Asleep At The Wheel
We were in Austin a couple of weeks ago to attend the Texas Monthly 2nd Annual Barbecue Festival. Ray Benson & Friends were also there to provide part of the entertainment. Ray has a vocal range that few can match. He and the full compliment of Asleep at the Wheel are one of the most recognizable Texas bands out there. The performance we enjoyed in Austin was pure Real Texas and it just made us want more, more, more.
Ray and Asleep at the Wheel are well known for keeping up with the Western Swing genre of Texas Music first appearing in the 1920’s among western string bands. It became popular as dance music. Western swing attracted huge crowds to dance halls nationwide until a nightclub tax all but killed the dance hall business.
Western swing is different from the brass driven big band sound as it is primarily the fiddle player that takes the lead in the sound department. Popular groups back in the day included the Light Crust Doughboys, Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys, Spade Cooley and his orchestra, and contemporary groups such as our feature this week, Asleep at the Wheel led by Ray Benson. He is the undisputed sound of the group, but man did we enjoy the fiddle player at the Texas Monthly event. Texas music doesn’t get any better than this.
{ 0 comments… add one now }