Emmy-winning star James Woods said he’s gotten a “second act” in his life after he started writing songs and working with the late country singer Waylon Jennings’ son, musician/record producer Shooter Jennings, to make an album about his life.
In a behind-the-scenes clip shared recently on YouTube, the 77-year-old actor explained how his album “Hear The Thunder Crack” became a reality after crossing paths one night with Shooter who, after hearing Woods’ life experiences, wanted to put the star’s words to music.
“And then he asked me the question that literally changed my life,” Woods said of Jennings, which was, “did you ever try writing any lyrics.”
Shooter replied, “I just felt like you had so many good stories to tell and it sounded like a fun idea to hear what lyrics would be like.”
The “Casino” star said he decided to try it and wrote “Misty Morning” one day. He then figured why not send it to Shooter. Weeks went by and he didn’t hear a thing and was totally embarrassed. However, Jennings did end up finally sending Woods a file of the song and when he heard it, everything changed.
“I can’t even express what it feels like to have your words put in music,” Woods said. “He [Shooter] sang it so beautifully.”
“When I wrote so many songs at once, I don’t know where it came from,” he added. “But when I got a chance to say something, just say it, without somebody telling me how to say it or what to say, man, the dam broke.”
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Woods said after being “blacklisted” in Hollywood following his pro-former President Donald Trump-leanings, this has felt like a “second act in my life.”
“‘Hear The Thunder Crack: The life of James Woods sung by Shooter Jennings’ is an expansive poetic journey into the mind and life of legendary Hollywood icon James Woods, put to music by multiple Grammy-winning composer/producer/singer Shooter Jennings,” a description on YouTube read.
“Over a period of three years Jennings weaved the lyrics and poetry written by Woods into a sweeping musical biography,” it added. “Recorded at Dave’s Room Studios in North Hollywood, CA, with James and the Highway Storm Orchestra as his backing band, Shooter sang and performed the album as the tape rolled. The result is ‘Hear The Thunder Crack,’ an unusual but powerful collaboration between two unlikely friends.”
“Forrest Gump” star Gary Sinise also shared the news, writing on X, “In 1989, I was fortunate to snag a part in the made-for-TV film ‘My Name is Bill W’ with James Woods, and we have been good pals ever since. Jimmy was powerful in the film and won an Emmy for that role.”
“After a ton of great work in film and TV, he’s now writing songs with Shooter Jennings for their album ‘Hear the Thunder Crack,’” he added, including a link to the YouTube clip.
“Hear the Thunder Crack” comes out October 18.
