ASLEEP AT THE WHEEL TO RELEASE STUDIO ALBUM "HALF A HUNDRED YEARS" FEATURING WILLIE NELSON, EMMYLOU HARRIS, GEORGE STRAIT, LEE ANN WOMACK, LYLE LOVETT AND MORE

There’s no mistaking the pride in the voice of long time Asleep at the Wheel front man, Ray Benson, when he sings “Start the jam, roll one up, and ice another beer. I’ll tip my hat and raise a toast to half a hundred years.” The revelrous, to put it lightly, refrain of “Half A Hundred Years” is the icing on the birthday cake for Benson and his band who are ringing in their 50th anniversary with a brand new album on October 1st, 2021. Sharing a name with this first single, Half A Hundred Years is a nineteen-track celebration of Asleep At The Wheel’s half-century-long career, filled out by a number of world-class friends of the band; a guest-list testament to Asleep at the Wheel’s reputation as a cornerstone of American music for the last 50 years. Greats like Willie Nelson, George Strait, Emmylou Harris, Lee Ann Womack, and Lyle Lovett appear throughout Half A Hundred Years on a host of classic and destined-to-be-classic Western Swing and Country tunes. Fans can listen to “Half A Hundred Years” here and pre-order or pre-save "Half A Hundred Years" ahead of its release on Home Records in partnership with Thirty Tigers here.

“I went over to the ACL stage to see Jamey Johnson,” says Benson, recalling the spark that led to this new song. “I told him ‘Ya know it’s Asleep at the Wheel’s 50th anniversary!’ He looked at me and said, ‘That’s Half a Hundred years!’” Benson knows a great song title when he hears one, so he went home and got to writing. “I was trying to get across the sacrifices you have to make in 50 years on the road and the other positive side of it. The great experiences, the places I’ve been, and all the amazing people I’ve had the opportunity to meet and play music with.” The sentiment comes across swimmingly, with a grooving rhythm section and incredibly tight horn arrangements dancing around Benson’s familiar, friendly voice.

From day one, Benson and Asleep at the Wheel set out to bear a torch and carry the roots of American popular music into the future. 50 years later, and they’re still walking that same road. This is most evident in their cover of Bob Wills’ classic “Take Me Back To Tulsa,” the first Bob Wills song Asleep at the Wheel recorded way back in 1972. This time around, the band is joined by fellow Bob Wills and Western Swing aficionados, George Strait and Willie Nelson. Benson jokes, “To me it doesn’t get more Texan than George, Willie, and Asleep at the Wheel doin’ a Bob Wills classic!” And he’s not wrong, though Asleep at the Wheel doing their classic “The Letter That Johnny Walker Read” with Lee Ann Womack—the very next track on Half A Hundred Years—is a close contender. Additionally, three original members of Asleep at the Wheel—Chris O’Connell, Leroy Preston, and Lucky Oceans—returned after 4o years to lend their voices and musicianship to a number of tracks on Half A Hundred Years.

When it’s all said and done, Half A Hundred Years is a reminder for one to take ownership and care of the things they love, just as Ray Benson has cherished, polished, built, and rebuilt Asleep at the Wheel, and to some extent, the history and future of Western Swing music—even when the odds were stacked against him. “The one reason that I kept going,” Benson says, “is that every week a fan would come up and be so appreciative, saying, ‘Don’t ever stop. 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.”

"Half A Hundred Years" Track List:

Half A Hundred Years

It’s The Same Old South feat. Chris O’Connell

I Do What I Must feat. Leroy Preston

There You Go Again feat. Lyle Lovett

My Little Baby feat. Chris O’Connell

Paycheck To Paycheck feat. Leroy Preston

Word To The Wise feat. Bill Kirchen

That’s How I Remember It feat. Chris O’Connell

The Photo feat. Leroy Preston

I Love You Most Of All (When You’re Not Here) feat. Lucky Oceans

The Wheel Boogie

Take Me Back To Tulsa feat. George Strait and Willie Nelson

The Letter That Johnny Walker Read feat. Lee Ann Womack

Bump Bounce Boogie Feat. Chris O'Connell, Elizabeth McQueen, & Katie Shore

Miles And Miles Of Texas

Get Your Kicks On Route 66 Feat. Leroy Preston, Johnny Nicholas, & Ray Benson

Marie Feat. Willie Nelson

Spanish Two Step Feat. Johnny Gimble And Jesse Ashlock

The Road Will Hold Me Tonight Feat. Emmylou Harris And Willie Nelson

ASLEEP AT THE WHEEL KICKS OFF 50TH ANNIVERSARY WITH NEW EP, "THE BETTER TIMES"

New May and June, in-person tour dates announced

EP out May 28th

“Everything this act has ever released is simply spectacular.” 

-Billboard

Fifty years ago—before Americana or outlaw or cosmic country ever had a name—Ray Benson and his band Asleep at the Wheel were carrying the torch of some of America’s favorite music into the future with fiery live shows, droves of followers, and a mainstream swing sound all their own. Fast forward five decades to find Benson and crew still bearing that torch, albeit with quite a few more fans and albums under their belt. To begin the celebration of its 50th anniversary, Asleep at the Wheel is releasing some new music ahead of a quick jaunt through Texas and Missouri this June—an appetizer of sorts for what’s to come from their momentous anniversary year. On May 28th, the band will release a three-song EP dubbed The Better Times, produced by Benson for Bismeaux Records. Benson takes the lead vocal on the title track, a hopeful original written while riding out the pandemic. Asleep at the Wheel vocalist and fiddler Katie Shore sings “All I’m Asking,” a rousing request to get back together, written by Band of Heathens’ Ed Jurdi and Gordi Quist. Meanwhile, Benson and Shore harmonize on “Columbus Stockade Blues,” a traditional tune arranged in the spirit of Willie Nelson and Shirley Collie’s 1960s version.

Once The Better Times is out in the world, Asleep at the Wheel will be hitting the road to celebrate—not just the EP, but the fact that they’re able to tour again—with a run of shows that will take them from Texas’s legendary Gruene Hall on May 29th, up through Texas to Columbia and St. Louis, Missouri, and back down to College Station to end the run on June 20th. A full list of tour dates can be found below and ticket information can be found online at asleepatthewheel.com/tour.

Additionally, Asleep at the Wheel fans are highly encouraged to stay tuned as the band gets further along into their 50th anniversary year—2021 has more exciting announcements in store.

Catch Asleep at the Wheel On Tour:

May 29 - Gruene Hall - Gruene, Texas

June 3 - Birdsong Amphitheater - Stephenville, Texas

June 5 - Starlight Ranch Event Center - Amarillo, Texas

June 6 - Cactus Theater - Lubbock, Texas

June 10 - Rose Music Hall - Columbia, Missouri

June 11 - The Sheldon - St. Louis, Missouri

June 19 - Buck’s Backyard - Buda, Texas

June 20 - Rudder Auditorium - College Station, Texas

ASLEEP AT THE WHEEL PARTNERS WITH AUSTIN CITY LIMITS FOR FIVE DECADE CAREER RETROSPECTIVE ON OCTOBER 31

All of the greats were ahead of their time; Archimedes, Nikola Tesla, The Beatles. The Grateful Dead meshed string band music and rhythm & blues to create an entirely new scene and the Rolling Stones carried a rock and roll torch into stadiums and onto television screens worldwide, but in the world of Americana music and Texas’s cosmic outlaw country, there was one group telling old stories and rallying new fans well before those genres even had a name—Asleep at the Wheel. On October 31st, ACL Presents: 50 Years of Asleep at the Wheel, a special retrospective of the band’s appearances on public television’s beloved Austin City Limits program will premiere nationwide on PBS. From performing on the series’ very first episode to modern-day collaborations with legends like Willie Nelson and Lyle Lovett (in total, the band has appeared on eleven episodes), Asleep at the Wheel have woven a 50-year thread through Texas and American music history, and Austin City Limits played a quite the part in it. Fans can experience the journey right from the beginning this Halloween when ACL Presents: 50 Years of Asleep at the Wheel airs; more information including a full broadcast schedule is available at acltv.com.

ACL Presents: 50 Years of Asleep at the Wheel is only the kickoff of a coming year-long celebration of the band’s five-decade milestone. This past week, Asleep at the Wheel’s fearless leader and founder Ray Benson took part in “Thriving Roots,” AMERICANAFEST’s virtual conference, announcing the coming special and screening an hour-long interview and documentary produced by the Texas Music Office for all digital festival attendees to enjoy. Additionally, Benson and Asleep at the Wheel are currently being featured in the Country Music Hall of Fame’s Outlaws and Armadillos exhibit and as part of the Whitliff Collection at Texas State University’s museum.

Fans, new and old, should stay tuned in to asleepatthewheel.com in the coming months because Benson and Asleep at the Wheel are just getting started with their big celebration. 

 

ACL Presents: 50 Years of Asleep at the Wheel setlist:

“The Letter That Johnny Walker Read” - 1976

"Ain’t Nobody Here But Us Chickens” - 1978

“Get Your Kicks on Route 66” - 1996 

"Roly Poly" ft. The Texas Playboys - 1993

“Hesitation Blues” ft. Willie Nelson - 2009

“Nothing Takes The Place of You” - 1976

“Blues for Dixie” ft. Lyle Lovett - ACL Hall of Fame 2015

“Let Me Go Home Whiskey” - 1976

“After You’ve Gone” ft. Willie Nelson, Freddy Powers, and Johnny Gimble - 1981

“I Can’t Give You Anything But Love ”- 2015

“Boogie Back to Texas” - 1988 

“Milk Cow Blues” - 2015

“Miles and Miles of Texas” - 1996, 2002, and 1980

“Choo Choo Boogie” - 1978, 1988, and 1996

“Pancho and Lefty” ft. Willie Nelson - 2009

“Take Me Back to Tulsa” ft. The Avett Brothers and Vince Gill - 1996, 2015, 1978, and 1976

“Cotton Eye Joe” - 1980