Give Name: Elizabeth Jane Haaby Date of Birth: March 13, 1930 Place of Birth: Roseau, Minnesota
Marital Status: Casey Anderson (m. 5/26/1946) Children: Lynn Anderson
Musical Syle: Pop Country Talents: Singer, Songwriter, Guitar
Recommend Record Albums: "Liz Anderson Sings" (RCA)(1967) "Cookin’ Up Hits" (RCA)(1967) "Liz Anderson Sings Her Favorites" (RCA)(1968) "Like A Merry-Go-Round" (RCA)(1968) "Liz Anderson Country Style" (RCA)(1969) "If The Creek Don’t Rise" (RCA)(1969) "Husband Hunting" (RCA)(1970)"
Biography: Quite often, Liz Anderson is dismissed by Country books as being only the mother of Lynn Anderson. This is unfair as Liz Anderson wrote many memorable songs that were converted into hit recordings. She grew up in a rural area of Minnesota near the Canadian border, in a family that was poor and very religious. They had a mandolin and when she was eight, she sang in church. The family moved to Grand Forks, North Dakota, when she was 13. She was married just after her 16th birthday and had Lynn a year later. Casey was still in the Navy; in May 1951, when he was back in civilian life, they moved to California, where he was to attend jet engine school. They were very short of money when they arrived and he started to sell cars. That year, Liz studied at a Redwood City, California, business college and worked initially as a secretary. They moved to Sacramento and in 1957, Liz started to write songs with Casey’s encouragement. He was a member of the Sheriff’s Posse, which was planning to take part in the National Centennial Pony Express Celebration. He suggested to Liz that she write a song in honor of the Pony Express. She did; it was named official song and gained her a Medal of Honor. One of Jack’s co-workers was Jack McFadden, who was trying to make his way in the music business. He successfully pitched Liz’s I Watched You Walking to Del Reeves. Reeves would go on to record two more Anderson songs, I Don’t Wonder and Be Quiet Mind. In 1964, Roy Drusky recorded Pick of the Week which became a Top 15 hit. The following year, Merle Haggard had a Top 10 hit with (My Friends Are Gonna Be) Strangers. Liz received a BMI Award for it at the 1965 DJ Convention in Nashville. During that visit, Chet Atkins signed her to record her debut album, (My Friends Are Gonna Be) Strangers and daughter Lynn was signed to Chart Records. Liz’s initial two singles for RCA fared very well, but it was her third, The Game of Triangles, with Bobby Bare and Norma Jean, that hit the Top 5. Six months later, in April 1967, she repeated this with Mama Spank. The rest of her singles for RCA also achieved middle level acclaim. In 1968, she just missed the Top 20 duetting with Lynn on Mother May I. She continued to rack up minor successes and then in 1970, she made the Top 30 with Husband Hunting from the album of the same name. In 1971, she moved to Epic, but by then her career was on the wane and the four singles that charted got no higher than the Top 60. However, by then her songs had been recorded by many of Country’s cream and she had been presented with BMI Awards for 1964, 1965 and 1967 and an ASCAP Award for 1967. She had been in the Top 5 for 1967 Grammy Awards for "Best Country Vocal Performance, Female" and "Best Country Vocal Performance by a Group," and she and Casey had set up Greenback Music. Among her songs recorded were The Fugitive, co-written with Casey, which was a No.1 hit for Merle Haggard in 1966; Guess My Eyes Were Bigger Than My Heart, Conway Twitty’s first country hit, the same year; Beggars Can’t Be Choosers (LaWanda Lindsey); and Too Many Dollars (Connie Eaton). Liz also wrote her daughter’s first hit, Ride, Ride, Ride and her 1970 hit Big Girls Don’t Cry. Liz served as Vice-President of the Nashville Songwriters Association International.
Source: http://www.countryworks.com