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1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2     WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of
3 Representatives wish to congratulate recording artist Gretchen
4 Wilson, a native of Pocahontas, on all her success; and
 
5     WHEREAS, Gretchen Wilson went from obscurity to phenomenon
6 overnight; her first single, "Redneck Woman," spent six weeks
7 at #1; her debut album, Here For The Party, sold more than five
8 million copies; she won across-the-board awards including a
9 Grammy and Academy of Country Music, Country Music Association,
10 and American Music Association awards for best female vocalist;
11 and she has toured around the world promoting her albums; and
 
12     WHEREAS, Her second album, All Jacked Up, won great reviews
13 and went to platinum status; over the last three years, she has
14 been featured on "60 Minutes," "Dateline NBC," "20/20
15 Primetime" and CNN's "People In The News," and she has appeared
16 on virtually every morning and late-night television show;
17 magazine covers, major news features, and her book, Redneck
18 Woman: Stories from My Life, have all told her story, with the
19 book making the prestigious New York Times Best Seller List;
20 and
 
21     WHEREAS, Gretchen Wilson is a single mother of daughter
22 Grace, and has property outside Nashville; she is the head of a

 

 

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1 major business enterprise, the focal point of a huge touring
2 company, and a major modern media star; she came from
3 Pocahontas, in southern Illinois, where she was born to a
4 16-year-old mother; with her father not part of her life, she
5 got much of her grounding from her grandmother, who introduced
6 her to the classic country music of Patsy Cline, among others;
7 and
 
8     WHEREAS, Amid life's uncertainties, trailers, moving to
9 stay ahead of rent collectors, taking care of her younger
10 brother, bartending at 14 alongside her mother, Gretchen Wilson
11 found release in country and rock music; she was on her own by
12 15, managing Big O's, a bar outside town, and singing for its
13 rough-and-tumble patrons; she sang along to CD's for tips until
14 she was old enough to join a cover band and sing as far down the
15 interstate as St. Louis; in 1996 she went to Nashville, where
16 she put her bartending skills to use in Printers' Alley,
17 sitting in with the band; it was there that John Rich and Big
18 Kenny, known on the country and western music scene as Big and
19 Rich, discovered her; She began singing demos and became part
20 of the fledgling Muzik Mafia, singing on Tuesday nights in
21 ever-bigger clubs and pitching herself to record labels; and
 
22     WHEREAS, Along with John Rich, she wrote her first single
23 "Redneck Woman" and the rest is history; beyond her career and
24 family, Gretchen has maintained an active charitable role,

 

 

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1 performing recently in clubs and small theaters to raise money
2 for organizations like St. Jude Children's Research Hospital
3 and Children's Miracle Network; therefore, be it
 
4     RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
5 NINETY-FIFTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we
6 congratulate Gretchen Wilson on her success and wish her
7 continued good fortune in the future; and be it further
 
8     RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
9 presented to Gretchen Wilson as a symbol of our respect and
10 admiration.