There is a point in Gretchen Wilson‘s “Redneck Woman” music video where you’re looking at three dead people, and that is a lot to take in for such a celebratory song.

The singer dropped the clip 20 years ago and recently agreed to rewatch for the first time in … well, not 20 years, but she said it’s been one heck of a long time since she poured over footage from the “Redneck Woman” days.

Funerals, two weddings, the truth about the pregnant woman at the trailer park and how Wilson felt getting undressed in front of a camera — she isn’t afraid to talk about any of it!

Then there was the time she was sure directors did Tanya Tucker dirty. In the end it was all cool, but at the time, the newcomer was very nervous.

• “Redneck Woman” was Wilson’s breakout hit and is still her signature song.
• She performed the song with Ashley McBryde at 2024 CMA Fest in Nashville.
• Wilson is still making new music, too: “Little Miss Runner-Up” is her latest release.

Watch Wilson’s reaction as she re-watches “Redneck Woman” in the video above.

David Hogan directed the original video, but Wilson says she had plenty of creative say. It was all filmed in Nashville, with mudding scenes taking place at the Fontanel Mansion and the honky-tonk scene being shot at a local bar (since shuttered).

Tucker, Kid Rock, Hank Williams Jr. and Big & Rich all make cameo appearances in the music video – something Wilson says touches her even more today because she knows how hard it is for a “baby act” get legends on board in such a public way.

You’ll find time codes in the video description section, if you’d like to jump ahead to learn about who died, who got married and what happened to Tucker. We’ll share the story of who the two sexy dancers in the cage were here:

Those weren’t just two random actors or college-aged dancers. One, Wilson says, is songwriter Vicky McGehee, who would later write “Why” for Jason Aldean, “Like We Never Loved at All” for Tim McGraw and Faith Hill and “It’s Just That Way” for Alan Jackson.

At the time, she was one of Wilson’s favorite co-writers, with credits like “All Jacked Up” and “Holy Water” for Big & Rich coming soon.

The second dancer — the one with braids — is Joan Rich, as in John Rich‘s wife. Wilson almost blushes a little re-watching how she matched beats with Joan in this video. It starts a little dirty and ends a little dirty, but they’re two very different types of dirty.

Billy Dukes is a Senior Editor and Executive Producer of Video Content at Taste of Country. He specializes in country music interviews, trend analysis and the Secret History of Country Music. Additionally, Billy covers Yellowstone, 1923 and related television shows through the Dutton Rules podcast. To date, he’s written more than 13,000 articles for Taste of Country and produced over 3,000 videos for the Taste of Country YouTube channel.