Lynn Rene Anderson (September 26, 1947 – July 30, 2015) was a multi-award-winning American country music singer known for a string of hits throughout the 1970s and 1980s, most notably her 1970 country-pop, worldwide megahit "(I Never Promised You a) Rose Garden". Anderson's crossover appeal and regular exposure on national television helped her to become one of the most popular and successful country singers of the 1970s.

Anderson charted 12 No. 1, 18 Top 10, and more than 50 Top 40 hits. In addition to being named "Top Female Vocalist" by the Academy of Country Music (ACM) twice and "Female Vocalist of the Year" by the Country Music Association (CMA), Anderson won a Grammy Award (earning seven nominations), People's Choice Award and an American Music Award(AMA). She was named Billboard's Female Artist of the Decade (1970–1980).

Anderson was the first female country artist to win the American Music Award (in 1974), as well as the first to headline and sellout Madison Square Garden that same year. 

Anderson debuted in 1966, at the age of 19, and had her first hit with Ride, Ride, Ride. After a series of Top 10 hit singles on the country charts during the late 1960s, Anderson signed with Columbia Records in 1970. Under Columbia, she had her most successful string of hits. Her signature song, "(I Never Promised You a) Rose Garden", remains one of the biggest selling country crossover hits of all time. In addition, the song also went to No. 3 on the Billboard Pop Chart and reached the top of the charts in several countries, an unprecedented achievement at the time. CMT ranks "Rose Garden" at No. 83 on its list of the "100 Greatest Songs in Country Music History". Anderson continued to record and remained a popular concert attraction until her death, regularly headlining major casino showrooms, performing arts centers and theaters.

Early life

Anderson was born in Grand Forks, North Dakota and raised in Fair Oaks, California. She was the daughter of country music songwriters Casey and Liz Anderson. Lynn Anderson'sgreat-grandfather was born in Aremark, Norway.[4] In later life, Anderson met her Norwegian relatives through the Norwegian TV series Tore på sporet.

Anderson became interested in singing at age six. She had her first success in the horse show arena in and around California, where she would eventually win a total of 700 trophies,[5] including the "California Horse Show Queen" title in 1966. In her teens, she performed regularly on the local television program Country Caravan.

In 1965, she was working as a secretary at Top 40 radio station KROY in Sacramento, California, when one of her mother's compositions, "All My Friends Are Gonna Be Strangers", was recorded by Merle Haggard and became a No. 10 country hit. Her mother signed withRCA Victor as a country music recording artist that year. While accompanying her mother to Nashville, Anderson participated in an informal sing-along in a hotel room with country stars Merle Haggard and Freddie Hart. One of the people present at the sing-along, Slim Williamson, owned Chart Records, a local record label. Williamson recognized Lynn Anderson's talent and invited her to record for his label. She began recording for Chart in 1966. 

Personal life

Lynn Anderson was married to Grammy Award-winning songwriter Glenn Sutton from 1968 to 1977. They had one child together. In 1978, she married Louisiana oilman Harold "Spook" Stream III, with whom she had two children. Stream and Anderson divorced in 1982.

Anderson had a self professed issue with alcohol and had a list of run-ins with the law which included an arrest on December 2, 2004, in which she was charged with driving while intoxicated 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, Anderson was arrested and released on bond. On January 24, 2005, a short time after her last arrest, Anderson was accused of shoplifting a Harry Potter DVD from a local supermarket in her hometown of 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.

Her next arrest was on May 3, 2006, when she was arrested on a second driving under the influence of alcohol charge following a minor traffic accident near Espanola, 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 was again 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 dollar bond. Anderson later went through rehabilitation at theBetty Ford Center.

Lynn Anderson lived in Nashville[6] and at the time of her death was dating Mentor Williams.

Death

Anderson died on July 30, 2015 at the Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee from a heart attack at the age of 67. She had been hospitalized due to pneumonia after a trip to Italy.

Discography

• 1967 - Ride, Ride, Ride
• 1967 - Promises, Promises
• 1968 - Big Girls Don't Cry
• 1969 - At Home With Lynn
• 1969 - With Love From Lynn
• 1969 - Songs That Made Country Girls Famous
• 1970 - I'm Alright
• 1970 - No Love At All
• 1970 - Rose Garden
• 1970 - Stay There 'Til I Get There
• 1970 - Uptown Country Girl
• 1971 - A Woman Lives For Love
• 1971 - How Can I Unlove You
• 1971 - With Strings
• 1971 - You're My Man
• 1972 - Cry
• 1972 - Here's Lynn Anderson
• 1972 - Listen to a Country Song
• 1973 - Flower of Love
• 1973 - Keep Me in Mind
• 1973 - Top of the World
• 1974 - Smile for Me
• 1975 - I've Never Loved Anyone More
• 1975 - What a Man My Man Is
• 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
• 1983 - Back
• 1987 - Country Girl
• 1988 - What She Does Best
• 1992 - Cowboy's Sweetheart
• 1998 - Latest and Greatest
• 1999 - Home for the Holidays
• 2004 - The Bluegrass Sessions
• 2005 - Cowgirl
• 2010 - Cowgirl II
• 2015 - Bridges