Watch Gretchen Wilson Perform 'Here For The Party' at the Grand Ole Opry

Photo byCourtesy of CMA

It’s been 20 years since Gretchen Wilson released “Here For The Party,” the title track and second single from her debut album. Wilson brought the song back to life during a recent performance at the Grand Ole Opry, reminding fans why she is still one of country music’s powerhouse vocalists.

Wilson burst onto the country music scene with her debut single, ‘Redneck Woman” in 2004. The song, which went straight to No. 1, came at a time when Wilson was struggling to pay her bills.

“I was still living in a rental house, and they had repossessed my vehicle that morning … you don’t get no money ’til you’re out there touring,” Wilson tells Taste of Country, remembering the first time she heard herself on the radio. “So, the song comes out and you’re still sitting there penniless.”

Wilson can laugh about the experience now, and the ironic timing of the event, but it wasn’t funny at the time.

“So the car, it was a little red Rodeo, and it was repossessed, and the guy was nice enough,” she continues, recalling that he came at 4:00 AM to take back her vehicle. “He knocked on the door because there was a child seat in the back. He didn’t want to take off with my car seat.

“That’s the first time I heard it on the radio, when my car was being repossessed and I was getting the child seat out of the back,” she adds.

“Here For The Party” was written by Wilson, along with John Rich and Kenny Alphin, known better as Big & Rich. The song was part of a record that forged a new fork in country music, thanks to Wilson’s tenacity and determination, after realizing there wasn’t a lot in country music for women like Wilson.

Photo byCourtesy of CMA

“I remember sitting down and saying, ‘I can’t really relate to what I’m seeing on CMT, GAC, all the popular music video channels, and this is not real life,’” Wilson reflects to Billboard. “That’s kind of the mindset we had that day. It was like, ‘If I’m not that, then what am I?’ And the best thing I could come up with was, ‘I’m just a regular ole redneck woman.’ That’s a really pivotal moment, just writing that song that I knew was uniquely me.

“But I also knew, from a songwriter’s standpoint, it was about as honest as I could get,” she continues. “I knew at the same time that it was going to speak to so many women that were feeling frustrated just like I was.”

When Wilson released Here For The Party, she was largely unaware at the time how much her music would resonate with the rest of the world.

“It was that season where I think for a little while, country music, and especially the females in country music, had gotten a little bit on the softer side,” Wilson shared on RFD-TV. “I think there was just a bunch of girls like me out there that were screaming, ‘That’s not my life. That’s not how I live. That’s not how I look. That’s not how I talk.’ They were just ready for something that spoke for them.”

Wilson just released a brand-new song, “Little Miss Runner-Up.” Find “Little Miss Runner Up” and all of Wilson’s music and upcoming shows at GretchenWilson.com.