Lynn Anderson
Lynn René Anderson 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 ". 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. 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. 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 Stone's 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.However, Anderson insisted that her parents move to a ranch, prompting the family to move to Sacramento, California. In Sacramento, the Andersons bought a ranch with two acres of land. The family raised horses, which she learned how to ride and care for. At the age of 9, Anderson won second place at a local horse-racing event in San Francisco, California. Lynn also became interested in performing from an early age. Both her parents were aspiring songwriters who had formed friendships with west country performers. 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. While watching her daughter at these events, Liz Anderson was also composing songs. She sent her compositions to Los Angeles and Nashville, Tennessee, where they were heard by music executives. Among the songs heard was " Strangers", which was recorded by Merle Haggard in 1964. The song led producer Chet Atkins to sign Liz to a recording contract at RCA Victor. This prompted the family to relocate to Nashville. Before officially moving, Liz took a brief trip with her daughter to Nashville in 1965. At a hotel, mother and daughter performed in an informal sing-along with several other artists. Also present at the sing-along was producer Slim Williamson. Impressed by her vocals, Williamson offered Lynn a recording contract of her own. In 1966, she signed her first recording contract with Chart Records.
Music career
1966–1969: Early country success and ''The Lawrence Welk Show''
During a car ride, Liz Anderson composed a song titled "Ride, Ride, Ride". Her daughter liked the song and had an interest in cutting it at her new label. It was cut at her first recording session. Although her debut single was 1966's "In Person", it was "Ride, Ride, Ride" that became Anderson's first charting single. Her next release was another Liz Anderson composition, "If I Kiss You ". It was Anderson's first major hit as a music artist, reaching number five on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart in 1967. 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.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, the album reached number nine on the country albums chart.
1970–1980: Rose Garden and breakthrough
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. It was also her first to crossover onto the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number three in February 1971. The song was an international hit, reaching the Top-5 in 15 other countries. Its crossover success helped Anderson receive accolades from 13th Annual Grammy Awards, the Academy of Country Music and the Country Music Association. 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. Both songs also registered on the Billboard adult contemporary chart, with "You're My Man" becoming a top ten hit on that survey. 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.
In the 21st century, critics have taken notice of Anderson's various music styles. Writers Mary A. Bufwack and Robert K. Oermann commented that her diverse song subjects proved that she could be "poignant" and "downhearted". Greg Adams of Allmusic thought that albums such as 1972's Cry had an easy listening style that made her music more marketable to different genres.
Between 1973 and 1974, the singles "Keep Me in Mind" and "What a Man My Man Is" reached number one. Anderson's success was also fueled by television appearances, especially during the second half of the decade. She appeared on prime-time shows The Brady Bunch Hour, The Tonight Show and The Midnight Special. Additionally, she collaborated with Dean Martin and Bob Hope on television and in concert. 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". With declining chart success, Anderson adopted a newer image which was described by writers as "racy" and "skin tight". The new style proved successful when she returned in 1979 with Karla Bonoff's "Isn't It Always Love". Anderson's version reached the top ten of the country charts. Its success led to her 1979 album reaching the top 30 of the Billboard country albums chart. 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.