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Gretchen Peters | |
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| Background information | |
| Born | November 14, 1957 Bronxville, New York, U.S. |
| Genres | |
| Occupations |
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| Instruments |
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| Years active | 1996–present |
| Labels |
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Spouse | Barry Walsh (m. 2011) |
| Website | www |
Gretchen Peters is an American singer and songwriter.
Peters was born in Bronxville, New York on November 14, 1957. She wrote her first song with her sister at the age of 5. In 1970, her parents broke up, and Peters moved with her mother to Boulder, Colorado.
In Boulder, she discovered a lively music scene, and began playing at local clubs. In 1988 she moved to Nashville, where she found work as a songwriter, composing hits for Martina McBride, Etta James, Trisha Yearwood, Patty Loveless, George Strait, Anne Murray, Shania Twain, Neil Diamond and co-writing songs with Bryan Adams. [1] [2] Some of Peters' notable compositions include "The Secret of Life", "On a Bus to St. Cloud", "You Don't Even Know Who I Am" and "Independence Day", for which she received the Country Music Association Award for Song of the Year. In addition, Peters has released fourteen studio albums of her own, beginning with 1996's The Secret of Life .
As a writer, Peters' style is defined by melancholy lyrics and dark themes, such as murder, loneliness, PTSD, sexual abuse, and domestic violence. She was inducted to the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame on October 5, 2014. [3]
In June 2021, the Academy of Country Music announced that they would honor Peters with the Poet's Award. Presented during the ACM Honors ceremony at the Ryman Auditorium on August 25, 2021, the award honors to a songwriter’s "outstanding and longstanding musical and/or lyrical contributions throughout their career, with special consideration given to a song or songs’ impact on the culture of country music." [4]
On August 12, 2022, Peters announced her intention to retire from full-scale touring, playing her final shows in June 2023, though she will continue to write and record. [5]
Peters is married to keyboardist and producer Barry Walsh, her long-time performing partner, who has also performed with the reunified Box Tops. [6] [7]
| Title | Album details | Peak positions | |
|---|---|---|---|
| UK Country [8] | UK | ||
| The Secret of Life |
| 3 | — |
| Gretchen Peters |
| 7 | — |
| Halcyon |
| 7 | — |
| Burnt Toast & Offerings |
| 6 | — |
| Northern Lights |
| — | — |
| One to the Heart, One to the Head (with Tom Russell) |
| 4 | — |
| Hello Cruel World |
| 1 | 70 |
| Blackbirds |
| 1 | 39 |
| Dancing with the Beast |
| 2 | 87 |
| The Night You Wrote That Song |
| 1 | — |
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart | |||
| Title | Album details | Peak positions |
|---|---|---|
| UK Country Compliatons | ||
| Trio: Recorded Live |
| 3 |
| Woman on the Wheel: Live from the Hello Cruel World Tour 2012 (Limited Edition Book/CD/DVD) |
| — |
| The Show: Live from the UK |
| 1 |
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart | ||
| Title | Album details | Peak positions |
|---|---|---|
| UK Country Compliatons | ||
| Circus Girl: The Best Of (single CD and 2-CD versions) |
| 2 |
| The Essential Gretchen Peters |
| 1 |
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart | ||
| Year | Single | Peak positions | Album |
|---|---|---|---|
| US Country | |||
| 1996 | "When You Are Old" | 68 | The Secret of Life |
| "I Ain't Never Satisfied" [9] | — | ||
| 2012 | "Hello Cruel World" | — | Hello Cruel World |
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart | |||
| Year | Single | Artist | Peak positions | Album |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Country | ||||
| 1999 | "New Year's Eve 1999" | Alabama | 55 | — |
| Year | Video | Director |
|---|---|---|
| 1996 | "When You Are Old" [10] | Bud Schaetzle |
| 2012 | "The Matador" | Bud Schaetzle |
| 2015 | "Blackbirds" | Eric Power |
| 2018 | "Arguing With Ghosts" | Joshua Britt & Neilson Hubbard/Neighborhoods Apart |
| This section of a biography of a living person does not include any references or sources .(May 2017) |
| Year | Association | Category | Nominated Work | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | Country Music Association | Song of the Year | "Independence Day" | Won |
| 1995 | Grammy Awards | Best Country Song | Nominated | |
| 1996 | Grammy Awards | "You Don't Even Know Who I Am" | Nominated | |
| 1996 | Academy of Country Music | Song of the Year | Nominated | |
| 2002 | Golden Globes | Best Original Song | "Here I Am" | Nominated |
| 2016 | UK Americana Association | International Album of the Year | Blackbirds | Won |
| 2016 | UK Americana Association | International Artist of the Year | Gretchen Peters | Nominated |
| 2016 | UK Americana Association | International Song of the Year (shared with Ben Glover) | "Blackbirds" | Won |
| 2021 | Academy of Country Music | Poet's Award | Gretchen Peters | Won |
| International | |
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| National | |
| Artists | |
