Asleep at the Wheel to be at MCTT on Dec. 1

Founded in 1970, Asleep at the Wheel, has been part of the American roots music landscape for more than 50 years. Although the band got its start on a farm in Paw Paw, West Virginia, Asleep at the Wheel became a cornerstone of the Austin, Texas scene. Upon its arrival in 1973, inspired by western swing and honky-tonk country, the band has accrued 10 Grammy Awards.

Fifty years ago, Asleep at the Wheel’s Ray Benson wrote in his journal that he wanted to form a band to bring the roots of American Pop music into the present. It seemed like an ambitious goal for a 19 year-old, yet Benson has done exactly that – traversing the globe as an ambassador of Western swing music and introducing its irresistible sound to generation after generation. Although the lineup has changed countless times since its inception, Benson’s mission has never wavered.

That merging of past and present is effortlessly woven throughout two of the band’s new releases. First, their Better Times EP complies three new tracks: “All I’m asking,” a rousing please for a second chance; the hopeful title track, about getting back to life as it once was (namely before the pandemic); and “Columbus Stockade Blues,” a traditional tune arranged in the spirit of Willie Nelson and Shirley Collie’s 1960 version. Then, in the fall, a career retrospective recorded with the new band – and a few special guests – will carry Asleep at the Wheel back onto the road, where they’ve remained a staple for 5 decades.

“I’m the reason it’s still together, but the reason it’s popular is because we’ve had the greatest singer and players,” Benson explains. “When someone joins the band, I say, “Learn everything that’s ever been done they put your own stamp on it.” I love to hear how they interpret what we do. I’m just a singer and a songwriter, and a pretty good guitar player, but my best talent is convincing people to jump on board and play this music.

Raised in Philadelphia, Benson dropped out of college in 1969 and moved to a farm in Paw Paw, West Virginian, to figure out how to put a band together with two friends, Lucky Oceans and LeRoy Preston. Although he gravitated toward honky-tonk and swing music, Benson stood on the opposite side of the generation gap – a young man opposed to the Vietnam War.

“Music became a rallying cry for these disparate groups,” Benson recalls. “My reaction was we need to take this music to my generation to show them it isn’t the political posturing that is important, it is the soul of the music.

Then, in 1970, two hippie buses pulled up t the farm looking for the band they’d heard about. Inside were a ragtag group of musicians calling themselves the Medicine Ball Caravan and they invited Asleep at the Wheel to open their upcoming show in Washington D.C. The fledgling band at this time was centered around guitar, steel guitar, bass and drums.

From that very first out-of-town gig, Asleep at the Wheel steadily built a fan base in D.C., and opened a date for POCO a short time later. However, Benson observes that the reception back home wasn’t always warm.

“We would play these little bars in West Virginia, and they thought because we were hippies, we wouldn’t fight. I stared down a few shotguns,” he says. “I think it was the music that saved us because we were playing real country music.”

When Benson booked Commander Cody for a double bill in D.C., the cosmic country legend encouraged them to give the Berkley, California, a try. The group arrived out West in August 1971 and started booking shows in the East Bay clubs. Word of their Tuesday night gigs reached singers like Van Morrison. Rolling Stone name checked Asleep at the Wheel. After that, LA record companies came running.

Then everything happened fast. The band paid its dues by touring with Stoney Edwards Band in 1971. A year later their debut album sold well in Texas and Oklahoma. In 1973, they moved to Austin, Texas, encouraged by Doug Sahm and Willie Nelson; that same day, Epic Records issued the band’s second album.

Asleep at the Wheel rode the wave of success, charting multiple singles and developing an international following. The Academy of Country Music named them the top touring band in 1977. The band won the first 10 career Grammy’s in 1979.

By 1981, the band faced a turning point. Most of its members had departed and the disco craze stood in direct contrast to Asleep at the Wheel’s authentic approach. While the band still played shows, they went without a label for six year. Benson made ends meet by producing commercials for Budweiser.

“The reason that I kept going,” Benson says, “is that every week a fan would come up and be so appreciative, saying, “Don’t every stop.” We weren’t drawing a lot of people, but they’ say, “You’re the only band that goes out on the road and does this old, cool music.” “That’s when I knew it was more than just a living – that I was blessed with caretaking a form of music.”

Fifty years in, Asleep at the Wheel represents an important cornerstone of American roots music, even though some of its member and audiences represent a new generation. That far-reaching appeal remains a testament to Benson’s initial vision.

“How do you keep this music going?” Benson asks. “Well, you’ve got to have some young people. If young people aren’t doing this, then were just a museum – and I don’t want to be a museum,” Music City Texas Theater (MCTT), in Linden, Texas, is willing to keep Ray Benson and Asleep at the Wheel out of the museum. Asleep at the Wheel will be on stage at MCTT on Friday, December 1, 2023. Show starts at 8 PM. Tickets are available by visiting www.musiccitytexas.org. or calling our Box Office at 903-756-9934.