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1 Stampede, 2 Hours... 3... It's on! |
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Written by Erin Frustaci
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Wednesday, 21 June 2006 |
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Page 5 of 11
GRETCHEN WILSON: Rags to country riches
 Rappers talk about their childhoods on the streets. Any politician who has ever milked a cow or swept a floor remembers — at every speech — their life as the every man or woman. The owners of multi-national chains love to tell people about the shop their great grandparents started 100 years ago on a dirt road.
Americans love the rags-to-riches story. Gretchen Wilson has ridden hers to one of the most successful starts in country music.
Wilson’s single mom raised her in Pocahontas, Ill., a little town to the northeast of St. Louis. Pull up her Web site, gretchenwilson.com. It’s all laid out there. You can click on her news releases and read how she dropped out of school in the eighth grade to tend bar and became the beer joint’s manager as a 15-year-old.
She fronted a cover band at the bar, then moved to Nashville. You see where this is going.
Wilson nailed it from the start. Her first album, “Here for the Party” went quadruple platinum. She won a Grammy and the Country Music Awards Horizon Award. “All Jacked Up” debuted in 2005 as the No. 1 song on Billboard’s list of top overall songs and its country albums chart. She also won female vocalist awards in 2005  from the Country Music Awards and the American Music Awards.
Most of the fans already know her story by heart, and yes, they’re ready to hear it again.
TO GO
• Gretchen Wilson performs at 8 p.m. June 23 at the Island Grove Arena, with Blake Shelton.
• Tickets range from $31 to $47 at the Stampede box office, 600 N. 14th Ave., Greeley, 356.SPUR (7787) or any Colorado King Soopers or online at
www.TicketsWest.com, 866.464.2626
By Doyle Murphy For NEXTnc
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|  | "Humankind cannot gain anything without first giving something in return. To obtain, something of equal value must be lost. That is Alchemy's first law of Equivalent Exchange. In those days, we really believed that to be the world's one, and only truth." | |
|  | We're not that bright, even though in our own little world, we're geniuses. We like 80s hair bands and one-hit wonders, but among us we have respectable tastes, too. Metallica, Iron Maiden, U2. Pursuit of all things trivial is a lifestyle, not just a game. We like some sports, love other sports, and can find something to say about anything. We watch TV and movies and we've read a book or two, even a few classics (Yes, Classic Comics count!)
We call it insight, you call it what you will. | |
|  | Felix Wong is an outdoor enthusiast living in Fort Collins. A mechanical engineer by day, he is especially passionate about bicycling, running, and backpacking. | |
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I am a recent college graduate of Minnesota State University Moorhead. After recieving my B.A. in English and Mass Communications this past August I moved down to Colorado.
I enjoy long walks on the beach, candlelight dinners, and heavy metal. My hobbies include reading and writing, music, movies, and getting drunk. Some of my favorite contemporary authors include Bret Easton Ellis, Chuck Palahniuk, and Kurt Vonnegut. My top movies are anything directed by Kubrick. I enjoy listening to anything that rocks.
Right now I am just trying to get to know Colorado and FoCo better. Mostly in order to find the best drink specials on each day that ends in Y. So if you know where I can get a cheap drunk on, let me know!
--Drew | |
|  | Life's little morsels of inspiration, observation and encouragement seen through the eyes of the Nextnc reporter.
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|  | Ms. Giles currently lives in Colorado where she stars in her own private reality show. She writes aphoristic accounts of her life, taken completely out of context, and embellished with characters and situations disguised to resemble something close to interesting. | |
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| | My name is Michelle Turley and I'm 28 years old. I live in Severance with my hubbie, Brandon. We have 2 dogs and a cat. We enjoy camping, four-wheeling, and just being in the mountains. I like to cook, clean (go figure), flea market, and play poker. I have so much to say about poker... | |
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