The country music world lost a superstar this week. Lynn Anderson, the husky voice behind the hit single “(I Never Promised You a) Rose Garden,” died at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tenn., on Thursday, July 30. She was 67.
According to a statement from her rep, the cause of death was cardiac arrest.
Anderson first rose to fame in the late ‘60s as a young singer on The Lawrence Welk Show, which helped her land a deal with Columbia Records in Nashville in 1970.
Though she’d released several other singles under her first label, Chart Records, it was her hit “Rose Garden” that put her on the map. The song earned her a Grammy and a Country Music Association award for female vocalist of the year in 1971.
“It was popular because it touched on emotions,” she told The Associated Press of the song’s widespread reception in a 1987 interview. “It was perfectly timed. It was out just as we came out of the Vietnam years and a lot of people were trying to recover. 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.”
Once she found her spot in the limelight, Anderson’s star continued to rise. Over the course of her prolific career, she also released hits such as “Rocky Top,” “You’re My Man,” “What a Man, My Man Is,” and “Top of the World.”
Her latest album, Bridges, was released this past June.
Reflecting upon her success in a recent interview with Billboard, Anderson was humble.
“My music came from left field,” she said. “I was sincere about singing country. I came by the boots and the cowboy hat honestly. But I can see how my music might have been a little off-center for a traditional country fan.”
Anderson is survived by her father, country singer Casey Anderson; her partner Mentor Williams; and her children, Lisa Sutton, Melissa Hempel, and Gray Stream.
