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.
Honey
Lynn Anderson Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And I laughed at him and he got mad
The first day that he planted it it was just a twig
Then the first snow came and he ran out to brush the snow away so it wouldn't die
Came runnin' in all excited slipped and almost hurt himself and I laughed till I cried
He was always young at heart kinda dumb and kinda smart and I loved him so
And I surprised him with a puppy kept me up all Christmas Eve two years ago
When he'd come in from working late cause he'd always know
If I'd been sittin' there and cryin' over some sad and silly late late show
And honey I miss you and I'm being good and I'd love to be with you if only I could
He wrecked the car and he was sad and so afraid that I'd be mad but what the heck
Though I pretended hard to be
Guess you could say he saw through me and hugged my neck
He came home unexpectedly and caught me crying needlessly in the middle of the day
And it was in the early spring when flowers bloom and robins sing he went away
And honey I miss you and I'm being good and I'd love to be with you if only I could
One day while I was not at home and he was there and all alone the angels came
Now all I have are memories of honey and I wake up nights and call his name
Now my life's an empty stage where honey lived and honey played and love grew up
And a small cloud passes overhead and cries down on the flower bed that honey loved
And see the tree how big it's grown but friend it hasn't been too long it wasn't big
And I laughed at him and he got mad
The first day that he planted it it was just a twig
The lyrics of Lynn Anderson's song "Honey" tell the story of a love that has been lost but remains deeply cherished. The story is told through a series of memories, recounted by the singer, of her late husband whom she called "Honey." The song opens with the image of a tree that has grown large over time, with the singer remembering how small it was when her husband first planted it. The memory is tinged with regret as she reflects on how she laughed at him when it was just a tiny twig, and how he got mad at her.
The song continues to recount a series of memories, both happy and sad, that paint a vivid picture of a life filled with love, passion, and sometimes conflict. We learn that the husband was always young at heart, sometimes "kinda dumb and kinda smart," and that he brought the singer a puppy one Christmas Eve. We also see the singer's vulnerability, as she admits to crying over silly TV shows and missing her husband desperately after he passed away. The song's final image is of a small cloud passing overhead, shedding tears on the flowers that her husband loved.
Overall, the song is a poignant tribute to a love that has been lost but remains alive in the singer's memories. It paints a vivid picture of a complex and nuanced relationship, with all the highs and lows that come with it.
Line by Line Meaning
See the tree how big it's grown but friend it hasn't been too long it wasn't big
The tree has grown so much, but it wasn't large when it was first planted
And I laughed at him and he got mad
I mocked him and he became angry
The first day that he planted it it was just a twig
The tree was only a small twig when he first planted it
Then the first snow came and he ran out to brush the snow away so it wouldn't die
He was worried about the snow killing the tree and went to brush it off
Came runnin' in all excited slipped and almost hurt himself and I laughed till I cried
He slipped and almost hurt himself, and I found it so amusing that I cried with laughter
He was always young at heart kinda dumb and kinda smart and I loved him so
He may have been naive, but that's what made him young at heart, and I loved him regardless
And I surprised him with a puppy kept me up all Christmas Eve two years ago
I gave him a puppy as a Christmas gift, which kept us both up all night
And it would sure embarrass me
It would make me feel awkward
When he'd come in from working late cause he'd always know
He would always be able to tell if I had been sitting there crying over a sad show while he was at work
If I'd been sittin' there and cryin' over some sad and silly late late show
If I had been crying over a sappy TV show when he came home late from work
And honey I miss you and I'm being good and I'd love to be with you if only I could
I miss him and am behaving myself, and I wish I could be with him
He wrecked the car and he was sad and so afraid that I'd be mad but what the heck
He crashed the car and was worried I'd be upset, but he shrugged it off
Though I pretended hard to be
Although I tried to act as though I wasn't upset
Guess you could say he saw through me and hugged my neck
He could see that I was upset, so he hugged me to comfort me
He came home unexpectedly and caught me crying needlessly in the middle of the day
He came home unexpectedly and found me crying alone during the daytime for no good reason
And it was in the early spring when flowers bloom and robins sing he went away
He departed during the time of year when flowers bloom and robins sing, in the early spring
Now my life's an empty stage where honey lived and honey played and love grew up
My life now feels empty without him, but I remember the love that we shared
And a small cloud passes overhead and cries down on the flower bed that honey loved
A small cloud floats above and drops tears on the flower bed that he cared for
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: BOBBY RUSSELL
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
enea981
What wonderful song, and what wonderful voice Lynn Anderson has got here!
tony bairdypops
A very creditable version of a classic song :)
whispperson
Great Version of this Classic Song. Such a Talented Singer. Thanks for this.
Craig Lennox
Thanks for posting it I am a fan of hers. I like her a lot. I have her on vinyl
Jeanette O'Callaghan
I love this song
Eclectik tronik
Halling71: ....use something like nero wave editor or similar software, which enables you to record to your hard drive. Adjust the recording level in Volume Control (click properties and check 'recording'). then play the vid, and hit record on the program. save as whatever file format you choose - mp3, wav etc. bear in mind that there may be copyright issues with this ;-)