Nearly three years after releasing her previous single “Human and Divine,” actress, singer and songwriter Lynda Carter has returned with another song of empowerment with “Rise Up,” a call to action to fight for justice, and the power of unity.
Rise Up, Rise, Rise Up / Its been a long time in the dark / With people just tearing this world apart / Too much hatred too little love / But if we all stand together we can rise above, sings Carter on the song, which she co-wrote with John Barlow Jarvis.
“‘Rise Up’ is about empowering every American to do something great, whether it’s for their community, their country, or the world,” said Carter in a statement. “Every day, you see stories of hatred and violence in the news. This song is a celebration of the activism and civic engagement that makes progress possible.”
Carter continued “Superman and Wonder Woman aren’t going to come and save you, but that’s okay, because you can be the real hero of your own story.”
Videos by American Songwriter
The song was partially inspired by Carter’s late husband Robert Altman (not the actor, director), who died in February 2021 at the age of 73 from a rare blood cancer, myelofibrosis. Paralyzed by the death of her husband, Carter used songwriting to help her work through her grief and released “Human and Divine” later that year.
Accompanying the release of “Rise Up” is a lyric video created by visual artists Justin Hoggard and Sanna Legan, featuring footage of protests interspersed with scenic landscapes across the country. Legan also created the cover art for the single.
In a post shared on X and Instagram, Carter asked fans to submit videos of themselves doing their best Wonder Women spin along with their reason for fighting for justice.
[RELATED: Lynda Carter Honors the ‘Wonder Women’ in Her Life on “Human and Divine”]
Carter, 73, rose to fame as Wonder Woman on 1970s TV series, and released her debut album, Portrait, in 1970. Throughout the 1970s, she continued acting and was even getting crowned Miss World in 1972. She returned to music more than 30 years later with her second album, At Last, a collection of jazz covers by Sam Cooke, James Taylor, and more in 2009 and released three more albums, including Red Rock N’ Blues in 2018.
Entering another super woman role, Carter also starred in the second installment of the Wonder Woman film, 1984, in 2017 as “daughter of the gods” Asteria.
“I feel that I’ve improved as a writer,” Carter told American Songwriter in 2021. “I’m trying to expand my writing ability to encompass more. It always seems to be in the manner of a story, even if it’s a silly story, there’s some kind of message—joyous, silly extravagant, big ballad—and there’s something experiential.”
Photo: Lindsay Adler / Courtesy of Positive Jam PR
