Hayley Williams’ grandfather Rusty Williams releasing unearthed ’70s album (stream a track)

Paramore leader Hayley Williams‘ grandfather Rusty Williams is also a lifelong musician, and he’s someone who influenced Hayley’s own musical endeavors since she was a child. They would sing together in her younger years, he taught her how to play drums, and she says he helped inspire her ear for melodies and harmonies too. Hayley ended up sampling one of his songs, “Friends or Lovers,” on “Crystal Clear” from her 2020 solo album Petals For Armor, and now the world is about to hear much more where that came from.

As legend has it, Rusty recorded an album in the ’70s that Hayley would hear him talk about over the years, but she never actually heard the music… until now. Titled Grand Man, it was recently unearthed by Rusty’s old production partner, and Hayley’s Paramore bandmate Zac Farro is giving the album a proper release on February 14 via his label, Congrats Records. Paramore’s Taylor York helped transfer the recordings from analog to digital.

“So many people our age are mining these albums for tones and things you can’t even replicate,” Hayley says. “And Grandat has a way of cutting to the core of a feeling, and not overcomplicating it. Which we tend to do, because the world is hard. It’s nice when you can hear something plain and simple and know that it is true.” Zac adds, “I thought that it was a crime that these songs were sitting there on the shelf.”

“I don’t expect anything, and I’m too old to be famous,” says Rusty himself. “But I just want to know someone liked what I did, and to be touched by whatever the hell they are listening to. I want people to see how it felt when things were real.”

The first single is opening track “Knocking (At Your Door),” which is his one song that ever received any kind of airplay. Rusty says he convinced a local radio station to play it, and then it became “the number one most requested song for three to six weeks… and I still ain’t done nothing with it!” It’s a smooth, soulful, soft rock song that sounds like it could’ve been a real hit in the ’70s with the right push. Rusty cites both Bread and The Temptations as favorites of his, and “Knocking (At Your Door)” falls right in the middle of those two. Check it out below, and pre-order the album here.

Tracklist
Knocking (At Your Door)
Can’t Stay Away
Angel Eyes
Wanted
Fade Away
If Only For A While
Never Gonna Stop
Lovers Only Come And Go
Every Time I’m High
The Only Way For Me To Say I Love You
Riverboat Gambler
Someone Who Happened To Me
Take Me Around The World

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For more on Paramore, including their love of rare, old vinyl, read our digital cover story on the band that surrounded their roles as Record Store Day 2024 ambassadors.