Ray Benson: Still Dancing With The One Who Brung Him

"It's a lot of fun to play a dance, jump in your cars, drive three, four hundred miles, sleep an hour or two, shave, go play another, drive five, six hundred miles"
- Bob Wills -

Three decades, eight Grammys, and 23 albums  later, with 14 outstanding tracks and a impressive smattering of guests, Ray Benson once again pledges his allegiance to western swing, as he ‘dances with the one who brung him’.  Even though he's recorded under a barrage of labels and had some 80 odd changes in band personnel, his commitment to spreading the infectious gospel of western swing remains rock steady.

If Bob Wills is the King of Western Swing, Ray Benson and Asleep at the Wheel undoubtedly qualify as ‘protectors of the throne’. A genre that has stood the test of time, western swing is still very much alive today, much in part, thanks to Asleep at the Wheel. With the roots firmly planted by Bob Wills and Milton Brown over 70 years ago, Ray (vocals, guitar) and Leroy Preston (drums, guitar, vocals) formed Asleep at the Wheel in the early 70's and despite a series of set backs, reformations and barriers,  relentlessly pressed forward, ensuring that western swing still kicks in honky-tonks and dance halls across the country.

Coming off of a recent Grammy win for their rendition of ‘Cherokee Maiden’, from the critically acclaimed “Bob Wills - Ride With Bob”, Ray Benson’s end focus in creating this new project was a simple one. He wanted the songs to stand on their own merits and not of the guests he brought in. "If you've done it, it's done, but that doesn't mean you're ready to retire it, you just wanna find a way to make it hotter.”

The band's had a few 'best of' compilations over the years, but Benson recently told Dallas News' reporter, Mario Tarradell this one's different. "They basically were from different labels that all had catalog on us, and they put it together and called it 'the best of.' My definition of 'the best of' is what people want to hear every night, what they keep requesting." 

Consummate entertainers, Asleep at the Wheel not only know just what their fans want, they deliver. If you're a disciple of western swing, the collection is of songs you’ve indeed heard before, but don't let that stop you from heading to the nearest music store. Asleep at the Wheel's once again raised the bar, reclaiming each one, while doing what they do best, effortlessly making yesterday's classics, a vital and alive part of today's country music scene.

Highlights of 'The Very Best of Asleep At The Wheel' (due in stores June 5th, 2001):

The Letter (That Johnny Walker Read) Originally recorded in 1975, "The Letter" proved to be their first big break. The Tex-Mex flavored song was initially written by Ray as a duet for Porter Wagoner and Dolly Parton. "We only cut it," Benson admits now with a laugh, "because they wouldn't." Mandy Barnett lends her exquisite torch and twang vocals to the opening track. "We talked to some pretty wonderful women," Benson acknowledges, "but I can't imagine anyone better than Mandy in the end. She is one of the most amazing singers I've ever heard. She came in the studio, sang it a couple times and showed me what the song could be -- and then just floated away. It was incredible."

Sugarfoot Rag  In 1988 AATW was rewarded with another Grammy for their rendition of "Sugarfoot Rag", a previous million seller for a remarkable16 year old Hank Garland in the 1940's. It's been said that Hank was one of the first guitar virtuosos to emerge in Nashville, helping to set  the standards by which other Nashville session guitarists would be judged. Proud traditionalist Brad Paisley meets the standard and then some as he joins the band on this swinging instrumental. "Brad's mentor was an ol' picker back up in West Virginia who played so much like Garland, they called him 'Hank.' So when I asked him if he knew The Sugar Foot Rag, of course Brad Paisley knew the song!" Paisley, well known for being a triple country threat (singer, songwriter, picker) accepted Ray's invitation to join him and the result is an instrumental so hot, you can smell the smoke coming from your stereo.

Texas Me and You  If its reverberating from of Texas, sounds undeniably country and hotter than a habanero pepper, chances are its got the mark of Lloyd Maines on it somewhere. The father of the pedal-steel guitar and Dixie Chick, Natalie Maines, joins the band on last cut of the CD. A producer and member of the Maines Brothers, a Texas band that racked up a few of its own top 20 hits during the 80's, Lloyd lends his steel guitar pickin' talents to this sultry, bluesy finale that's guaranteed to get you wanting to start all over again on track one.

Other highlights include  

• Guest appearance of legendary Johnny Gimble chiming in with electric mandolin on Big Balls In Cowtown
• Demonstration of the versatility of western swing with the country/swing/jazz/boogie arrangement of My Baby Thinks She's A Train, written by original band member Leroy Preston  
• Classic renditions of the toe tapping crowd favorites: House of Blue Lights and Dance With The One Who Brung Ya
• Rocker Huey Lewis on harmonica for Last Meal, a fun, tongue in cheek song about a prisoner requesting his final repast.
• (Get Your Kicks On) Route 66 - a Bobby Troup standard, recorded over the years by artists across the spectrum of musical genres, that Ray Benson and band's made a live circuit favorite.

Ray opens his stage show with his baritone voice claiming loud and clear" Ladies and Gentlemen, Western Swing isn't dead, its Asleep at the Wheel!", the rest of the performance proves it. As for Ray, he just plans to keep on preaching his gospel. "Yeah, as long as my health is good, I'll be doing this until I'm dead," he says with a chuckle. "Singing is a joy for me. Playing guitar is a joy for me. So, you're gonna see me around for a while." (GAC 1995) Can't you just see ol' Bob Wills smiling?

June 2001 - Laurie Joulie - Take Country Back

Asleep at the Wheel Official Website 

Read what Ray has to say about the band's latest project

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