The singer had reportedly been hospitalised for pneumonia following a recent vacation in Italy and suffered a heart attack on Thursday night (30Jul15), when she was pronounced dead at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee.

Anderson was the granddaughter of songwriters Casey and Liz Anderson, who penned Merle Haggard's hits (My Friends Are Gonna Be) Strangers and I'm a Lonesome Fugitive.

Her debut single, For Better or for Worse with Jerry Lane, was a flop in 1966, but she went on to find success with tracks Ride, Ride, Ride and If I Kiss You (Will You Go Away).

She became known worldwide for her signature song (I Never Promised You a) Rose Garden, which was a huge hit in 1970, and most recently featured on the soundtrack to Reese Witherspoon and Sofia Vergara's comedy Hot Pursuit.

Anderson continued to record over the years, and received a Grammy Award nomination for 2004's Bluegrass Sessions. Her last album, Bridges, was released in June (15).

The latter years of her career were marred by her legal troubles - she was arrested multiple times from 2004, when she was charged with driving while intoxicated in Texas, and last hit headlines in 2014 following a minor traffic accident. She was booked for DUI and subsequently underwent treatment for alcohol abuse at the Betty Ford Center in California.

She is survived by her three children from her marriages to fellow musician Glenn Sutton, from 1968 to 1977, and Louisiana oilman Harold 'Spook' Stream III, from 1978 to 1982.