How 'Thelma & Louise' inspired a new album from this London, Ont., singer

For many artists, inspiration can come from anywhere.

For Claire Whitehead, it came from a 30-year-old movie. The London, Ont., country singer's debut album, Thelma: A Country Opera, is inspired by Thelma & Louise, the1991 hit film starring Geena Davis and Susan Sarandon. The film, about two women on the run, is considered by some film critics to bea landmark in feminist cinema.

• How Thelma & Louise taught us to challenge expectations and rebel against the status quo

Whitehead discussed her new album onCBC Radio's Afternoon Drive with host Chris dela Torre.Here's part of that conversation, edited for clarity.

How did the idea for this album come about?

I was living with my friend in Toronto. We were at a dance party at a bar, and they were projecting Thelma &Louise in the bar. Everyone was just, like, enraptured by this video, and not dancing. And I'm like, 'what's so great about this movie?'

So my roommate said, 'we're going home. We're going to watch this.' And she made me watch it. I was just blown away by the journey anddevelopment of Thelma, and how her character changes so much. And I really wanted to say more about that.

You call it a coming-of-agency story. Tell us a bit more about what that means.

So there's the 'coming-of-age' story, which is often for when people are coming into adulthood. But with a story about women and feminism, that whole journey is about finding your voice and finding your independence. I felt like (Thelma) was gaining her own agency in life, and being able to understand the world better and make her own decisions within it.

Often times, when people are creating art, ideas can lead to other ideas that don't necessarily fit the original vision. How difficult was it to stick with the theme?

Originally, when we finished watching the movie, I could imagine playing a show of cover tunes (inspired by Thelma & Louise). I could think of a cover song to play for every key moment in her development. That my original idea. And I told another friend about this, and she challenged me. She's like, 'why don't you just write the songs?' So, I kind of hunkered down in the apartment and just...I do tend to get very obsessed and focusedwith one idea, once I'm in it. So it wasn't too hard for me to not stray from that.

I took out from the library the script from the film. I read that and thought a lot about (screenwriter) Callie Khouri's script and focused on how I felt emotionally for Thelma as she moved through the film. I focused each song on those different emotional impact moments.

So it sounds like you've really stayed close to the source material. For fans of Thelma and Louise, are they going to hear things in the lyrics that they'll recognize as moments or themes in the movie?

Yeah,for sure. The first song is called 'Darryl Don't Need to Know.' It's kind of a cute little country song. If' you've seen the movie, you'll know it starts off with her and Louise leaving and (Thelma) doesn't tell her boyfriend Darryl where she's going. And then there's there's different songs about the themes of their interactions with the law and some references to shooting a gun, because obviously they do do that in the film.

Oh yeah, I can see it in mind already!

Yeah! (laughs)

There's such a strong visual element to these songs. Have you thought about how you're going to present them in concert?

That was one thing I did before I recorded the album. I tried it out live a couple of times andmade it a multimedia performance. I'd show a video clip from the film about the moments that the song is about - I would show that first and then I would play the song so audiences could take from that whatever they will. So it's kind of a multimedia performance. I do hope to do it again once we have all the venues up and running.

The lead single is 'No Right Way, Louise.' Tell us a bit about it.

The song basically telling the story of Thelma's journey throughout the whole film and everything she's learned from Louise about the world - about the way the law works, how they treat survivors of sexual assault, and also how she feels towardLouise as her growing primary partner. It's basically emotional impact in a lighthearted and fun country song.

Have a listen to Claire Whitehead's full interview withAfternoon Driveand check out the video for 'No Right Way, Louise' below.