Indiana-born, Nashville-based rising star Stephen Wilson Jr. released the official video for his latest single “Gary,” directed by Tim Cofield, starring the award-winning actor Gary Sinise (Forrest Gump, Apollo 13). The video arrives today on the anniversary of the passing of a teenager named Gary, who helped inspire Wilson Jr. to write the song when he came across a roadside memorial in his name.
Alongside the video, Wilson Jr. has shared a taxonomic analysis of “Gary”:
“(Garis mechanicus)
Kingdom: Animalia - Phylum: Chordata...
- a dying breed, endangered species of fixer. dwelling naturally in a habitat of grease, oil & stereo static. drawn to the roar of 8 cylinders firing in perfect unison or the sound of restricted PVC stably flowing once again. a fixer by nature - born into a broken world. may he run once again.”
Gary Sinise adds, “I heard Stephen’s song and loved it. Two weeks later he reached out to me to be in the video. He’s got a great team, a great song and it was a blast to work with them all on the video. And you know…there ain’t a lotta boys named Gary these days.”
In November, Wilson Jr. followed up his critically-acclaimed debut double album søn of dad with the release of “Gary,” which he premiered with an electrifying performance on Jimmy Kimmel Live!. He closed out 2025 with a performance of the song at the end of his appearance on This Past Weekend with Theo Von, and in February performed it during his interview on The Howard Stern Show.
“Gary” was praised by Rolling Stone, American Songwriter, and Billboard who proclaimed it “reinforce[s] his reputation as a superb musical craftsman.” The song marks Wilson Jr.'s first single at County Radio and is currently at #40 on Billboard’s Country Airplay chart.
Check Out Stephen’s Market Day Report Appearance HERE
Check Out Stephen’s On The Record Episode HERE
