Jo Dee Messina on her mom, and her next album
Before Jo Dee Messina was old enough to drive, her mom would take her to shows.
"I didn't get it then. I get it now... I'd fall asleep in the car, and we'd get home after midnight. My mom would get up at 5 o'clock and get up for work the next day... She'd sit all night just to watch me sing one song," Messina recalled during a recent visit to CBS News.
Not only does Messina credit her mom with helping her jump-start her career, but she also says her mom gave her some great advice: to never give up. So far, the advice has worked out well for the multiplatinum award-winning country singer, who's scored nine No. 1 country singles and three top country albums throughout her career.
Now with Mother's Day in just a few days, Messina is paying a special tribute to her mom by co-authoring the new book "Chicken Soup for the Soul: Thanks to My Mom," a collection of 101 stories of love, learning and gratitude that say a big "thank you" to mothers.
"It's pretty fascinating how the whole thing came about. They were like, 'Can you write the intro for the book?' And then I was like, 'Well, I'd like to submit a story.' And then it became a complete partnership between me and [writer] Amy Newmark," said Messina.
Messina, who has two young sons of her own, already had a special song about being a mom from her fifth studio album, "Me," released last year.
"That song was written before the idea of the book even came up. I was like, 'You know, I have this song and it talks about all the things that women are -- a mother, a daughter, a friend, a shoulder to lean on.' You're a teacher. You gotta teach your children right from wrong and how to behave, like don't belch at the table. I have two boys, there's lot of that! So many things in the course of the day," said Messina."I of course do it the public eye, so if I mess up then it's all over the place. There's a line in there that says 'I have to be perfect even when I feel bad/And I have to keep giving when I gave all I had.' And it's so true."
Messina, meanwhile, has been working on new material for next album, which she hopes to release later this year or early next. It will be her first since "Me," which was released following a successful crowdfunding campaign.
"It was unintentional," she said about the fundraising angle. "I was just posting things on Facebook and Twitter and stuff like that. And people started to respond. And we started to get more of a following...It wasn't meant for an album."
She soon realized, though, that her fans were pining for new music. In the end, the fans chose the the songs, the singles and even the title of the album. Messina, who's previously been signed to a large record label, said she enjoyed independent nature of it all, but admits it was a lot of work.
Asked if she'd do something like that again, Messina said, "No," before adding, "I don't know. Maybe at some point. I know that things are leading in a different direction."
One thing she does know is that come Mother's Day on Sunday, she will be playing "Me" during a special show at Nashville's City Winery.
And just like when she got her start, Messina's mom will be in the audience.
