Gretchen Peters

Gretchen Peters is a Nashville Songwriters Hall of Famer who received a Grammy nomination and CMA Song of the Year Award in 1995 for Martina McBride’s “Independence Day,” a second Grammy nomination and ACM nomination for Patty Loveless’ “You Don’t Even Know Who I Am” in 1996 and a 2003 Golden Globe nomination for her song “Here I Am,” featured in the Dreamworks film Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron. Her discography boasts over 120 recordings with many iconic artists, including George Jones, George Strait, Etta James, Trisha Yearwood, Faith Hill, Pam Tillis, Anne Murray, Randy Travis, Neil Diamond, the Neville Brothers, Bryan Adams and Bonnie Raitt, Her eighth studio album Blackbirds features a who’s who of modern American roots music (Jerry Douglas, Jason Isbell, Jimmy LaFave, Suzy Bogguss and more). You can follow her on Twitter here.

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Bio

Gretchen Peters (born November 14, 1957 in Bronxville, New York) is an American singer-songwriter in the folk/country genre. An accomplished song-writer, she won the Country Music Association Song Of The Year award in 1994 for "Independence Day", a hit at the time for Martina McBride. She was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2014. Though born in New York, Peter's was raised in Boulder, Colorado, and then moved to Nashville in the late 1980s. There, she found work as a songwriter, composing hits for Martina McBride, Etta James, Trisha Yearwood, Patty Loveless, George Strait, Anne Murray, as well as for Neil Diamond and co-writing songs with Bryan Adams. She has twice been nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Country Song, in 1995 and 1996, and was nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Original Song in 2003. Peters has released a string of studio albums of her own. The title track of her 1996 debut album The Secret of Life was later recorded by Faith Hill in 1999. In the case of her new album, 'Blackbirds,' "juice" is certainly understatement. Recorded in Nashville, the album features a who's who of modern American roots music: Jerry Douglas, Jason Isbell, Jimmy LaFave, Will Kimbrough, Kim Richey, Suzy Bogguss and more. But it's not the guests that make 'Blackbirds' the most poignant and moving album of Peters' storied career; it’s the impeccable craftsmanship, her ability to capture the kind of complex, conflicting, and overwhelming emotional moments we might otherwise try to hide and instead shine a light of truth and understanding onto them. 'Blackbirds' is, in many ways, an album that is unafraid to face down mortality. But rather than dwell on the pain of loss, the music finds a new appreciation for the life we're given. If anyone can open up that conversation, it's Peters. Inducted into the prestigious Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2014, she has long been one of Music City's most beloved and respected artists, known never to shy away from darkness and struggle in her writing. Martina McBride's recording of her stirring "Independence Day," a song that deals with domestic abuse, was nominated for a Grammy and took home Song of the Year honors at the CMAs, and her work has been performed by everyone from Etta James and Neil Diamond to George Strait and Trisha Yearwood. "If Peters never delivers another tune as achingly beautiful as 'On A Bus To St. Cloud,'" People Magazine wrote, "she has already earned herself a spot among country's upper echelon of contemporary composers." 'Blackbirds' follows Peters' 2012 album 'Hello Cruel World,' which NPR called "the album of her career" and Uncut said "establishes her as the natural successor to Lucinda Williams." If anything, though, 'Blackbirds' truly establishes Peters as a one-of-a-kind singer and songwriter, one in possession of a fearless and endlessly creative voice. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.

Talks

Gretchen Peters Talks with Elizabeth McGovern (Downton Abbey) for the Talkhouse Podcast

By Gretchen Peters | October 18, 2018

Gretchen Peters Talks with Elizabeth McGovern (Downton Abbey) for the Talkhouse Podcast

Nashville stalwart Peters chats with legendary actress (and fellow musician) McGovern about music, marriage, acting, Downton Abbey, and much more.

Gretchen Peters Talks Rickie Lee Jones’ The Other Side of Desire

By Gretchen Peters | June 29, 2015

Gretchen Peters Talks Rickie Lee Jones’ The Other Side of Desire

Filled with songs that are a mysterious amalgam of the personal and the universal, the legendary Rickie Lee Jones' new album is one of her best.

Gretchen Peters Talks Mark Knopfler’s Tracker

By Gretchen Peters | March 16, 2015

Gretchen Peters Talks Mark Knopfler’s Tracker

An artist who knows that less is more, Mark Knopfler isn’t getting older, he’s getting better.

Gretchen Peters Talks the Difficulties of Writing an Effective Love Song

By Gretchen Peters | February 14, 2015

Gretchen Peters Talks the Difficulties of Writing an Effective Love Song

The hit country songwriter notes that anyone can write platitudes, but getting to the heart of true love is hard work.