: Gretchen Wilson Background informationBirth nameGretchen Frances WilsonBornJune 26, 1973OriginPocahontas, IllinoisGenre(s)CountryYears active2004 - PresentAssociated actsMuzikMafiaBig & RichWebsitehttp://www.
Gretchen Frances Wilson (born June 26, 1973 in Pocahontas, Illinois) is a Grammy Award-winning American country music singer. Her debut album, Here for the Party, topped the US country charts in 2004 and reached #2 on the Billboard 200 chart.
Personal life
The first of 2 children, Gretchen Wilson was raised near a small town with a population of 700. She lived near in Pocahontas, Illinois, raised by a single mother, who was 16 when Wilson was born. Wilson has a younger brother, Joshua. Her father left two years after Gretchen was born. Wilson grew up in poverty, living in a succession of trailers as her mother struggled to pay the rent by working as a waitress at a diner. She left school during the ninth grade. At age 15 she worked as a cook and bartender and was singing for tips, busking in rural Illinois, at a place called Big O's in Pierron, IL.
After an unsuccessful marriage, Wilson later had a daughter, Grace Frances Penner (born November 9, 2000) fathered by her longtime boyfriend Michael Penner. Wilson and Penner have since ended their relationship. The night she won her CMA Horizon Award, she stated that she felt bad for taking home such a wonderful gift on her daughter's birthday.
After seeing the movie Super Size Me, Gretchen Wilson announced a commitment to eating at McDonald's at every stop along her world tour.[citation needed]
Early career
Living on her own since the age of 16, Wilson sang in two bar bands by the age of 20. In 1996, she moved to Nashville to pursue her career in music, but found little initial success. She received her "break" when John Rich, formerly a member of Lonestar, suggested that she write songs with him in 2000. After some reluctance, she started working with him as a member of the MuzikMafia, an informal group of aspiring country songwriters and singers that met every Tuesday night. She also started singing as a backup singer on records.
She currently resides in Lebanon, TN.
2003 – 2005: Chart Success
Wilson signed with Epic Records in 2003 and recorded Here for the Party in 2003. The first single, "Redneck Woman," was released in early 2004 and quickly became a hit reaching the top of the Billboard country singles charts and #22 on the Billboard Hot 100. Due to the success of "Redneck Woman," Here for the Party was released earlier than planned on May 11, 2004, and debuted at #1 on the Billboard country chart. It also reached #2 on the Billboard 200 and Billboard Internet album sales charts. She built on the success on the album by performing as support artist for Brooks & Dunn and Montgomery Gentry.
After the success of the single and the album, she released the title track Here For The Party as second single.
It was also successful peaking at #3 on the Country chart. Other two songs were released as singles, both reached the top 10.
Released in markets outside the US, the album reached #2 on the Australian country charts (behind Kasey Chambers) and the top 50 of the Australian charts. As of 5 July 2004, "Redneck Woman" was #1 on a world composite country chart (based on the US, UK and Australia), and "Here for the Party" was #4 as an album track.
The album went on sell more than 4 million copies in the US and 5 worldwide, so it was certified four times platinum.
On September 27, 2006 Gretchen released her sophomore album All Jacked Up which peaked at #1 on both Top 200 and Country album chart but, after initial decent sales, the album fell off the charts selling just 1 million copies and was certified Platinum.
The title track All Jacked Up peaked at a disappointing #8 on the Country singles chart and it was the only song off the album to reach the top 10. The second single was I Don't Feel Like Loving You Today which peaked at #22, missing the Hot 100 completely.
The third and the fourth single were Politically Uncorrect and California Girls which peaked respectively at #23 and #25 on the Country chart.
2006 – present: New single and new album on stage
On November 2006, Gretchen Wilson released a new single called Come To Bed, a song produced by her friend John Rich who also sings the background vocals. She's recording a new album which will be released in 2007.
Grammy Award history
| Category | Genre | Album or Song | Year | Result
|
| 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
|
| 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
|
Awards
- 2005 CMA Female Vocalist of the Year
- 2004 CMA Horizon Award
- 2004 Grammy Award Best Female Country Vocal Performance
Discography
Albums
Singles
| Year
| Title
| Chart Positions
| Album
|
| US Hot 100
| US Country
|
| 2004
| "Redneck Woman"
| #22
| #1
| Here for the Party
|
| 2004
| "Here for the Party"
| #39
| #3
| Here for the Party
|
| 2005
| "When I Think About Cheatin'"
| #39
| #4
| Here for the Party
|
| 2005
| "Homewrecker"
| #56
| #2
| Here for the Party
|
| 2005
| "All Jacked Up"
| #42
| #8
| All Jacked Up
|
| 2005
| "I Don't Feel Like Loving You Today"
| -
| #22
| All Jacked Up
|
| 2006
| "Politically Uncorrect" (feat. Merle Haggard)
| -
| #23
| All Jacked Up
|
| 2006
| "California Girls"
| -
| #25
| All Jacked Up
|
| 2006
| "Come To Bed" (feat. John Rich)
| -
| -
| TBA
|
External links
simple:Gretchen Wilson
sv:Gretchen Wilson
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from Wikipedia This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from Wikipedia |
