Liz Anderson

Liz Anderson
Anderson in 1971
Anderson in 1971
Background information
Birth nameElizabeth Jane Haaby
Born(1927-01-13)January 13, 1927
Roseau, Minnesota, U.S.
DiedOctober 31, 2011(2011-10-31) (aged 84)
Nashville, Tennessee, U.S.
GenresCountry
InstrumentsVocals
Years active1964–2011
LabelsRCA Victor, Epic, Showboat

Elizabeth Jane Anderson (née Haaby; January 13, 1927[1] – October 31, 2011) was an American country music singer-songwriter who was one in a wave of new-generation female vocalists in the genre during the 1960s to write and record her own songs on a regular basis. Writing in The New York Times Bill Friskics-Warren noted, "Like her contemporary Loretta Lynn, Ms. Anderson gave voice to female survivors; inhabiting their struggles in a soprano at times alluring, at times sassy."[1]

Anderson received two Grammy Award nominations in 1967, one for "Best Female Country Vocal Performance" for her self-penned, top-5 hit "Mama Spank", and the other for "Best Country Vocal Group" for the top-5 hit "The Game of Triangles", with Bobby Bare and Norma Jean. As a songwriter, she scored 26 top 50 hits in the 1960s, more than any other female songwriter that decade in the country music industry.

Anderson also wrote many of the early hits for her daughter, Lynn Anderson,[2] whose recording career began less than a year after her mother's. She wrote several hits for other notable artists, including Merle Haggard. Haggard had his first top 10 and number one hits, respectively, with "(My Friends Are Gonna Be) Strangers" and "I'm a Lonesome Fugitive", both penned by Anderson. He named his band "The Strangers", after the hit "(My Friends Are Gonna Be) Strangers".

  1. ^ a b "Liz Anderson, Who Wrote Hit Country Songs, Dies at 81". The New York Times. November 3, 2011. Retrieved December 7, 2016.
  2. ^ "Songwriter-Singer Liz Anderson, Mother of Lynn Anderson, Dies at 81". CMT. Archived from the original on November 12, 2011. Retrieved December 7, 2016.