Artist, cowgirl, and inspiration, Lynn Anderson was an American original.
Lynn Anderson was named 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”
Lynn will forever be remembered for the worldwide crossover hit that made her an international star, and the song’s title a global catchphrase, making “(I Never Promised You a) Rose Garden” one of the most popular and memorable songs of all time.
Rose Garden was only one chapter in a career and life marked by a string of artistic and personal achievements that created a lasting impact across decades, placing Lynn Anderson among the most important and beloved female artists of the 20th century.
A distinctive stylist, Lynn Anderson ranks among the top-10 most successful female country artists for all-time record sales, as well as one of the most awarded country artists of her era. She performed for the Queen of England and for four American Presidents, including a special invitation to appear at a Ronald Reagan birthday celebration at the White House. She was the first female country artist featured weekly on national television, appearing as a regular on The Lawrence Welk Show from 1968-69. She was the first female country singer to perform on The Tonight Show, first to headline & sell out Madison Square Garden, and the first to win an American Music Award for Favorite Female Vocalist during the 1970s.
In 1967 and 1970, she was named Best Female Vocalist by the ACM. In 1971, NARAS presented her with the GRAMMY® for Best Female Country Performance, and the CMA awarded her the coveted Female Vocalist of the Year honor. The People’s Choice Award named her Favorite Country Artist in 1975. She was honored as ‘Artist of the Decade’ (1970- 80) by Record World, a major trade publication.
In 1974, she became the unofficial ambassador for the U.S. Marine Corps when ‘We Don’t Promise You a Rose Garden’ was launched as the Corps’ official recruitment slogan. In 1995, The American Rose Society christened its newest hybrid tea rose, ‘The Lynn Anderson,’ giving Lynn the lasting honor of having one of the world’s most beautiful roses named for her. In 2000, Governor Don Sundquist declared June 15 Lynn Anderson Day annually in state of Tennessee.
In 2017, the Country Music Hall of Fame & Museum honored the country music icon with a long-running exhibit, “Keep Me in Mind,” named after Lynn’s No.1 hit. In 2018, she was inducted into the National Cowboy Museum’s Hall of Great Western Performers. In 2018, Woodlawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Nashville, often referred to as “Cemetery of Country Stars,” created “The Lynn Anderson Rose Garden” – consisting of over 100 Lynn Anderson Hybrid Tea Rose Bushes – as a place of reflection and meditation.
In November of 2019, the International Western Music Association made Lynn Anderson the newest member of its prestigious Hall of Fame.