Gretchen Wilson

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Gretchen Wilson

Background information
Birth name Gretchen Frances Wilson
Born June 26, 1973 (1973-06-26) (age 34)
Origin Pocahontas, Illinois, USA
Genre(s) Country
Occupation(s) Singer-songwriter
Instrument(s) Vocals
Guitar
Years active 2004–present
Label(s) Epic
Columbia Nashville
Associated acts MuzikMafia
Big & Rich
Website http://www.gretchenwilson.com

Gretchen Wilson (born Gretchen Frances Wilson, June 26, 1973 in Pocahontas, Illinois) is an American country music singer-songwriter. She made her debut in 2004 with the Grammy Award-winning single "Redneck Woman"; a Number One hit on the Billboard country charts the song served as the lead-off single to her debut album Here for the Party. Wilson followed this album one year later with All Jacked Up, the title track of which became the highest-debuting single for a female country artist upon its 2005 release. A third album, One of the Boys, was released in 2007.

Overall, Wilson has charted eleven singles on the Billboard country charts, of which five have reached Top Ten: the Number One "Redneck Woman", as well as "Here for the Party" (#3, 2004), "When I Think About Cheatin'" (#4, 2004), "Homewrecker" (#2, 2005), "All Jacked Up" (#8, 2005). The album Here for the Party was certified 5× Multi-Platinum by the RIAA for sales of five million copies; All Jacked Up was certified platinum and One of the Boys certified gold.

Contents

[edit] Biography

[edit] Early life

Gretchen Wilson was born in Pocahontas, Illinois to a 16-year-old mother. Her father left before she was two years old, and she and her mother lived in trailer parks and relative poverty. Gretchen's mother worked as a waitress, and Wilson herself dropped out of the 9th grade at age 15 to work as a cook and bartender in rural Illinois. In 2008, she completed the GED program.

After a failed marriage to former Baywolfe bandmate Larry Rolens, she moved to Nashville and began dating Mike Penner. They have a daughter, Grace Frances Penner, who was born November 9, 2000.

[edit] Career

She had sung in two bar bands by the age of 20. In 1996 she moved to Nashville to sing back-up and record sample songs. In 2000, she met John Rich, a member of Big & Rich, who invited her to become his song-writing partner. Wilson signed with Epic Records in 2003 and recorded Here for the Party within the year.

Her first single, "Redneck Woman", was released in early 2004 and reached the top of the Hot Country Songs charts and #22 on the Billboard Hot 100. The success of "Redneck Woman" prompted an earlier-than-planned release for Here for the Party, and it debuted at #1 on the Billboard country chart. It also reached #2 on the Billboard 200 and Billboard Internet album sales charts. She performed as a support artist for Brooks & Dunn and Montgomery Gentry.

She released the title track to her debut album as the second single. It peaked at #3 on the Billboard country chart. Two other songs were released as singles, and both reached the top 10. Released in markets outside the U.S., the album hit #2 on the Australian country charts (behind Kasey Chambers) and the top 50 of the Australian charts. As of July 5, 2004, "Redneck Woman" was #1 on a world composite country chart (based on the U.S., UK, and Australia charts). Here for the Party was certified 5× Multi-Platinum by the RIAA.

[edit] Second album

On September 27, 2005, Gretchen released her second album, All Jacked Up, which peaked at #1 on both the Top 200 and Country album charts and sold 1 million copies. The title track debuted at #21 on the Hot Country Songs charts, setting a record for the highest debut ever made by a female artist; this record was broken in late 2007 by Carrie Underwood's "So Small". Despite its high debut, "All Jacked Up" peaked at #8 on Hot Country Songs. Three more singles were released from All Jacked Up: "I Don't Feel Like Loving You Today", "Politically Uncorrect" (a duet with Merle Haggard) and "California Girls", none of which reached Top 20 on the country charts.

Wilson's "I Don't Feel Like Loving You Today" was nominated for two Grammy Awards: Best Female Country Vocal Performance, and Best Country Song. In 2006, Wilson contributed a well-received cover of Kris Kristofferson's "Sunday Mornin' Coming Down" on the tribute CD The Pilgrim: A Celebration of Kris Kristofferson.

[edit] One of the Boys

On May 15, 2007, Gretchen released her third album, One of the Boys. The album debuted at #5 on the Top 200 and at #1 on the Country album chart. After 11 weeks, it exited the Billboard Top 200, having sold 178,220 copies at that point. "Come to Bed" and the title track, the first two singles released, both peaked in the thirties on the country charts, while the third and final single ("You Don't Have to Go Home") failed to reach Top 40.

[edit] Awards

[edit] Grammy Award history

Category Genre Album or Song Year Result
Best Country Female Vocal Performance Country "Redneck Woman" 2005 Won
Best New Artist General N/A 2005 Nominated
Best Country Song Country "Redneck Woman" 2005 Nominated
Best Country Album Country Here for the Party 2005 Nominated
Best Country Album Country All Jacked Up 2006 Nominated
Best Female Country Vocal Performance Country "All Jacked Up" 2006 Nominated
Best Country Song Country "All Jacked Up" 2006 Nominated
Best Country Collaboration w/ Vocals Country "Politically Uncorrect" 2006 Nominated

[edit] Discography

[edit] Albums

Year Album Chart Positions US Sales[1] RIAA Record Label
US Country US 200
2004 Here for the Party 1 2 4,500,000 5× Multi-Platinum Epic
2005 All Jacked Up 1 1 1,200,000 Platinum
2007 One of the Boys 1 5 232,000 Gold Columbia

[edit] Singles

Year Song Chart Positions RIAA Album
US Country US Hot 100
2004 "Redneck Woman" 1 22 Platinum Here for the Party
"Here for the Party" 3 39 Gold
"Red Bird Fever"A 59 Single only
2005 "When I Think About Cheatin'" 4 39 Here for the Party
"Homewrecker" 2 56
"Our America" (w/ Big & Rich and Cowboy Troy)B 44 Comin' to Your City (Big & Rich album)
"All Jacked Up"C 8 42 Gold All Jacked Up
"I Don't Feel Like Loving You Today" 22 109
2006 "Politically Uncorrect" (w/Merle Haggard)E 23
"California Girls" 25 121
"That's How They Do It in Dixie"
(w/ Hank Williams, Jr., Big & Rich, and Van Zant)		 36 That's How They Do It in Dixie:
The Essential Collection (Hank Williams Jr. album)
"Come to Bed" (w/John Rich) 32 One of the Boys
2007 "One of the Boys" 35
"You Don't Have to Go Home" 53
2008 "Growing Up Down South"E TBD
  • A "Red Bird Fever" was a digital single, set to the tune of "Redneck Woman", released in November 2004 to correspond with the St. Louis Cardinals' trip to the World Series.
  • B Album cut, charted from unsolicited airplay.
  • C "All Jacked Up" also peaked at #51 on the US Pop 100 and #37 on US Digital.
  • D "Politically Uncorrect" originally charted at #58 in October 2005 before being confirmed as a single.
  • E To be released.[2]

[edit] References

  1. ^ Zettler, Linda. "'Redneck Woman' Wilson says new CD will rock". Florida Today. May 9, 2008.
  2. ^ Next album shapes up as 'rocking and big'

[edit] External links