Gretchen Wilson

About Gretchen Wilson

Gretchen Frances Wilson (born 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.

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 2007, she completed the GED program.