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| Gretchen Wilson |
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"It became apparent to me really fast that I wasn't going to be able to make a living and pay my bills playing on Broadway."
-Gretchen Wilson
| Date of Birth: June 26, 1973 |
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| Before the release of Wilson's first effort, Here for the Party, airwaves became inundated with the hit "Redneck Woman." This track rocketed to the No. 1 spot on the country Billboard charts and radio charts, marking it the fastest rising artist's debut single in over a decade. |
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| The latest (and hottest) addition to the country music scene, Gretchen Wilson is a real tour de force. With a hit single already under her belt, she's well placed to dominate Nashville for years to come. |
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When Gretchen Wilson says she grew up in a small town, she's not exaggerating one bit. Pocahontas, Illinois, is a rural trailer park town of approximately 727 people, situated 36 miles east of St. Louis, Missouri. Born on June 26, 1973, and raised in Pocahontas, Gretchen Wilson had a tough childhood. Her mother was only 16 when Gretchen was born and the young, poor family was forced to frequently pack up and move to a new trailer when rent payments could not be made.
With a working mother and no father there for support, Gretchen turned to her grandmother for parenting. This support helped Wilson after she took on the responsibility of raising her baby brother at the age of 10. With only a grade eight education, she searched the small town for a job and finally settled on Big O's, a bar a few miles outside of town.
Tending bar at 14 years old, Wilson matured quickly. After a year there, she was promoted to manager and moved out on her own. Inspired to establish a life different from those stuck in Pocahontas, Gretchen turned to music, partly influenced by her guitar-playing father, with whom she reunited three years earlier. Wilson began singing at Big O's and even joined a cover band for a while.
In 1996, Gretchen made a life-changing decision: she would move to Nashville and try to establish a career as a country music singer. But four long years of working at bars and singing with local bands passed before she could realize this goal.
One night, while Wilson was on stage at a bar, Big Kenny and John Rich (both popular country singer-songwriters) heard her voice and were smitten with Wilson. A skeptical Gretchen initially ignored their calls, but a few months later, she finally listened to them.
Rich introduced Gretchen to the Muzik Mafia, an exclusive group of musicians and songwriters who met weekly to perform and created great country music together. Soon, Wilson was part of the "in" crowd and had created enough buzz that Sony Music Nashville signed her to a record deal.
Now with a daughter of her own, Wilson was motivated to take advantage of this opportunity. Along with top country music producers, she hit the studio soon after signing, singing a multitude of tracks she had written in her early days in Nashville. |
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Amerie |
| "It sounds like a clich?, but I always knew I was going to sing. I always knew that music was what |
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