''Here for the Party'' is the debut studio album by American

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

singer

Gretchen Wilson Gretchen Frances Wilson (born June 26, 1973) is an American country music singer and songwriter. She made her debut in March 2004 with the Grammy Awards, Grammy Award-winning single "Redneck Woman", a number-one hit on the ''Billboard (magazine) ...

. It was released on May 11, 2004, by Epic Records Nashville. The album reached the top of the US country charts in May 2004 and number 2 on the ''Billboard'' 200 album charts. Featured on the album is Wilson's breakthrough debut single, "

Redneck Woman "Redneck Woman" is the debut single of American country music artist Gretchen Wilson, released on March 15, 2004, from her debut studio album, '' Here for the Party'' (2004). Wilson co-wrote the song with John Rich. It is Wilson's only number-one ...

", a Number One hit on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' Hot Country Singles & Tracks (now

Hot Country Songs Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. This 50-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly by collecting airplay data from Nielsen BDS along with digital sal ...

) charts. The tracks "

Here for the Party ''Here for the Party'' is the debut studio album by American country music singer Gretchen Wilson. It was released on May 11, 2004, by Epic Records Nashville. The album reached the top of the US country charts in May 2004 and number 2 on the ''B ...

", "When I Think About Cheatin'", and "Homewrecker" were also released as singles; these three singles all reached top 5 on the country charts as well. The album received four Grammy nominations: Best New Artist, Best Country Album, Best Country Song ("Redneck Woman") and Best Female Country Vocal Performance ("Redneck Woman"). Gretchen Wilson won Best Female Country Vocal Performance.

Making of the album

Gretchen Wilson was singing in a bar when she met

John Rich John Rich (born January 7, 1974) is an American country music singer-songwriter. From 1992 to 1998, he was a member of the country music band Lonestar, in which he played bass guitar and alternated with Richie McDonald as lead vocalist. After d ...

Big & Rich Big & Rich is an American country music duo composed of Big Kenny and John Rich, both of whom are songwriters, vocalists, and guitarists. Before the duo's foundation, Rich was bass guitarist in the country band Lonestar, while Kenny was a solo ...

, who invited her to work with him. After some persistence, she agreed and joined the

MuzikMafia The MuzikMafia was an informal collection of American country music artists, founded in October 2001 in Nashville, Tennessee by Big Kenny and John Rich (musician), John Rich (who compose the duo Big & Rich), along with Jon Nicholson and Cory Gierma ...

, an informal group of Nashville singers and songwriters that gathered weekly to play songs. Wilson signed with

Epic Records Epic Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America Sony Corporation of America (SONAM, also known as SCA), is the American arm of the Japanese conglomerate Sony Group ...

in 2003 and went in the studio with producers Mark Wright and Joe Scaife and Rich as co-producer. The first single, "Redneck Woman," was written as a tribute to women from small-town America.

Reception

"Redneck Woman" was released as a single in early 2004 and reached the top of the ''Billboard'' country singles charts and number 22 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. The album was released in the U.S. on May 11, 2004. It debuted at the top of the country album charts and at number two on the ''Billboard'' 200 with 227,000 copies sold. ''Here for the Party'' was the fifth best selling album of 2004, with about 2.9 million copies sold.

Track listing

Musicians

Compiled from liner notes. ;Musicians * Al Anderson – gut string guitar *

Big Kenny William Kenneth Alphin (born November 1, 1963), best known by his stage name Big Kenny, is an American country music singer. He and John Rich comprise the duo Big & Rich, who recorded four studio albums and charted fifteen singles on the '' Bill ...

– background vocals *Mike Brignardello –

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...

baritone guitar The baritone guitar is a guitar with a longer scale length, typically a larger body, and heavier internal bracing, so it can be tuned to a lower pitch. Gretsch, Fender, Gibson, Ibanez, ESP Guitars, PRS Guitars, Music Man, Danelectro, Schec ...

Tom Bukovac Tom Bukovac is an American session musician and producer. He was born in Cleveland, Ohio, and raised in nearby Willowick, Ohio. He has been a Nashville-based musician since 1992. He previously owned 2nd Gear, a used music consignment shop in Sou ...

– electric guitar *

Eric Darken Eric A. Darken is an American percussionist, composer, and programmer. Biography Drawing inspiration from his grandfather, a band leader. Darken began playing drums at age 12, and played timpani and mallets in high school. Darken attended ...

– percussion *

Larry Franklin The Lawrence Franklin espionage scandal involved Lawrence Franklin passing classified documents regarding United States policy towards Iran to Israel. Franklin, a former United States Department of Defense employee, pleaded guilty to several espi ...

– fiddle, mandolin *

Kenny Greenberg Kenneth S. "Kenny" Greenberg is an American guitarist, songwriter, producer, and session musician. He is known for bringing a rock-and-roll sensibility to Nashville recording sessions. Biography Greenberg was born in Cleveland, Ohio but attend ...

– electric guitar *Wes Hightower – background vocals *

Greg Morrow Greg Morrow is an American drummer, percussionist, session musician, mixing engineer, and vocalist. Biography Morrow was born in Ripley, Tennessee and raised in Memphis. At age 11, Morrow and his band performed on a local TV show, and he par ...

– drums, percussion *

Steve Nathan Steven Jay Nathan is an American keyboardist. He is known for his session work in Muscle Shoals and Nashville studios. Biography Nathan was born and raised in Buffalo, New York. In 1977, Nathan moved to Muscle Shoals, Alabama. After touring wit ...

– piano, Hammond B-3 organ *Russ Pahl – pedal steel guitar, lap steel guitar, banjo *Angela Primm – background vocals * Michael Rhodes – bass guitar, baritone guitar *

– acoustic guitar, background vocals *

Patrick Reilly Sir Patrick Reilly, GCMG (17 March 1909 – 6 October 1999) was a British diplomat who served as ambassador to the USSR and France. He held several senior posts and was called "the perfect mandarin." Biography D'Arcy Patrick Reilly was born at ...

- bass guitar *Joe Scaife – background vocals *Trez – background vocals *Gale West – background vocals * John Willis – acoustic guitar Payr *Gretchen Wilson – lead vocals, background vocals *

Reese Wynans Reese Wynans (born November 28, 1947) is an American keyboard player, who has done session work and has been a member of Double Trouble and progressive rock band Captain Beyond. In 2015, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a ...

– piano, Hammond B-3 organ

Chart performances

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Here For The Party 2004 debut albums Epic Records albums Gretchen Wilson albums Albums produced by Mark Wright (record producer)