At age 78, Hayley Williams‘ grandfather just released his debut album. Rusty Williams has been making music all his life. Back in the 70s, he made music with his friend Frank Morris but the pair never broke through on account of ‘not being country enough’ for local Nashville record labels.
Five decades on, Rusty Williams is now a recording artist. On February 14th he released his debut album, ‘Grand Man’, with a little help from granddaughter Hayley. Back in 1974, Rusty and Frank recorded thirteen tracks which have remained unheard until last year, when Hayley got hold of them. Playing Rusty’s music to her bandmate Zac Farro, he was impressed. “He said: ‘This is incredible’. We need to do something with this.’, Hayley told NPR. Together, they decided to release the music via Farro’s label, Congrats Records.
The result is ‘Grand Man’: an album full of beautifully-remastered love songs. Track three, ‘Angel Eyes’, is an ode to Hayley’s grandmother and Rusty’s wife of sixty years.
Hayley Williams fans may remember that she had previously sampled Rusty’s music on solo album ‘Petals For Armor’, on the track ‘Crystal Clear’.
Ever the proud grandpapa, he had some beautiful things to say about his grandaughter’s musical accomplishments with her band, Paramore:
“Seeing her on stage with that band, I’m telling you, if it didn’t rip your heart out something’s wrong with you,” Rusty told Garden and Gun magazine. “Everybody else would sit. I had to get down by the stage, and I’d stand there and watch everything. It brings something out of you, and you say, well, maybe I had a little bit to do with that. You never know.”
Adorable. And judging by this record of bonafide hits, Paramore fans have a lot to thank Rusty for.
Watch a video about the making of the album here:
READ MORE: Growing up with Hayley Williams
