Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame - Class of 2014

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The youngest of four children, Gretchen Peters was raised in the New York City suburb of Pelham.  She was writing poems while still in grade school, and at age seven, she asked for ­– and received – a guitar for Christmas.

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Inspired by K.T. Oslin, Steve Earle, and Nanci Griffith, Gretchen moved to Nashville in late 1987.  Within two years, established artists were recording her songs. Her first considerable success was “The Chill Of An Early Fall,” recorded by George Strait in 1991.  Gretchen’s domestic-violence saga “Independence Day” was a hit for Martina McBride in 1994 and was named the 1995 Country Music Association (CMA) Song of the Year.  It was also nominated for a country-song Grammy Award, as was the 1995 Patty Loveless hit “You Don’t Even Know Who I Am.”  Among Gretchen’s other Country hits are “My Baby Loves Me” by Martina McBride, “Let That Pony Run” by Pam Tillis, and “The Secret Of Life” by Faith Hill. 

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Gretchen has collaborated on many songs with Canadian Rock star Bryan Adams, including his Adult Contemporary hits “Here I Am” and “This Side Of Paradise.”  She has also scored Bluegrass hits with “If Wishes Were Horses” by Claire Lynch and “High Lonesome” by Longview. 

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Gretchen was named Songwriter of the Year at the 1996 Nashville Music Awards.  In 2007, she was Folkwax magazine’s Artist of the Year, and in 2021, she received the Academy of Country Music (ACM) Poet's Award.