"(I Never Promised You A) Rose Garden" was the title of a song written by Joe South, that is best known as recorded by country singer Lynn Anderson. Her late 1970 release topped the U.S. country chart, reached number three on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 pop chart and remained the biggest selling recording by a female country artist until 1997.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Lynn Anderson version

In 1971, Anderson hit number three in the United Kingdom with the song, making it one of the most successful country crossover hits ever in Europe.^{[citation needed]} Around the same time as Anderson's release, the song was also released by British singer Sandie Shaw, most famous for her hits in the 1960s. Her version failed to make the UK chart. In the song, initially recorded by South himself, the narrator explains to his/her lover that though their relationship is not perfect, they should be grateful for the good and accept the bad along with it (as the chorus of the song repeats, "I beg your pardon; I never promised you a rose garden"). South originally released it on his 1969 Introspect album. Dobie Gray was the first artist to have a single version of the song that experienced some success with his 1969 release on White Whale Records.

Reportedly, Anderson's record label, Columbia Records, was not keen on her recording "Rose Garden", as they felt it would seem odd for a woman to be singing lines like "I could promise you things like big diamond rings". Anderson, however, very much liked the song and was determined to record it. The record company had just enough time left at the end of a session to record the song. Anderson later quoted that if there hadn't been enough time in the studio to record the song, "Rose Garden" would have never been recorded. The song was later turned over to the head of Columbia Records, Clive Davis.

The song was well liked by Davis, a leading music industry executive, and he ultimately decided that "Rose Garden" would be Lynn Anderson's next single release. Columbia's reservations aside, the single release of the song was an immediate hit, setting the stage for a series of number one and top ten country singles for Anderson which would continue throughout the 1970s and early 1980s. The song became Anderson's signature tune and one of the biggest hits of the 70s, in any genre of music. The song earned Anderson a Grammy Award for Best Female Country Vocal Performance in 1971, as well as a Grammy for Joe South for writing the song. Although she charted eight #1 and 18 Top-Ten singles on the U.S. Country Charts, Anderson never charted higher than No. 63 on the Pop charts following "Rose Garden"'s success, however, she did have two songs that charted the Adult Contemporary Top 10 and 20 following the song's success.

Columbia Records had planned another song for Lynn’s next release-but label head Clive Davis happened to hear the tape of “Rose Garden” and decided it would be the next Lynn Anderson single. According to Lynn, "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." ^[2]

Lynn Anderson has recorded a new version of her hit song, a bluegrass version that was featured in Anderson's 2004 comeback album The Bluegrass Sessions. This album earned Anderson her first Grammy nomination in over thirty years.

The song's chorus from Anderson's original version was sampled by the pop/dance group Kon Kan in their similarly titled song "I Beg Your Pardon," released in 1988.

[edit] Martina McBride's version

In 2005, Martina McBride included the song on her album of covers, Timeless. This album featured classic country songs from over the years, including "Rose Garden". McBride decided to release her version as a single. This cover peaked at #18.

[edit] Chart performance

[edit] Other cover versions

• The Suicide Machines cover appeared in the background of a party scene in the film SLC Punk. It appeared on both the soundtrack as well as their self-titled 2000 album.
• Dottie West covered "Rose Garden" for her 1971 album Careless Hands.
• Glen Campbell covered "Rose Garden" for his 1971 album "The Last Time I Saw Her".
• Canadian duo Kon Kan sampled the song in 1989 for their hit single "I Beg Your Pardon (Rose Garden)".
• Canadian country-pop singer k.d. lang covered the song for her 1987 album Angel with a Lariat. Her version peaked at #45 on Canada Country chart and #7 on Canada AC chart.
• Spanish group called Duncan Dhu, fifth song "Jardín de Rosas" of it second album called "Canciones", (1986)
• New World had a hit in the UK with the song in 1971.
• Southern Culture on the Skids has a version of the song on their 2007 cover album Countrypolitan Favorites. Singer Mary Huff provides the vocals.
• The song was also the basis for the music theme used by the Chilean newscast Teletrece from 1972 until 1976, when they used Classical Gas by Mason Williams.
• British celebrity Jade Goody performed the song on a Celebrity edition of Stars In Their Eyes in 2006. She went on to win the competition.

[edit] References