Country music singer Gretchen Wilson has a mantel full of awards in her Lebanon 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.

Despite all her successes, the 34-year-old songwriter was one of 20 per cent of Tennesseans without a high school diploma. Wilson, who dropped out in ninth grade, passed her general educational development high school equivalency exam in April and will don a cap and gown during a May 15 graduation ceremony.  Wilson told The Tennessean that her 7-year-old daughter was the big reason to finally finish her studies, saying, "I certainly don’t want her to think you can be this successful without an education."