A hit country music video inspired one of the biggest hit country songs of the 21st century. Do you know which artist Gretchen Wilson was responding to when she wrote "Redneck Woman"?

"Redneck Woman" (co-written by John Rich) is the topic of this week's episode of The Secret History of Country Music. The song made Wilson a household name overnight (or as close as you can get in the slow-moving music industry), but it didn't make her rich. In fact, one of the things you'll learn during this video history lesson is why the singer was still living paycheck to paycheck as her song hit No. 1 and she started to win country music awards. The girl was broke!

Other than that, it was a great time for Wilson though, right? Not really. During several interviews with Taste of Country, the now 45-year-old spoke candidly about not feeling like she belonged and the frustrating process of making a debut album. Two songs in particular she fought not to include, but years later she admits she's grateful she lost those battles, as she can now see the bigger picture. These days Wilson is still releasing new music on her own Redneck Records while mentoring up and coming artists like Jessie G.

The Secret History of Country Music is a new weekly series hosted by Taste of Country News host Ania Hammar. We'll go deeper inside the stories of country music's biggest hits, moments and figures. Look for episodes the origination of the ACM Awards coming up, and be sure to subscribe to Taste of Country's YouTube channel so you never miss a new episode.

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