Rusty Wier

Texas singer/songwriter Rusty Wier struck success by penning "Don't It Make You Wanna Dance," a track later covered by more than half a dozen artists such as Chris Le Doux, Jerry Jeff Walker, and Barbara Mandrell. Its profile rose sharply, however, once Bonnie Raitt included it on the Urban Cowboy soundtrack, an appearance that drove double-platinum certification. Long before that breakthrough, Wier had already discovered the rewards of performance in a far humbler setting.

At the age of three he delighted patrons by charging between the tables of his father’s Austin restaurant astride a toy stick horse while “the William Tell Overture” played, an early experience that left a permanent mark even though the financial returns were modest. He continued performing without interruption, though the rooms and compensation evolved considerably over time. Roughly ten years after that debut he took up the drums in a group called the Centennials, then spent the next decade in the local rock outfits Lavender Hill Express and Wig. When Lavender Hill Express disbanded, Wier taught himself guitar solely from an instruction manual and began sitting in with an array of acts that included the Marshall Tucker Band, Gatemouth Brown, the Charlie Daniels Band, Willie Nelson, Steve Fromholtz, Asleep at the Wheel, the Amazing Rhythm Aces, and Ozark Mountain Daredevils. On one bill his support slot went to an emerging country artist named George Strait. Alongside Michael Martin Murphey and Walker, Wier helped shape the scene that came to be known as the Austin Sound. ABC Records issued his first recordings; subsequent contracts followed with Columbia Records and 20th Century.