NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Lynn Anderson, whose strong, husky voice carried her to the top of the charts with “(I Never Promised You a) Rose Garden,” has died. She was 67.
A statement from the family said she passed away at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville on Thursday. The cause of death was cardiac arrest.
Anderson first soaked up the national spotlight as a young singer on “The Lawrence Welk Show” between 1967 and 1969. Although she was signed to an independent label, the exposure helped her nab a deal with Columbia Records in Nashville.
But it was “Rose Garden” that sealed her country music legacy, earning her a Grammy and Country Music Association’s female vocalist of the year award in 1971.
“It was popular because it touched on emotions,” she once told the AP.
“This song stated that you can make something out of nothing. You take it and go ahead. It fit me well, and I’ll be proud to be connected to it until I die.”
Anderson’s other hits included, “Rocky Top,” “You’re My Man,” “How Can I Unlove You,” “What a Man, My Man Is” and “Top of the World” (also recorded by the Carpenters).
She was born Sept. 26, 1947, in Grand Forks, N.D., but raised in Sacramento, Calif. The daughter of country songwriters Casey and Liz Anderson, she started performing at the age of 6.
