HARLINGEN - History might remember Rusty Wier best for penning the 80s country hit “Don’t it Make You Wanna Dance,” made famous by Bonnie Raitt on the “Urban Cowboy” soundtrack.
Those who catch the Austin singer-songwriter live will likely remember him as an ace country music showman — a reputation he’s been building since the age of 10.
The good-natured Wier has cemented his status as a Texas music legend, releasing a steady stream of influential albums and playing countless dates since the 1970s. Country heavies like Jerry Jeff Walker and Barbara Mandrell have covered his songs, and critics credit Wier with creating the “Austin sound” with contemporaries like Walker and Michael Martin Murphey.
The Corpus-Christi native has shared the stage with hit-makers like Willie Nelson and the Charlie Daniels Band and, at one point, he was the top draw on a bill that included George Strait.
Saturday, Wier brings thirty years of classic country tunes to the Cine El Rey. He recently spoke to us about writing, performing and witnessing his own execution.
THE V: You started performing when you were a kid, right?
WIER: Yeah, I was about 10 years old when I started playing. I was a drummer. I was pretty much a child prodigy on the drums, but I never got any better (laughs). … Yeah, I was 10 years old when I did my first professional gig.
THE V: I heard you like to make people smile. Is that what attracted you to the stage?
WIER: Oh that’s my whole deal. If I feel that I didn’t make the people in the audience smile, well I didn’t do a good job. It’s really important to me. I’ll make you smile whether you want to or not (laughs).
THE V: I read that old blues music really inspired you. Tell me about some of those early blues shows in Austin that you caught growing up.
WIER: I used to go on the east side and hear people like Albert Collins, B.B. King and I used to see local acts all the time at the Black Parish (Austin). … I love BB King, I think he’s great. I saw Jimmy Reed, so many good ones. Man, there’s a list of them, all great.
THE V: How much is your current style or sound influenced by those early blues men?
WIER: I was influenced by it, but it’s a mixture. I do what I call Texas/country/rock/folk/blues/gospel. It’s pretty broad but that’s what I write, and that’s what I do. It’s a mixture of all those things.
THE V: You’ve shared stages with a number of hit makers and legends. What was it like kicking around with people like Charlie Daniels, Lynerd Skynerd and Willie Nelson?
WIER: I had a great time. We were all friends. We were all musicians, you know. I had a really great time back then, that’s all I really can say.
THE V: You got to see George Strait as a very young performer. He even opened shows for you. What was your impression of him in those early years of his career?
WIER: Yes, he did open for me. I wasn’t even a young performer then. He was a peer, he wasn’t even famous back then. I tell you he was a dang nice guy, he and his whole band. They were all from the San Marcos area right here close to Austin.
THE V: Now, arguably “Don’t It Make You Wanna Dance” is your most famous songs.
WIER: That’s the only one I ever made any money off, yeah (laughs).
THE V: Did you ever think that so many artists, including majors ones like Barbara Mandrell and Jerry Jeff walker and, of course, Bonnie Raitt would go on to cover it?
WIER: No I didn’t. I didn’t write the song for anybody else, I wrote the song to end my shows with, you know. It was just a lucky shot. They were making that “Urban cowboy” movie up in Houston and they liked it, so Bonnie Raitt did it for that (soundtrack) album and then a bunch of people did it after that.
THE V: Raitt’s version ended up on the “Urban Cowboy” soundtrack, which went double platinum, and the 1980 film. What was it like hearing your song onscreen in a major film that was set in the country music world?
WIER: I waited and waited and I watched the whole damn thing Mike (laughs), and finally it came on - about thirty seconds of it! But it was a great privilege. I loved the track that Bonnie Raitt did and I like Colleen Peterson’s cut too; she did it before.
THE V: Now you tour a lot, more than 150 dates a year, right? How do you keep it fresh, not just for the audience but for you and your band?
WIER: You know, I just love what I do. I love what I do. That keeps it fresh. It’s a different audience every night. There’s always different people to play for. That keeps it fresh for me. I still write all the time too.
THE V: Where do you get your inspiration from now, for your songs?
Wier: Really from whatever happens to me. I get a lot of inspiration from just talking to people. … I like interesting stories. I like writing story songs.
THE V: Tell me about one of the stories you’ve written about lately.
WIER: Well, the best stories are the exaggerated ones. You make a better storyteller if you exaggerate just a little bit. … I just write a song called “I Was a Witness to a Hangin.’” I was watching an old cowboy movie on TV. There was a guy who got hung. I fell asleep in front of the TV, I woke up and I thought, he looks like me. I woke up the next day and thought, wow, that was cool, I watched myself get hung. I was a witness to hanging and they were hanging me. That’ll be on the new CD.
THE V: Now, you wrote a few songs with your sons, Bon and Coby. What made you want to collaborate with them, are they budding musicians like dad?
WIER: Bon, my second oldest son is in college. He plays drums and a little bit of guitar. He’s like a folk singer type. He brought me a couple songs and, actually, he wanted me to fix ‘em for him. He said ‘Dad can you fix these?’ (laughs) … And Coby and I, we’ve been playing together for quite a while. He’s the guitar player of the bunch. We just like to sit down and play together.
THE V: You live and play in Austin. Tell me, what makes Austin and Austin music so special?
WIER: I don’t think anything makes it special right now, really. I think it’s lost it. … I miss the camaraderie that was here in the 70s. It wasn’t so big and there weren’t so many bands. The camaraderie is gone.
THE V: So, you like playing smaller towns and venues then?
WIER: I certainly do. Any person can hire me, I’m like a plumber or an electrician. It doesn’t make a difference what size the place is .Tonight I might play for 6000, the next night I might play for 500, the next night I might play for 8, but I love what I do. If I can entertain that many people I will. I’ll make ‘em smile.
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Rusty Wier
When: Saturday, May 26, 7 p.m.
Where: Cine El Rey, 11 S. 17, McAllen
Price: $20
More Info: (956) 971-9825
