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HOUSE RESOLUTION


 
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    WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of 
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Representatives wish to congratulate recording artist Gretchen 
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Wilson, a native of Pocahontas, on all her success; and

 
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    WHEREAS, Gretchen Wilson went from obscurity to phenomenon 
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overnight; her first single, "Redneck Woman," spent six weeks 
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at #1; her debut album, Here For The Party, sold more than five 
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million copies; she won across-the-board awards including a 
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Grammy and Academy of Country Music, Country Music Association,  
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and American Music Association awards for best female vocalist; 
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and she has toured around the world promoting her albums; and

 
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    WHEREAS, Her second album, All Jacked Up, won great reviews 
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and went to platinum status; over the last three years, she has 
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been featured on "60 Minutes," "Dateline NBC," "20/20 
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Primetime" and CNN's "People In The News," and she has appeared 
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on virtually every morning and late-night television show; 
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magazine covers, major news features, and her book, Redneck 
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Woman: Stories from My Life, have all told her story, with the 
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book making the prestigious New York Times Best Seller List; 
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and

 
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    WHEREAS, Gretchen Wilson is a  single mother of daughter 
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Grace, and has  property outside

 Nashville; she is the head of a 
 


 






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major business enterprise, the focal point of a huge touring 
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company, and a major modern media star; she came from 
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Pocahontas, in southern Illinois, where she was born to a 
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16-year-old mother; with her father not part of her life, she 
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got much of her grounding from her grandmother, who introduced 
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her to the classic country music of Patsy Cline, among others; 
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and

 
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    WHEREAS, Amid life's uncertainties, trailers, moving to 
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stay ahead of rent collectors, taking care of her younger 
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brother, bartending at 14 alongside her mother, Gretchen Wilson 
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found release in country and rock music; she was on her own by 
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15, managing Big O's, a bar outside town, and singing for its 
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rough-and-tumble patrons; she sang along to CD's for tips until 
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she was old enough to join a cover band and sing as far down the 
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interstate as St. Louis; in 1996 she went to Nashville, where 
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she put her bartending skills to use in Printers' Alley, 
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sitting in with the band; it was there that John Rich and Big 
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Kenny, known on the country and western music scene as Big and 
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Rich, discovered her; She began singing demos and became part 
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of the fledgling Muzik Mafia, singing on Tuesday nights in 
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ever-bigger clubs and pitching herself to record labels; and

 
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    WHEREAS, Along with John Rich, she wrote her first single 
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"Redneck Woman" and the rest is history;    beyond her career and 
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family, Gretchen has maintained an active charitable role, 
 


 






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performing recently in clubs and small theaters to raise money 
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for organizations like St. Jude Children's Research Hospital 
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and Children's Miracle Network; therefore, be it

 
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    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE 
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NINETY-FIFTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we 
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congratulate Gretchen Wilson on her success and wish her 
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continued good fortune in the future; and be it further

 
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    RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be 
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presented to Gretchen Wilson as a symbol of our respect and 
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admiration.