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Russell Allen "Rusty" Wier (May 3, 1944 – October 9, 2009) was an American singer-songwriter from Austin, Texas.[1] Wier's career dates back to the 1960s and covers multiple music genres.[2] Wier was the drummer in the Austin garage rock band The Wig, whose 1967 single "Crackin' Up" (a Wier composition) was included on volume 1 of the Pebbles series of compilation albums. Weir had a major local Texas hit in 1968 with "Watchout" with Gary P. Nunn and The Lavender Hill Express on Sonobeat Records. This was one of the first stereophonic 45s.

Rusty Wier
Birth name	Russell Allen Wier
Born	(1944-05-03)May 3, 1944 Corpus Christi, Texas, U.S.
Died	October 9, 2009(2009-10-09) (aged 65) Driftwood, Texas, U.S.

In the 1970s, Wier switched to country-rock and became a fixture on the burgeoning Austin music scene, and had a cult success with the song "I Heard You Been Layin' My Old Lady". But he is perhaps most famous for his composition "Don't It Make You Wanna Dance," which was a minor pop hit for him, but has been covered by, among others, Jerry Jeff Walker, Todd Snider, Chris LeDoux, John Hiatt, The String Cheese Incident,[3] and Barbara Mandrell.[4] Bonnie Raitt's version of the song was a country hit when it was included on the Urban Cowboy soundtrack. Wier was inducted into the Austin Music Awards Hall of Fame in 2002.

Death

In November 2007, Wier was diagnosed with cancer.[5] He died on October 9, 2009, aged 65.[1] He is survived by four children.[6]

References

External links

• Official website
• Moser, Margaret (May 31, 2002). "I Before E: Cosmic Soulman Rusty Wier, Still Dancing After All These Years". Austin Chronicle.

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