Tim McGraw Pays Tribute to the Late Lynn Anderson with His Version of "Rose Garden" (Video)

After the death of Lynn Anderson was announced, country star Tim McGraw paid tribute to Anderson with a rendition of her signature hit "(I Never Promised You) A Rose Garden."  In the video above, McGraw sends his condolences to Anderson's family before launching into  "(I Never Promised You a) Rose Garden," 

Anderson, whose funeral is set for Wednesday (Aug. 5), passed away on Thursday (July 30) following a heart attack.

The Lynn Anderson single was her third release for Columbia Records in 1970, after several years of recording for Chart Records. The single proved to be the first crossover record of her career.

"Rose Garden" was originally an album cut by the song's writer, Joe South, in 1969. Several other male vocalists recorded it on albums including Freddy Weller, Billy Joe Royal and Dobie Gray and Third Avenue Blues Band, but it was never a hit until Anderson's version. A recording by the girl group The Three Degrees, best known for their 1974 hit "When Will I See You Again", also pre-dated Lynn Anderson's hit version.

Anderson wanted to record the song but her producer (and husband) Glenn Sutton felt it was a "man's song", in part because of the line "I could promise you things like big diamond rings".

According to Anderson, Sutton agreed to record the song as a potential album cut when there was time left during one of her scheduled recording sessions. After arranging a more up-tempo, light-hearted melody, Sutton and the studio musicians, which included a mandolin player,as well as a string section, were impressed with the results. Columbia Records' executive Clive Davis was equally impressed and insisted the song be released as a single in both the country and pop markets.

Shortly after its breakthrough on American Top 40 radio, the song became an international hit. A cover version released by Sandie Shaw in UK failed to chart, as Anderson's version became a major success there. The song became Anderson's signature tune and one of the biggest hits of the 1970s, in any genre of music.[citation needed] Anderson won a Grammy Award for Best Female Country Vocal Performance in 1971, and Joe South earned two Grammy nominations: "Best Country Song" and "Song of the Year" in the pop field.

Anderson said, "I believe that 'Rose Garden' was released at just the right time. People were trying to recover from the Vietnam years. The message in the song-that if you just take hold of life and go ahead, you can make something out of nothing-people just took to that."

After her Columbia heyday, Lynn Anderson recorded new performances of the song several times for post-1982 albums, including a bluegrass version that was featured in her 2004 comeback album The Bluegrass Sessions. This album earned Anderson her first Grammy nomination in over 30 years. 

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