Gretchen Wilson

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Gretchen Wilson

Background information
Birth name Gretchen Frances Wilson
Born June 26, 1973 (1973-06-26) (age 36)[1]
Origin Pocahontas, Illinois, USA[1]
Genre(s) Country
Occupation(s) Singer-songwriter
Instrument(s) Vocals
Acoustic guitar
Years active 2004–present
Label(s) Epic
Columbia Nashville
Associated acts MuzikMafia
Big & Rich
Website GretchenWilson.com

Gretchen Frances Wilson (born June 26, 1973 in Pocahontas, Illinois) is an American country music artist. 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 of 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 thirteen 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), and "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, while 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.

Gretchen began singing in small bars around the St. Louis, Missouri, area at age 17. In 1991 Susie Osburn, a bar manager from Springfield, Missouri, went to St. Louis to find a new house band for her bar, the Townhouse. She found 18-year-old Gretchen singing Patsy Cline covers, so well so that Osburn initially thought the singing was coming from a jukebox. Recognizing Gretchen's talent, Osburn immediately convinced Gretchen and her band, Sam-A-Lama, to move to Springfield and play at the Townhouse. In her biography, Wilson says it was the offer of a lifetime. After playing the Townhouse for two years at six nights a week Gretchen moved back home to Pocahontas, Ill., before continuing on to Nashville. [2]

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, 2001. 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 songwriting partner. In 2007, she completed the GED program.

[edit] Here for the Party

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. This song was also the first Number One country hit by a female in two years.[1] 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. Here for the Party was certified 5× Multi-Platinum by the RIAA.

[edit] All Jacked Up

On September 27, 2005, Gretchen released her second album, All Jacked Up,[1] 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, however, "All Jacked Up" peaked at #8 on Hot Country Songs after only eight chart weeks. 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. These latter two singles were issued on Columbia Records, due to the closure of Epic Records's Nashville division.

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 10 weeks, it exited the Billboard Top 200, having sold 178,220 copies at that point. "Come to Bed" (a duet with John Rich) 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 the Top 40.

[edit] I Got Your Country Right Here

On July 14, 2008, Gretchen released a new single, "Don't Do Me No Good". This song is the first single from her forthcoming studio album, I've Got Your Country Right Here, which has an expected release date of August 18, 2009. The lead single was unsuccessful, reaching a peak of #43.

On April 20, 2009, Gretchen released the second single from her upcoming album, according to her official website. "Don't Make Me Take My Earrings Out", also referred to as "The Earrings Song". However, the song failed to chart. "If I Could Do It All Again" is scheduled to be released as the album's third single.

On July 31, 2008, the Black Crowes filed a lawsuit against Wilson for copyright violation, alleging that her song "Work Hard, Play Harder" copied the Crowes song "Jealous Again". Also included in the suit were her label Sony BMG, her publishing company, and the cable network TNT, which has been using the song in commercials. [3] There is no resolution at present; however, Crowes manager Pete Angelus has stated that he expects a quick resolution without litigation. [4]

[edit] Rock Music

While a country singer first and foremost, Gretchen Wilson has also attracted favorable attention[5] for her rendition of classic rock songs by Heart - a group which she sees as "one of the biggest influences on my musical career." [6]. She has appeared several times on the same stage as lead singer Ann Wilson and guitarist Nancy Wilson, once describing the experience as "beyond a dream come true".[7] She has sung Straight On [8], Crazy On You[9], and - most notably - Barracuda[10], which she performed with Alice In Chains and Nancy Wilson on guitar.[11]

[edit] Politics

Gretchen Wilson sang the National Anthem (blended with a voice-over of the Pledge of Allegiance) to a national audience at the Republican National Convention in August 2008, later describing this as a "once-in-a-lifetime" experience at an "historic moment".[11] Wilson and her band also performed during Republican presidential candidate Arizona Senator John McCain and vice-presidential candidate Alaska Governor Sarah Palin's political rally at Lunken Airport in Cincinnati, Ohio on October 22, 2008 to an enthusiastic crowd of approximately 12,000 supporters. Palin started the rally by exclaiming that she couldn't wait to get (Wilson's) autograph. Wilson played a version of the Heart song "Barracuda" for Palin. The band Heart had requested that their own original version not be played at Republican rallies.[12]

[edit] Charities and Public Service

Gretchen Wilson has been active in support for children's charities, adult education, and the fight against obesity. Initiatives to date include: (1) Raising over $1.5 million through benefit performances for children’s charities[13], such as St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital and the Make-A-Wish Foundation. (2) Serving as national spokesperson for Country Bands Together, a national obesity education and counseling/support campaign sponsored by Allergan. (3) Advocacy for adult education, including testimony before Congress on the value and importance of support for adult learners.[12][13][14]

[edit] Awards

  • 2005 CMA Female Vocalist of the Year
  • 2004 ACM Top Female Vocalist
  • 2004 ACM Top New Artist
  • 2004 CMA Horizon Award
  • 2004 Grammy Award Best Female Country Vocal Performance[14]

[edit] Grammy Award history

Category Genre Album or Song Year Result
Best Country Female Vocal Performance Country "Redneck Woman" 2005 Won [15]
Best New Artist General N/A 2005 Nominated [16]
Best Country Song Country "Redneck Woman" 2005 Nominated [17]
Best Country Album Country Here for the Party 2005 Nominated [18]
Best Country Album Country All Jacked Up 2006 Nominated [19]
Best Female Country Vocal Performance Country "All Jacked Up" 2006 Nominated [20]
Best Country Song Country "All Jacked Up" 2006 Nominated [21]
Best Country Collaboration w/ Vocals Country "Politically Uncorrect" 2006 Nominated [22]

[edit] Discography

Main article: Gretchen Wilson discography

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c d Ruhlmann, William. "Gretchen Wilson biography". Allmusic. http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:acfixqyaldhe~T1. Retrieved on 2008-10-06. 
  2. ^ Springfield News Leader:[1]
  3. ^ Serpe, Gina (2008-07-30). "Black Crowes Caw Out Gretchen Wilson for Alleged Song Stealing". E! Online. http://www.eonline.com/uberblog/b148496_black_crowes_caw_gretchen_wilson.html. Retrieved on 2008-07-31. 
  4. ^ Cohen, Jonathan (2008-07-30). "Black Crowes Accuse Wilson Of Infringement". Billboard. http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003833560. Retrieved on 2008-07-31. 
  5. ^ http://www.tdpri.com/forum/bad-dog-cafe/76557-wow-gretchen-wilson-does-cover-heart.html
  6. ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_KRzICeBXBE
  7. ^ http://noted.blogs.com/westcoastmusic/2004/12/gretchen_wilson.html
  8. ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_KRzICeBXBE
  9. ^ http://www.cmt.com/artists/news/1499951/20050412/heart.jhtml
  10. ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BqQkECIn738&feature=related#
  11. ^ http://www.armytimes.com/entertainment/music/gns_gretchenwilson_091008/<
  12. ^ Palin, McCain Rally At Airport, USA Today, October 23, 2008[2]
  13. ^ http://www.zimbio.com/Gretchen+Wilson+Music/articles/2/Gretchen+Wilson+Raises+1+5+Million+During
  14. ^ http://www.cmt.com/artists/az/wilson_gretchen/awards.jhtml
  15. ^ [3]
  16. ^ [4]
  17. ^ [5]
  18. ^ [6]
  19. ^ [7]
  20. ^ [8]
  21. ^ [9]
  22. ^ [10]

[edit] External links

v • d • e
Gretchen Wilson
Studio albums
Here for the Party (2004) · All Jacked Up (2005) · One of the Boys (2007) · I Got Your Country Right Here (2009)
Singles
"Redneck Woman" · "Here for the Party" · "When I Think About Cheatin'" · "Homewrecker" · "All Jacked Up" · "I Don't Feel Like Loving You Today" · "Politically Uncorrect" (with Merle Haggard) · "California Girls" · "Come to Bed" (with John Rich) · "One of the Boys" · "You Don't Have to Go Home" · "Don't Do Me No Good" · "Don't Make Me Take My Earrings Out" · "If I Could Do It All Again"
Related topics
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gretchen_Wilson"
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