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Singer Lynn Anderson dies in Nashville at 67

NASHVILLE, Tenn.

Lynn Anderson, whose strong, husky voice carried her to the top of the charts with “(I Never Promised You a) Rose Garden,” has died. She was 67.

A statement from the family said she died at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tenn., on Thursday. Her publicist said the cause of death was cardiac arrest.

Anderson first soaked up the national spotlight as a young singer on “The Lawrence Welk Show” between 1967 and 1969. Although she was signed to an independent label, the exposure helped her nab a deal with Columbia Records in Nashville.

And it was “Rose Garden” that sealed her country-music legacy, earning her a Grammy and Country Music Association’s female vocalist of the year award in 1971.

She made television appearances with such stars as Lucille Ball, Bing Crosby, John Wayne and Tom Jones and she performed for presidents Nixon, Ford, Carter and Reagan.

Anderson’s other hits included, “Rocky Top,” “You’re My Man,” “How Can I Unlove You,” “What a Man, My Man Is” and “Top of the World” (also recorded by the Carpenters).

In her later years, she lived in Taos, N.M., where she faced a number of legal problems. A Taos judge issued a restraining order in 1995 against Anderson after her boyfriend said she had threatened him after the end of their 12-year relationship.

In 2005, Anderson was accused of shoplifting a “Harry Potter” DVD from a Taos supermarket and then punching a police officer as she was being put into a patrol car. She later pleaded no contest to obstructing an officer and was given a conditional discharge, court records show.

The year before, Anderson was arrested on a drunken-driving charge in Texas, the same week she was nominated for a Grammy for a bluegrass album.

She is survived by her father, her partner Mentor Williams and her children, Lisa Sutton, Melissa Hempel and Gray Stream.

WWE Hall of Famer Roddy Piper dies at 61

“Rowdy” Roddy Piper, who trash-talked his way to the main event of the first WrestleMania and later found movie stardom, has died. He was 61.

The WWE said Friday that Piper had died. It had no additional details.

Piper, born Roderick Toombs, was a villain for the early portion of his career, once cracking a coconut over the skull of Jimmy “Superfly” Snuka. He later starred in the movie “They Live.”

Associated Press