Anderson held the title of “Top Grossing Song by a Female Artist” for 27 years, thanks to the success of her classic hit “Rose Garden.” Throughout her decorated career, she charted three No. 1 and 15 Top 20 albums, as well as 12 No. 1 singles. Billboard Magazine honored her as its “Artist of the Decade” from 1970 to 1980. She was the first female artist to ever headline and sell out New York City’s Madison Square Garden. She went on to sell over 30 million albums worldwide.
Anderson won two “Top Female Vocalist” awards by the Academy of Country Music (ACM), and she was crowned “Female Vocalist of the Year” y the Country Music Association (CMA) in 1971, the same year she took home the Grammy award for “Best Female Country Vocal Performance” for “Rose Garden.” She was also an accomplished equestrian in her own right, having won 16 national championships and four world championships across the American Quarter Horse Association and the National Cutting Horse Association.
Despite her worldwide fame, she was an artist who always made her fans her top priority, and since the very first “Fan Fair” event in 1972 in Nashville, she only missed one CMA Music Festival due to an illness.
A true humanitarian and philanthropist, Anderson raised millions of dollars for numerous charities throughout her career. She has worked with both the Roundup for Autism and the Careity Foundation, an organization supporting families of cancer patients, for over two decades.
She passed away on July 30, 2015 at the age of 67 at the Vanderbilt Medical Center. The legendary songstress is survived by her father, Casey Anderson, her partner and songwriter Mentor Williams, as well as her three children, Lisa Sutton, Melissa Hempel and Gray Stream and four grandchildren.
Most recently, she released her Bridges album, which garnered a rave review from Digital Journal.
Digital Journal’s interview with Lynn Anderson from May 31, 2015, may be seen by clicking here.
