Stumble Upon

del.icio.us

Digg

Facebook

Print

Email

speakup

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Country music singer Gretchen Wilson has a mantel full of awards in her home.

Her first radio single, "Redneck Woman," spent five weeks at No. 1 on Billboard's Hot Country Songs chart and it earned her a 2005 Grammy. Her debut album sold 4.5 million copies.

But despite all her successes, the 34-year-old songwriter was among the 20 per cent of Tennesseans without a high school diploma. However, that's no longer the case.

Wilson, who dropped out in ninth grade, passed her General Educational Development exam last month and will don a cap and gown during a May 15 graduation ceremony.

Wilson told The Tennessean that her seven-year-old daughter was the big reason to finally finish high school, saying: "I certainly don't want her to think you can be this successful without an education."