Rita Wilson On Her New Single, ‘Where’s My Country Song?’ And Why She’s So Passionate About Music

She’s an actress and producer, and in recent years has also become recognized for her talents as a singer/ songwriter. With four studio albums under her belt, Rita Wilson has just released a new single called “Where’s My Country Song?” Cowritten by her and Lee DeWyze, the song aims to honor women everywhere.

“I wrote it for people like my mom, people like single mothers I know, and women out there doing jobs that we often take for granted. They’re working hard and doing the best they can and they aren’t always getting the respect and celebration they deserve.”

The lyric video travels back through time with footage of women through history working in factories, hospitals, grocery stores, and on other job sites. Some jobs are behind the scenes, some in support of the country, but all while raising children and supporting their families.

The song was written before COVID-19, but Wilson says it also serves as a tribute to women working on the medical front lines.

“When the pandemic happened, it was clear to me there were so many women who were the ones keeping everything going: nurses, healthcare workers, and caregivers. I wanted to shine a spotlight on women who do so much behind the scenes, who people aren’t normally writing songs about.”

The release of the song follows a busy couple of months for Wilson. She and her husband, Tom Hanks, made headlines in early March when they were diagnosed with the coronavirus and had to seek medical care in Australia. They have since returned to Los Angeles, are fully recovered, and are now “feeling great!’

While in quarantine, Wilson kept busy with music. She posted song lists on social media and at one point decided to ‘test her brain’ to see if she remembered all of the words to a popular song she learned years ago for her role in the move, Boy Genius. The song was Naughty By Nature’s 1992 hit “Hip Hip Hooray.” Her cellphone version went viral, and she and the group have since recorded a remix that serves as a fundraiser. Every time it streams, profits go to the MusiCares Foundation COVID-19 Relief Fund.

Most are familiar with Wilson’s work in film, whether through her acting roles in movies like Sleepless in Seattle or the TV show The Good Wife, or as a producer behind megahits My Big Fat Greek Wedding and Mama Mia. While music has always been a big part of her life, she never thought about writing songs until she had a conversation with songwriter and composer, Kara DioGuardi.

“We had both done Chicago the Musical on Broadway and we both played Roxie Hart,” Wilson recalls. “Kara’s an amazing songwriter. She wrote “Sober” with Pink and “Heartbeat” with Kelli Clarkson, and so many more. We met because our dance captain from the show thought we had a lot in common. Kara asked me what I wanted to do next, thinking it might be what’s next in movies, and I said I’d give anything to be able to write a song.”

She remembers DioGuardi then asking her, “Well, why don’t you?”

Wilson explained she didn’t play an instrument or read music.

“And Kara said, “Yeah, neither do I. But you have something you want to say.’”

Hearing DioGuardi marked a turning point for Wilson.   

“I was like, yes, yes! I have something to say. And I didn’t even know this was a way I could say it, you know?

As Wilson began studying the craft of songwriting, she realized the same thing that had drawn her to movies and filmmaking, was also important in music. It was the ability to share a story.”

“My early music influences were songwriters who were telling stories in their songs. The first one I remember was ‘Ode to Billie Joe.’ That just blew me away. What was going on up on that bridge? It was mysterious and dark and it got me thinking. Then there was the Beatles “She’s Leaving Home” and “Eleanor Rigby,” same kind of storytelling. Or “Love Child” by Diana Ross and the Supremes. It was always the story in the song that got me.”

Her determination to write ‘storytelling’ songs took her to Nashville.

“Nashville is really the place where I started to hone my writing chops and I’ve had the opportunity to write with some of the best songwriters there. I’m extremely thankful for that community and the welcome they’ve given me, because let’s face it, I’m an outsider. I was born and raised in Hollywood, California. And even though I like to say I’m southern,” she stops, then starts to laugh, “it’s southern California.”

She’s performed at the annual CMA Fest, she recently hosted a CMT virtual concert tribute to the late Kenny Rogers, and has even appeared on the coveted stage of the Grand Ole Opry.

“I’ve done the Opry now six times. They say you count your performances and I am!”

She’s also performed at the Stagecoach Festival, The Sydney Opera House in Australia, and toured with Sugarland.  And she appeared from Los Angeles this morning as part of CMT’s star-studded, live-stream “Feed the Frontline Live” benefit concert.

Launching a music career later in life has proven more rewarding than Wilson ever imagined. And while venturing into something new is never easy, she became even more determined to follow her passion after going through treatment for breast cancer in 2015.

“If you’ve had a health crisis which I did five years ago, you really start thinking I can NOT waste one more second doing something I don’t want to be doing. Because you don’t know how much time you have left. And I started writing before the health crisis because it was something I’ve desperately wanted to do ever since I was a kid. But I didn’t think I could do it because I didn’t play an instrument. Then I started acting and that became my full-time job. So, this took a leap of faith and I had to believe I had to do it, no matter what.”

And although she’s grateful for the success, it was never the initial goal.

“I started writing because I loved writing and I wanted to tell stories and if people responded to it – great. And if they didn’t, well I have no control over that. All I can do is keep telling stories and hopefully people will find them.”