Aside from being a highly successful country singer, Brad Paisley is also a loving husband to his wife, Kimberly Williams-Paisley, and a proud dad of two kids, William Huckleberry and Jasper Warren. But before we get to know the boys, let’s take a quick walk down memory lane and reminisce about their mom and dad’s love story.
A Love Story That Country Singers Write About
It all started with the romantic-comedy film, “Father of the Bride.” It was Kimberly Williams’ film debut (she was the titular bride, Annie Banks), and nineteen-year-old Brad Paisley was on a date when he first saw the movie. Interestingly, he found himself more intrigued by the girl on the screen instead of the one sitting right next to him.
The pair ultimately didn’t work out, as she later left him for his best friend.
After breaking up, he went to see the film’s sequel, and that was when he really appreciated Williams. He said, “I thought, she seems like a great girl—smart and funny and all those things that are so hard to find.” She was so stuck in his mind that he even wrote a song about going to see the film on his 2001 album Part II. And that wasn’t it. He even asked her to appear on his music video for “I’m Gonna Miss Her.”
They started dating shortly after that, and then nine months after getting engaged, they were married.
William “Huck” Huckleberry
Four years after saying “I Do” to each other, they welcomed their first son.
He was born at 5:20 in the morning of February 22, 2007, in Nashville, after a 10-hour labor. And he weighed a healthy 7 pounds and 7 ounces. At the time, the couple hadn’t chosen a name yet. Three weeks later, in an interview, Paisley revealed their baby’s name and its origin story.
According to the “Whiskey Lullaby” singer, they named him William Huckleberry, after the popular Mark Twain novel, “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.” It was “a reference to a spirit of adventure” that they hoped their son would embody. He then continued, sharing that he could see him playing in the woods and taking chances. They initially called him Will as it was his first name, but they decided to change it to Huck.
Huck’s arrival didn’t just impact Paisley’s life but also his career. Talking with The Associated Press about his album 5th Gear, which was released just months after his baby boy’s birth, he shared that being officially a dad showed up a lot more than he thought it would.
He used to fight people when they told him it would help his songwriting. But it really did, though not as much as having songs about babies, but in terms of creating nostalgic songs. One of the Brad Paisley songs in that album that was influenced by Huck was “Letter to Me.” “When I wrote it, I didn’t know if we were going to have a boy or a girl. Maybe deep down I knew all along.”
For You
While Paisley and his wife don’t always post about their children, they have shared some moments with them to fans.
One was in his memoir, “Brad Paisley’s Diary of a Player.” In Chapter 16, he recalled Huck walking up to him and requesting that he play the theme from “Batman” for him. It was a request that couldn’t be denied, and so he started with the immortal intro. But it looked like Huck had a different idea. He pressed his hand on his dad’s acoustic guitar and invited him to actually play.
Another one was a story that happened when Huck was six. According to Williams, they went to the hospital after he broke his arm. And when the staff asked for his name, he said, “Brad Paisley.” She didn’t know exactly why he did it, but she figured it was to get people’s attention and get the best treatment possible.
While Huck was a lot like Paisley, his younger brother, Jasper, was his total opposite.
Jasper Warren
In October 2008, the couple confirmed that they were expecting. Paisley was excited because he was an only child and thought his older boy, Huck, would be a great big brother.
Then, on April 17, 2009, the family of three finally welcomed their newest addition, Jasper Warren. His middle name came from Paisley’s grandfather, who gave him his first-ever guitar and encouraged him to follow music.
Brad Paisley’s kids are the ones he’s most excited about after big shows. He wanted to savor his time with them as much as possible before they no longer thought he was cool. One of their bonding moments was playing Legos before bedtime, though he would still continue to do so. Paisley shared, “There are a lot of mornings they will wake up, and I have built something for them.”
But as much as they enjoyed Legos before bedtime, the actual bedtime was the real treat in their household. That is, Paisley was the official storyteller. The only problem was that he would have to top himself every time because his son, Jasper, was definitely one little critic. He’d always tell him after every story that it was not his best.
Another memorable moment that he had with Jasper was during the pandemic.
They were in quarantine, and his tours had shut down. One day, he noticed that one of Jasper’s two pufferfish (there were four, initially) was losing weight. He looked up YouTube videos on what to do and immediately went to work. It was a nerve-wracking process, but he was able to save his son’s fish. And to an 11-year-old, that would’ve been a very heroic moment.
And there we have it. Hopefully, you enjoyed getting to know Brad Paisley’s kids. And maybe in the future, we’ll see more of them.
