Wilson, Gretchen (1973– )

US country singer. Unlike many of her contemporaries, such as Shania Twain and Faith Hill, her brand of country music underscores her unsophisticated, rural background, as in her hit single ‘Redneck Woman’ (2004), which celebrates US small-town women and features on her debut album Here for the Party (2004).

She won a Grammy Award for Best Female Country Vocal Performance for ‘Redneck Woman’ in 2005.

She was born in Granite City and grew up in Pocahontas, Illinois, a small rural town east of St Louis, Missouri. After becoming lead singer of a cover band she moved to Nashville in 1996, and was discovered singing with the house band of a local bar by country artists Big Kenny and John Rich (Big and Rich) and later signed with Sony Music Nashville.

Here for the Party was the bestselling album from a debut artist in 2004. After the success of the single ‘Redneck Woman’, the album entered the Top 200 record chart at number two and the country album chart at number one.