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.
She grew up in Sacramento, California with her mother, acclaimed singer-songwriter Liz Anderson who wrote "The Fugitive" and "(All My Friends Are Gonna Be) Strangers", both Merle Haggard hits, among others. She began her solo career in 1966 with "In Person", followed by a hit with her mother's "If I Kiss You (Will You Go Away)".
In 1968 she married Glenn Sutton, a future Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame inductee, with whom she had a daughter, Lisa. (They divorced in 1977.)
Consistent hits followed, and she was a regular on The Lawrence Welk Show during the 1967-68 season. In 1969 Anderson signed to Columbia where her work veered a bit more toward a polished, pop sound. She released her signature song, "Rose Garden" in late 1970. The song, written by Joe South, won a Grammy Award for Best Female Country Vocal Performance reached number 1 on the U.S. country charts, and also hit number 3 on the pop charts, as well as being a hit in fifteen countries. Anderson also received Grammy nominations for her recordings "Big Girls Don't Cry" (1968), "That's a No No" (1969), and "How Can I Unlove You" (1971)> Anderson's other hits during this period included "You're My Man", "Listen to a Country Song", "Top of the World" (a number 1 country record for Anderson before becoming a pop hit for The Carpenters), "Cry", "Keep Me in Mind", "What a Man My Man Is" and "Smile For Me". In 1971, she was voted Top Female Vocalist of the year by both the Academy of Country Music and Country Music Association. Anderson charted eight no.one singles, 18 Top-Tens and earned a total of 17 international Gold records. She was perhaps the most in-demand country female vocalist on network television throughout the 1970's but after 1975 her records usually peaked in the top 20 as opposed to her earlier top ten success.
Anderson married a Louisiana businessman in 1978. The second marriage produced two more children, and she was divorced in 1982.
Anderson remained one of the top female country singers into the 1980's. Her last top ten record was 1984s "You're Welcome to Tonight". During the late 1980's and early 1990s, she received much press for her disputes with her now-divorced second husband. After spending time on her ranch, raising horses and participating in equestrian events, she began recording again in 1992.
"The Bluegrass Sessions", released in 2004, earned Anderson her first Grammy nomination in over 30 years.
That same year Anderson was arrested in Denton, Texas, for drunk driving.
The American Rose Society created and named in her honor a white and raspberry hybrid tea rose.
Anderson released a new CD of original songs entitled "Cowgirl" in 2006, all of the songs penned by her mother, the acclaimed songwriter Liz Anderson.
Cry Cry Again
Lynn Anderson Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
All day I've tried to comfort her and louder were her cries
I left her there to say her prayers and stepped outside the door
The prayer I heard was one I knew I'd never heard before
Please have my mommy ask my daddy to come home
Sometimes I'll cry and get my way and mommy's so alone
She told me once that when I'm right I never should give in
So if at first I don't succeed I'll cry cry again
I know our little girl is right and we're both in the wrong
And so I've called you up tonight to ask you please come home
I can't go on or stand for long the way she cries today
And I can't go to sleep at night because I heard her pray
Please have my mommy...
In Lynn Anderson's "Cry Cry Again," we hear the story of a couple's marital struggles and how it's affecting their daughter. The first verse paints a picture of a mother desperately trying to comfort her daughter who is upset about something related to her father. As the mother steps outside, she hears her daughter's prayer asking for her mother to bring her father home. The chorus suggests that the daughter knows how to get what she wants: by crying. The second verse reveals that both the mother and father are at fault for their marital problems, and the mother calls the father, begging him to come home in response to her daughter's prayer.
These lyrics show the impact that divorce and separation can have on a child. The daughter is caught in the middle of her parents' issues, and her pleas for her father to come home are heartbreaking. The line "Sometimes I'll cry and get my way and mommy's so alone" particularly stands out as it shows the daughter's understanding of her powerlessness and her realization that her tears can manipulate her mother. The song serves as a reminder of the importance of keeping children out of marital disputes and how the consequences of a marriage falling apart extend far beyond just the couple themselves.
Line by Line Meaning
I put my little girl to bed with teardrops in her eyes
My child went to sleep with tears in her eyes due to the problems in our family.
All day I've tried to comfort her and louder were her cries
Despite my efforts to comfort her, my child's cries grew louder throughout the day.
I left her there to say her prayers and stepped outside the door
I let my child say her prayers alone and stepped outside for a moment.
The prayer I heard was one I knew I'd never heard before
The prayer my child recited was different than any other prayer she had said before.
Please have my mommy ask my daddy to come home
My child's prayer was a plea for me to ask their dad to come back home.
Sometimes I'll cry and get my way and mommy's so alone
My child knows that sometimes crying can get what they want, but it leaves me feeling lonely.
She told me once that when I'm right I never should give in
I had instructed my child to stick to their principles and not give up when they are in the right.
So if at first I don't succeed I'll cry cry again
My child has learned that if they don't succeed at first, they can keep crying until they get their way.
I know our little girl is right and we're both in the wrong
I acknowledge that our child is correct in pointing out the issues in our family, and both their dad and I share the blame.
And so I've called you up tonight to ask you please come home
I am calling my child's dad to ask him to return home.
I can't go on or stand for long the way she cries today
The intensity of my child's crying is becoming unbearable and I cannot continue to cope with it.
And I can't go to sleep at night because I heard her pray
My child's prayer has left a deep impression on me and I cannot sleep peacefully at night.
Contributed by Ava N. Suggest a correction in the comments below.