Gretchen Peters

• Name — Gretchen Peters • Landscape — yes • Born — 14 November 1957 • Birthplace — Bronxville, New York, U.S. • Genre — * Country folk • Americana • Occupation — * Singer • songwriter • Instrument — * Guitar • piano • vocals • Years Active — 1996–present • Label — * Imprint • Purple Crayon • Scarlet Letter • Website — www.gretchenpeters.com Gretchen Peters is an American singer and songwriter.

Peters was born in Bronxville in affluent Westchester County, New York, on November 14, 1957 and spent her early childhood in nearby Pelham Manor. Her father was the journalist and filmmaker William Peters. In 1970, after her parents' divorce, Peters moved with her mother to Boulder, Colorado.

• Illustration — Peters performing at the Cambridge Folk Festival in 2010 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. 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. 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." On August 12, 2022, Peters announced her intention to retire from full-scale touring and completed a UK "farewell tour" in June 2023, though she will continue to write and record.

Peters is married to keyboardist and producer Barry Walsh, her long-time performing partner, who has also performed with the reunified Box Tops.

• Title — Album details — Peak positions • UK Country — UK • The Secret of Life — * Release date: June 4, 1996 * Label: Imprint Records — 3 — — • Gretchen Peters — * Release date: February 13, 2001 * Label: Purple Crayon Records — 7 — — • Halcyon — * Release date: May 31, 2004 * Label: Purple Crayon Records — 7 — — • Burnt Toast & Offerings — * Release date: August 7, 2007 * Label: Scarlet Letter Records — 6 — — • Northern Lights — * Release date: October 21, 2008 * Label: Scarlet Letter Records — — — — • One to the Heart, One to the Head (with Tom Russell) — * Release date: February 1, 2009 * Label: Scarlet Letter Records — 4 — — • Hello Cruel World — * Release date: January 31, 2012 * Label: Scarlet Letter Records — 1 — 70 • Blackbirds — * Release date: February 10, 2015 * Label: Scarlet Letter Records — 1 — 39 • Dancing with the Beast — * Release date: May 18, 2018 * Label: Scarlet Letter Records — 2 — 87 • The Night You Wrote That Song — * Release date: May 15, 2020 * Label: Scarlet Letter Records — 1 — — • "—" denotes releases that did not chart

• Title — Album details — | Peak positions • UK Country Compliatons • Trio: Recorded Live — * Release date: March 28, 2006 * Label: Purple Crayon Records — 3 • Woman on the Wheel: Live from the Hello Cruel World Tour 2012 (Limited Edition Book/CD/DVD) — * Release date: May 7, 2013 * Label: Scarlet Letter Records — — • The Show: Live from the UK — * Release date: August 19, 2022 * Label: Scarlet Letter Records — 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) — * Release date: May 12, 2009 * Label: Scarlet Letter Records — 2 • The Essential Gretchen Peters — * Release date: January 29, 2016 * Label: Scarlet Letter Records — 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" — — • 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" — Bud Schaetzle • 2012 — "The Matador" — Bud Schaetzle • 2015 — "Blackbirds" — Eric Power • 2018 — "Arguing With Ghosts" — Joshua Britt & Neilson Hubbard/Neighborhoods Apart