“Rose Garden”
Lynn Anderson
Written by Joe South
Billboard
#1 (3 weeks)
December 26, 1970 – January 23, 1971
Lynn Anderson’s ridiculously catchy “Rose Garden” ends the first year of the decade with yet another signature hit that still endures today.
Linda Ronstadt had already demonstrated the power of a simple gender switch to transform a folk song into something fitting for the budding women’s right era. “Rose Garden” takes a page from the “Different Drum” playbook, transforming a fairly patronizing lyric into one that’s more balanced because it’s coming from the woman in 1970.
That the gender swap is still detectable today to modern ears indicates how far that movement still needs to go, but “Rose Garden” got something else in motion that has persevered. Lynn Anderson cracked the Hollywood circuit with this record, opening up the late night shows and variety stages to pop-flavored country artists who combined pop hooks with country sentiments. This is the blueprint for everything from “Let Me Be There” to “Don’t it Make My Brown Eyes Blue.”
There’s a reason that the Loretta/Tammy Female Vocalist domination during the first seven years of the CMA was interrupted once by Lynn Anderson, and that reason is “Rose Garden.” But she’s got a lot of other great records coming up that prove she’s much more than just this deliriously delightful confection.
“Rose Garden” gets an A.
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Yes, another “A+” Song. I also find it interesting to be at the same time as “Coal Miners Daughter” showing that traditional and pop country can co-exist on radio. I am normally much more of a lyric person but this song’s melody and production is what really sells this fantastic record.
For whatever reason, it had never crossed my mind in the past that this song was likely written for a male vocalist, but certainly with the reference to “diamond rings”, it definitely seems likely that that was the intention. The record would definitely have a different vibe if Charlie Rich was singing it! Thankfully, Lynn Anderson got her hands on it and knocked it out of the park. Even before I formally knew the song, when they used to advertise country hits compilation records on vinyl or cassette back on the 80s, I enjoyed the snippet of this song that accompanied the album advertising. Once I heard the whole song in context, I became even more of a fan.
I’d long heard that Lynn Anderson was from Minnesota, which makes sense given the surname, but her biography shows Grand Forks, North Dakota, which is right across the river. I have relatives in northwestern Minnesota and when we visited, we went to Grand Forks for shopping trips. Anyway, I don’t think I ever assumed Lynn Anderson was a “one-hit wonder”, but I also had no idea that she had a 20-year hitmaking career. It’s astonishing, and a bit depressing, that her legacy of 18 top-10 hits and and 14 additional top-20s has been reduced to this song, good as it is.
Grade: A
I really liked the writer’s recording of the song
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PChFhUVdCOE
While this was Lynn’s career record, she issued a lot of good songs on Chart records before migrating to Columbia where she had some more good recordings
Joe South was one of the great songwriters of his era. He has written hits for both the Osmonds and Deep Purple. He had a lot of range. In fact, the original version of “Hush” came from the same Billy Joe Royal album as the original version of “Rose Garden”
Bonus Beats:
So apparently Morrissey played the Grand Ole Opry in 2015? I’m surprised Morrissey would agree to that. There isn’t much information about that appearance but it’s definitely true because there’s video of it on YouTube. Here’s Moz covering “Rose Garden” at the opry:
https://youtu.be/NaHjz6CE63A
The Detroit ska punk greats the Suicide Machines recorded a Me First and the Gimme Gimmes-esque version of “Rose Garden” with classical style strings for their 2000 self-titled album. It was produced by Julian Raymond, who co-wrote those songs with the late-in-life Glen Campbell, who has also covered this song. Here’s their version:
https://youtu.be/iuDB4v3n99g
k.d. lang recorded a version of “Rose Garden” for her 1987 album Angel with a Lariat, produced by UK power pop/country rock legend Dave Edmunds. It was a Top 10 hit on the Canadian Adult Contemporary charts. Here it is:
https://youtu.be/RKgB48N0BUg
More Bonus Beats:
Martina McBride covered “Rose Garden” for her 2005 covers album Timeless, scoring a top 20 hit with her version. Rather than link that version though, instead I’m gonna link this video of Martina performing the song with Lynn Anderson herself at the Grand Ole Opry. Here it is:
https://youtu.be/9NL6qhVMh6s
Finally, here’s Belinda Carlisle’s jazzy version of “Rose Garden” that she recorded for a live session with Jools Holland in 2014:
https://youtu.be/AgaOb9W7kxE
What commanding record. Those big strings come in loud and proud and then boom the drums and then Lynn “I Beg Your Pardon”.
What a great record. Probably not my favorite by her but an easy A. Man 1970 was a great year for country radio.
1970 was a stellar, stellar year for country music. Lynn Anderson’s famous version has the most frenetic and crazed steel guitar I’ve ever heard on a country song. I also really like kd lang’s version she does on her Angel With a Lariat album. I like it better sung by a woman, but I do think Glen Campbell does a nice version as well.
And to show you how big a deal “Rose Garden” was, it was such a massive crossover pop hit, peaking at #3 on the Hot 100 at the end of January 1971–meaning that you likely heard it interspersed with, among other things, “My Sweet Lord” (George Harrison); “Your Song” (Elton John); and “The Immigrant Song” (Led Zeppelin), at least on the AM dial.
As for the comparisons between “Rose Garden” and Linda Ronstadt’s first hit “Different Drum”–the similarities are there, though I think Linda was being naturally more whimsical and hippieish when she sang about not being ready to have the reins pulled in on her.
Every time I’ve heard this recording it has struck me that the genders are switched. When I learned that Joe South had written the song and and released it first, that only confirmed it. I would attribute Lynn Anderson’s massive success with this song to her rendition inviting listeners to hear the word–particularly the ones about big diamond rings–as purely fanciful and metaphoric. I don’t thin listeners at the time–or now–envision Lynn as being married to a guy who relies on her for financial support and material possessions. When a man sings the song, it comes off as more literal and has a “Fourteen Kaarat Mind” vibe.