(I Never Promised You a) Rose Garden (1971) 2/21/21 Lynn Anderson

This one may surprise you! (Lots of links today!)

Today's "Great Song of the '70s" was written by singer/songwriter Joe South, who had a couple of "Great Songs" in the '60s: "Games People Play" (1968) and Walk a Mile in My Shoes" (1969).

He also wrote "Down in the Boondocks," a hit for Billy Joe Royal in 1965.

In 1971, however, he topped himself...but not BY himself.

Joe wrote and recorded today's song first, and Billy Joe Royal recorded it next...but neither of them released it as a single.

And then came yet ANOTHER case of a producer telling an artist a song was was a bad fit and refused to record it.

In this case, the artist was country star Lynn Anderson...and the producer was Glenn Sutton--her HUSBAND!

Glenn insisted "(I Never Promised You a) Rose Garden" was NOT a girl's song. Lynn disagreed. STRONGLY.

Finally, most likely to keep the peace, Glenn relented, and once he started tinkering with it in the studio--adding an extra guitar part and some strings--he began to see the light.

It's a good thing, too, because what happened next was nothing short of amazing.

"Rose Garden" topped the charts in TEN countries, from Australia to Switzerland! In the US, it was #1 on the Country Chart, #3 on the Hot 100 and #3 on the Adult Contemporary Chart. In Canada, it topped the Country and Top 40 charts!

Lynn was vindicated...Glenn was belatedly proud of his wife's song choices, and Joe South just sat back and collected the residual checks!

Over the years, the song has been covered by all sorts of people---from Johnny Mathis to Carol Burnett...but a couple of covers are well worth note:

In 1987, k.d.lang released a critically acclaimed version that went to #7 on the Canadian Adult Contemporary Chart, and in 2005, Martina McBride took her version to #18 on Billboard's Country Chart.

Lynn Anderson never promised her husband, Glenn, a "Rose Garden," but...well...I guess she did! It was a "Great Song of the '70s"...a\nd beyond!

Lynn Anderson (1971):

k.d. lang (1987):

Martina McBride (2005):

Joe South (1970):