Gretchen Frances Wilson (born June 26, 1973 in Pocahontas, Illinois) is a Grammy award-winning American country music singer-songwriter. Gretchen 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 Gretchen herself dropped out of the 8th grade at age 15 to work as a cook and bartender in rural Illinois. ...show more

Gretchen Frances Wilson (born June 26, 1973 in Pocahontas, Illinois) is a Grammy award-winning American country music singer-songwriter. Gretchen 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 Gretchen herself dropped out of the 8th grade at age 15 to work as a cook and bartender in rural Illinois.

After a failed marriage to former Baywolfe bandmate Larry Rolens, Gretchen moved to Nashville and began dating Mike Penner. They have a daughter, Grace Frances Penner, who was born November 9, 2000. Gretchen, who had sung for Kmart as a child, sang 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 former member of Lonestar, 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 -- May 11, 2004 -- and it debuted at #1 on the Billboard country chart. ...show less