A teen has turned his aging rockstar dad into a Gen Z music icon after discovering one of his unreleased songs from the ’70s and putting it on TikTok.
Zach Montana, 19, from Arizona, helped make his father, drummer William ‘Curly’ Smith’s dreams come true after he found an old song that he had written and recorded 43 years ago, but never released.
Zach, who is an aspiring musician himself, instantly fell in love with the track after hearing it back in January, so he decided he needed to share it with the world.
He uploaded a clip of himself rocking out to it on TikTok, and it quickly took the internet by storm.
The catchy tune, called Surrender to Me, instantly exploded, and his dad soon became a viral sensation.
Zach’s video gained more than three million views in a matter of days, and it got so big, that Zach and his dad, 70, decided to release the song.
A teen has turned his aging rockstar dad into a Gen Z music icon after discovering one of his unreleased songs from the ’70s and putting it on TikTok
Zach Montana helped make his father, drummer William ‘Curly’ Smith’s (pictured in 1973) dreams come true after he discovered a song he recorded 43 years ago, but never released
Zach (pictured with his dad), 19, who is an aspiring musician himself, instantly fell in love with the track after hearing it back in January, so he decided he needed to share it with the world
He uploaded a clip of himself rocking out it on TikTok, and it took the internet by storm. The tune, called Surrender to Me, instantly exploded, and his dad soon became a viral sensation
Now, just two months later, Curly has gotten more than one million streams on the rocker, and he was even invited to perform on Jimmy Kimmel last week.
Zach’s video gained more than three million views in a matter of days, and it got so big, that Zach and his dad (pictured in 1970), 70, decided to release the song
‘I just got out of therapy, I’m in my car and my dad put music in here and I was enjoying it and I found out that he wrote it in the ’70s. It’s really f**king good, listen!’ Zach said in the original video, as he started playing the song and dancing along to it.
‘Listen to this. What the f**k! It’s so good! He’s singing too! The bass line is so good. And there’s a horn section.
‘Just wait, it gets better. And he never released it, I’m so mad at him.’
Curly was most known for being a drummer in the rock band Boston from 1994 to 2001, but he’s also worked with big artists like Rick Springfield, Bette Midler, and Bonnie Raitt.
Zach, who is an Arizona State University sophomore, told Today Parents that his dad has ‘been out of the game for a little while’ but is excited for what’s to come – especially the impact that it could have on Zach’s own career.
‘Of course, my dad is more excited about what it means for me,’ Zach told them. ‘He’s like, “This is gonna get your music so much attention.” That’s what kind of person he is.’
He explained that the track never came out because Curly didn’t have a record deal, and he had no way of distributing it without a label.
He had co-produced it with singer-songwriter Mark Olson, who has since passed away.
‘At the time, the market was flooded with this kind of music,’ Zach explained. ‘I believe they pitched it to Motown Records and a few other subsidiaries, but nothing happened.
Now, just two months later, Curly has gotten more than one million streams on the rocker
He was even invited to perform on Jimmy Kimmel last week
Curly was most known for being a drummer in the rock band Boston from 1994 to 2001. He is pictured throughout his career
He’s also worked with big artists like Rick Springfield, Bette Midler, and Bonnie Raitt. Curly is pictured throughout his career
Zach, who is an Arizona State University sophomore, said his dad has ‘been out of the game for a little while’ but is excited for what’s to come
Since going viral, Zach and his dad have received attention from some big celebrities – including pop star Meghan Trainor, who called the song ‘so good’
It even caught the eye of Marvel’s music supervisor Dave Jordan, who said he would send it over to the director of the upcoming third part to the Guardian of the Galaxy series
Zach explained that the track never came out because Curly (pictured in 1973) didn’t have a record deal, and he had no way of distributing it without a label
‘And back then, they had no way of distributing it without a label. Obviously, there were no streaming platforms.’
Since going viral, Zach and his dad have received attention from some big celebrities – including pop star Meghan Trainor, who called the song ‘so good,’ and country singer Clay Walker, who wrote that Zach should ‘release it’ in the comment section of his first video.
It even caught the eye of Marvel’s music supervisor Dave Jordan, who said he would send it over to the director of the upcoming third part to the Guardian of the Galaxy series.
Zach uploaded a video to TikTok that contained a screenshot of an email he received from Dave, which read, ‘Hey Zach, I really dig the song and I’m happy to send it to the director.
‘We are currently shooting this film so I have no idea if he will have time to listen to it right now. No promises.’
‘It’s just incredible,’ he gushed to Today about the online reaction. ‘He’s always been an amazing father — the best I could possibly ask for. This experience has only brought us closer together.’