Gretchen Wilson Remembers Her First Time
You might be a redneck if ... you're Gretchen Wilson. That's a good thing, though.
Wilson, who grew up in the tiny town of Pocahontas, Ill. (population: 727), obviously embraces her country roots; after all, the singer cashed in on them big time with the release of her debut single, "Redneck Woman." The song became a No. 1 hit for her right out of the gate in 2004, and below, Wilson recalls to The Boot where she was when she heard it on the radio for the very first time.
I was in a rental house in Mt. Juliet, Tenn. I had family down, and every room in my house where there was a radio that I could listen to it on was full; people were sleeping in every room that there was a radio. I got a call from my manager at seven in the morning, and he said, "Hurry up and turn on the radio because it's going to be on there in a second. They're talking about it."
I couldn't get a radio turned on, so, in my pajamas, I went out to my truck and started it up and listened to it in my truck. I was really excited. It was kind of surreal: I was sitting there listening to myself on the radio. I never thought that day would come. It was a pretty crazy feeling. I guess that's kind of when I went, "Wow! Here we go! This is really happening!"
When my family got up later, I told them [I heard it], and we listened for it later in the day. They spun it later that day. My family -- a few of them never believed it would ever happen. I think they were overwhelmed and shocked. It was kind of a surreal moment for us all; it was almost like, "Is this really happening? It can't possibly be, not really! ... Someone from our family, on the radio?!"
This story was originally written by Pat Gallagher, and revised by Angela Stefano.