropped. The shoplifting charge was dropped, as long as Anderson agreed to not commit any further offenses.

In May 2006, Anderson was arrested on a second DUI charge after a traffic accident near Española, New Mexico. According to police, Anderson failed a sobriety test and refused to take a breathalyzer test after her car hit the back of another car. No one was injured in the collision and she again was charged and released on bond. Her last arrest occurred on September 11, 2014, after being involved in a minor traffic accident in Nashville, Tennessee, on West End Avenue. Anderson was arrested after she admitted to drinking alcohol and taking prescription medication. She was booked on DUI and released on a $5,000 bond. She issued a statement and apologized to her fans. Anderson later went through rehabilitation at the Betty Ford Center. At her funeral, friend Brenda Lee gave a speech, and several doves were released to commemorate her death.

Anderson is interred in the mausoleum at Woodlawn Memorial Park in Nashville near her mother, Liz, who died in 2011. Her father, Casey, died in 2018 and was interred next to his wife. That same year, Woodlawn Memorial Park Cemetery (referred to as "Cemetery of Country Stars") created "The Lynn Anderson Rose Garden", consisting of 200 Lynn Anderson Hybrid Rose Bushes (named for the singer by the National Rose Society of America), as a place of reflection and meditation, in honor of Anderson's signature song.

Musical styles

thumb|left|upright|Anderson in concert, 2011

Anderson's music is rooted in the country genre. It is also rooted in the sub-genres of the Nashville Sound, Countrypolitan, bluegrass, These recordings also incorporated some elements of the Nashville Sound style. Her style shifted after working alongside Glenn Sutton, who helped develop Anderson's music towards the Countrypolitan format by combining soft rock and adult contemporary. This was first seen on her 1970 studio album, No Love at All. Reviewer Pemberton Roach said the album exemplified the style through its emotional lyrics and mature vocal stylings. At the time of her death, other country artists acknowledged her as a career inspiration, most notably Neal McCoy, Martina McBride and Mary Sarah. Reba McEntire also saw Anderson as a musical inspiration: "I am a huge fan of Lynn’s. She was always so nice to me. She did so much for the females in country music. Always continuing to pave the road for those to follow."

Writers and music journalists have most notably regarded Anderson as an important crossover music artist. In his book Historical Dictionary of Popular Music, author Norman Abjorensen viewed her as an artist that "took aim at the mainstream pop audience". Bufwack and Oermann noted that Anderson's "Rose Garden" helped set the trend for female crossover artists in the 1970s. Her crossover legacy has also been recognized for her national television appearances. In 2015, The Washington Post explained that Anderson was the first female country artist to appear on national television due to cast membership on The Lawrence Welk Show. Courtney Campbell of Wide Open Country noted that she was the first female country performer to appear on The Tonight Show and headline at Madison Square Garden in New York City. In the mid-1990s, a hybrid tea rose was created called "The Lynn Anderson Rose". In 1999, Governor Don Sundquist of Tennessee made June 15 "Lynn Anderson Day" in the state. She was also inducted into the North American Country Music Association Hall of Fame the same year. She received a similar recognition when Rolling Stone included her on their list of the "100 Greatest Country Artists of All Time". The exhibit ran through 2018. In 2018, daughter Lisa Sutton helped open the Lynn Anderson Rose Garden in Nashville to pay tribute to her career. In 2019, she was inducted into the Western Music Association Hall of Fame. In 2020, Anderson was featured in the PBS documentary "Iconic Women of Country". Female country artists, including Trisha Yearwood, discussed her legacy in the genre. The same year, Anderson's eleventh studio album, Rose Garden, was remastered for its 50th anniversary. The new edition included liner notes from Clive Davis and Reba McEntire.

Discography

Studio albums

  • 1967: Ride, Ride, Ride
  • 1967: Promises, Promises
  • 1968: Big Girls Don't Cry
  • 1969: With Love, from Lynn
  • 1969: At Home with Lynn
  • 1969: Songs That Made Country Girls Famous
  • 1970: Uptown Country Girl
  • 1970: Stay There 'Til I Get There
  • 1970: No Love at All
  • 1970: I'm Alright
  • 1970: Rose Garden
  • 1971: You're My Man
  • 1971: How Can I Unlove You
  • 1971: The Christmas Album
  • 1972: Cry
  • 1972: Listen to a Country Song
  • 1973: Keep Me in Mind
  • 1973: Top of the World
  • 1974: Smile for Me
  • 1974: What a Man My Man Is
  • 1975: I've Never Loved Anyone More
  • 1976: All the King's Horses
  • 1977: I Love What Love Is Doing to Me/He Ain't You
  • 1977: Wrap Your Love All Around Your Man
  • 1978: From the Inside
  • 1979: Outlaw Is Just a State of Mind
  • 1980: Even Cowgirls Get the Blues
  • 1982: The Best of Lynn Anderson: Memories and Desires
  • 1983: Back
  • 1988: What She Does Best
  • 1992: Cowboy's Sweetheart
  • 1998: Latest and Greatest
  • 1999: Home for the Holidays
  • 2005: The Bluegrass Sessions
  • 2006: Cowgirl
  • 2010: Cowgirl II
  • 2015: Bridges

Filmography

{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders"

|- align="center"

! scope="col"|Title

! scope="col"|Year

! scope="col"|Role

! scope="col" class="unsortable"| Notes

!

|-

| The Lawrence Welk Show

| 1967–68

| rowspan="9" | Herself

|

|

|-

| Tennessee Ernie Ford's White Christmas

| 1972

| television special

|

|-

| The Dean Martin Show

| 1972–74

|

|

|-

| The Bobby Vinton Show

| rowspan="2"| 1976

|

| one from the Country Music Association and one from the Grammy Awards.

References

Footnotes

Books

Further reading

  • Bufwack, Mary A. (1998). "Lynn Anderson". In The Encyclopedia of Country Music. Paul Kingsbury (editor); New York: Oxford University Press, page 14.