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NASHVILLE, Tennessee — When actress and singer Rita Wilson was a little girl, she and her Greek mother would bond by listening to songs on the radio, especially by 70s singer-songwriters.
Wilson’s mother would discuss with her what the song meant and what the artist wanted to say, sometimes giving her daughter a new way to think about the lyrics.
“I think listening to songs from someone else’s point of view and they’re listening to them differently is always a great way to listen to songs and also speaks to the impact it has on music because we all interpret them in our own way,” Wilson said .
Now, Wilson is doing that with her favorite ’70s songs and turning them into duets for her new record, “Rita Wilson Now & Forever: Duets.” Her musical collaborators include Willie Nelson, Smokey Robinson, Keith Urban, Leslie Odom Jr., Jackson Browne, Tim McGraw, Elvis Costello and many more.
She spoke to The Associated Press about building conversations with her duet partners, working with artists she loves, and bridging her love of music and performance. Notes edited for clarity and brevity.
Associated Press: Most of these songs were not originally recorded as a duet. Why are you transforming them in this way?
Wilson: Well, I love these songs, and I respect the songwriters who wrote them and the original artists who recorded them. When songs are great like they are now, I don’t want to bother them too much. I don’t want to reinvent the melody or reinvent the rhythm. I wanted to get in touch with that emotional response I had when I heard them when I was younger. So I thought, ‘Okay, so what makes it different and what makes it fresh? When I start thinking about my mom and those relationships, maybe it’s people talking to each other, maybe there’s a conversation here. So in the beginning — let’s call them song packs — there were a lot of them, and we just threw everything we liked into it. My co-producer is Matt Rawlings, an amazing pianist, arranger and orchestra. He is an incredible musician. So we just put all the things we like in there, and when we start thinking, okay, but what are these songs saying? Because some songs are good songs, but is there really a chance for a duet here? “
Associated Press: How many of these singers are you already familiar with, how many are like a phone call?
Wilson: I don’t know a lot of people, maybe a few by chance. I don’t know Willie Nelson at all.But my co-producer Matt Rawlings produced and won a Grammy with Willie Nelson gershwin album and his sinatra album. So he contacted Willie and I contacted Jackson Brown because we had done that song live together before and we really enjoyed singing that song together, “Let it be me.” The Josh Groban I know doesn’t know that well, but I can hear his voice, “songbird.” I can only hear. It’s so cool because he says, “Thank you for letting me do this. I’ve never been asked to sing like this.” Because his audiences are looking forward to his incredible instruments and voice. He can blow something off the roof. And I think he’s interested in singing in a more intimate way.
Associated Press: Did you and Matt give the duo creative freedom to sing their way?
Wilson: I was blown away when Elvis Costello sang on Bruce Springsteen’s song “Fire.” He came in and he had this way of singing “Fire” unlike anything I’ve ever heard. Usually, “When we kiss, oh fire.” Right? He brings every ounce of desire, longing, despair and frustration into the word “kiss.” I mean, you just heard it in his voice, no “oh”, just “kiss”. Then “fire” is like an exclamation mark and I can’t take it anymore! I just like it. It’s heartening. I still talk about it. I still get goosebumps about this.
Associated Press: You’ve been releasing albums since 2012, but what made you decide to pursue songwriting and singing alongside your acting career?
Wilson: When I started writing songs, I thought it was very creative, something I couldn’t experience as an actor because I played the same characters over and over…I feel like I’ve said it before, but I feel like I’ve run out The classic of a warm, kind, educated mother, sister, wife, daughter, you know? There are only so many ways to write a character and you’ll get tired of it…Creatively, songwriting is such an intimate process that becomes so satisfying that I feel like I’ve found for myself one I can do Instead of doing the creative home you have to wait for someone else to do it. That means if you’re making a movie, sometimes it takes years. If you’re watching a movie, you can control one aspect of your performance, but that’s out of your control. So it allows me to have creative conversations in a very connected way.
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