Gretchen Wilson

Gretchen Wilson was born in Pocahontas, Illinois, to a teenage mother; her father left when she was two, leaving her mother to raise her alone. She dropped out of high school, worked as a cook, and later tended bar before moving to Nashville, where she became part of the MuzikMafia circle alongside Big & Rich and John Rich.

Signed to Epic Records in 2003, she released "Redneck Woman" in early 2004. The song topped the country charts and reached number 22 on the Billboard Hot 100, the first number-one country hit by a woman in two years, and won a Grammy for Best Female Country Vocal Performance.

Her debut album, Here for the Party, arrived the same year, built on rock-leaning production, a big belting delivery and working-class songwriting. It went to number one on the country chart and number two on the Billboard 200, was certified five-times platinum, and helped push her worldwide sales past eight million records. She opened tours for Brooks & Dunn and Montgomery Gentry.

All Jacked Up followed in 2005, topping both the country and all-genre album charts and going platinum. Its title track debuted at number 21, at the time the highest chart debut ever by a female country artist, a record later broken by Carrie Underwood. The album included a duet with Merle Haggard, "Politically Uncorrect," and earned two Grammy nominations for "I Don't Feel Like Loving You Today."

A third album, One of the Boys, followed in 2007, keeping the same barroom-country approach that defined her early records. She has since continued releasing music through her own label, staying close to the rock-edged, working-class style that made her name.