Release Date: 02 March 2015
Label: Proper Records
Packaging Type: Digipak
No of Units: 1
Barcode: 805520031271
Genres: Country
Description
Nine-time GRAMMY award-winners Ray Benson & Asleep at the Wheel honour the legendary Bob Wills - one of the few artists in history to be inducted both into the Country Music and Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
For over 40 years, Ray Benson & Asleep at the Wheel have been the chief practitioners, conspirators, and caretakers of Western swing, carrying Wills' traditions well into the 21st century, reaching both their contemporaries and the next generation of artists inspired by the great bandleader. This album marks the band's third full-length Bob Wills tribute album following 1998's Ride with Bob and 1993's A Tribute to the Music of Bob Wills, with four GRAMMY awards and over half a million copies sold collectively. The new album features genre-spanning collaborations with critically acclaimed artists, old friends and new favourites including Willie Nelson, Brad Paisley, Jamey Johnson, Merle Haggard, George Strait, The Avett Brothers, Amos Lee, Old Crow Medicine Show and Lyle Lovett.
Widely considered "The King of Western Swing," Bob Wills (1905-1975) and his Texas Playboys performed thousands of shows across the United Sates for nearly six decades and recorded prolifically in the late '30s and early '40s. Early stars of American country music, Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys were a dance band with a country string section that played pop songs as if they were jazz numbers. "After 45 years of travelling and playing, it still amazes me how well this music, born in the 1920s and '30s, thrives in the present day," says Benson. "The artists playing and singing on this collection range in age from folks in their 20s to former Texas Playboys 92-year-old Billy Briggs and 86-year-old Leon Rausch…certain evidence that Western swing music is alive and well as it cruises through the next millennium."
Based in Austin, Asleep at the Wheel have won nine GRAMMY awards, released more than 20 studio albums and charted more than 20 singles on the Billboard country charts. In 1971, the band signed their first record deal after Van Morrison mentioned they "play great country music" in an interview in Rolling Stone! Owned by Ray Benson, Bismeaux Records has won "Best Local Record Label" three years consecutively in the Austin Music Awards. In 2007, Benson performed with Carrie Underwood & Johnny Gimble on the GRAMMY Awards Telecast in a special GRAMMY Salute to Bob Wills.
Tracklisting
Photek
Savoy Brown Blues Band
The Wedding Present
Del Amitri
Dirty Pretty Things
Level 42
Del Amitri
Photek
Asleep At The Wheel
Asleep at the Wheel
Asleep At The Wheel
Asleep At The Wheel
