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.
Down In The Boondocks
Lynn Anderson Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
People put me down cause that's the side of town I was born in
I love him he loves me but I don't fit in his society
Lord have mercy on the girl from down in the boondocks
Every night I watch the light from the house up on the hill
I love a little boy who lives up there and I guess I always will
But I don't dare knock on his door cause his folks won't let me in
So I'll just have to be content to see him whenever I can
One find day I'll find a way to move from this old shack
I'll hold my head up like a queen and I never ever will look back
But till that morning when we can walk together hand in hand
But I'll just have to be content to see him wherever I can
Down in the boondocks...
Lord have mercy on the girl from down in the boondocks
Lynn Anderson's "Down in the Boondocks" is a poignant song that tells the story of a girl who's in love with a boy from a higher social class, but finds it challenging to fit into his society because of her lowly beginnings. The song begins with the repeating of the line "Down in the boondocks," which is used as a metaphor for describing the girl's social strata, as well as a means of foretelling her future if she's unable to find her way out.
Anderson's voice drips with emotion as she sings of the girl's struggle to be accepted by the people in the boy's "society." Despite her honest love for him, she can't seem to shake off the feeling that she doesn't belong, and her situation is made more unbearable by the knowledge that she can't go knocking on the boy's door without being turned away by his parents.
Towards the end of the song, the girl dreams of a better future where she'll be able to hold her head up high and walk with the boy hand in hand, but until that day comes, she'll have to be content with just seeing him whenever she can. The song ends with the recurrent line, "Lord have mercy on the girl from down in the boondocks," a poignant plea to a higher power to intervene and help the girl find her way out of her social predicament.
Line by Line Meaning
Down in the boondocks down in the boondocks
The singer comes from and currently resides in a less desirable location.
People put me down cause that's the side of town I was born in
The singer is faced with discrimination and negativity because of their place of birth.
I love him he loves me but I don't fit in his society
The singer is in a loving relationship but feels like an outsider in their partner's social circle.
Lord have mercy on the girl from down in the boondocks
The artist is seeking compassion and empathy due to their struggles in their current situation.
Every night I watch the light from the house up on the hill
The artist regularly observes a well-off family from a distance.
I love a little boy who lives up there and I guess I always will
The singer has strong feelings for someone who lives in that family.
But I don't dare knock on his door cause his folks won't let me in
The singer is too afraid to approach their love interest's family due to the expectation of being rejected.
So I'll just have to be content to see him whenever I can
The artist is resigned to finding joy in small, fleeting moments with their love interest.
One find day I'll find a way to move from this old shack
The artist remains hopeful that they will be able to improve their current situation in the future.
I'll hold my head up like a queen and I never ever will look back
The artist is determined to hold onto their self-worth while achieving success and will refuse to dwell on their past struggles.
But till that morning when we can walk together hand in hand
The singer hopes to one day be able to openly explore a romantic relationship with their love interest.
But I'll just have to be content to see him wherever I can
The artist is again resigned to finding joy in small, fleeting moments with their love interest.
Down in the boondocks...
Repeating the earlier refrain, the singer continues to feel trapped in their less desirable location.
Lord have mercy on the girl from down in the boondocks
The song ends with the singer repeating their earlier plea for compassion and empathy towards their struggles.
Lyrics © CONCORD MUSIC PUBLISHING LLC, Peermusic Publishing
Written by: Joe South
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
OLDCOMPUTERS1969
i could listen all day, she had a way of making any song hers
StaceyDMify
This woman could sing the phone book and it would still be a hit. Great version of a song written by the same guy who would go on to write her monster, worldwide MEGA hit "Rose Garden," ... Joe South
OLDCOMPUTERS1969
agree love her to bits, pure star