Accessibility links
Asleep at the Wheel Asleep at the Wheel artist page: interviews, features and/or performances archived at NPR Music

Asleep at the Wheel

Musicians use rhythm and harmony to heal America's toxic divide

Ray Benson, longtime leader of the Western swing group Asleep at the Wheel, in concert at the Palace Theatre in Corsicana, Texas, on Dec. 9, 2022. He says he steers clear of politics on stage because "now it's totally toxic." Ben Torres for NPR hide caption

toggle caption
Ben Torres for NPR

National

Musicians use rhythm and harmony to heal America's toxic divide

These days, as polarization reaches deep into American life, some musicians are trying to stay out of the fray and use their music to bridge divides.

Asleep At The Wheel on Mountain Stage

Asleep At The Wheel performs during a live taping of Mountain Stage at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. on Sun., Oct. 24, 2021. Amanda Andrade-Rhoades/NPR hide caption

toggle caption
Amanda Andrade-Rhoades/NPR

Mountain Stage

Asleep At The Wheel on Mountain Stage

In October 2020, Asleep At The Wheel joined a special Mountain Stage roadshow at The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C.

Asleep At The Wheel on Mountain Stage

  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1060185606/1060222917" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
'Still The King': A Tribute To An Icon Of Western Swing

Ray Benson (center) and his band, the Grammy-winning country outfit Asleep at the Wheel, have long been stewards of the sound co-pioneered by Bob Wills and his Texas Playboys. Lisa Pollard/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

toggle caption
Lisa Pollard/Courtesy of the artist

Music

'Still The King': A Tribute To An Icon Of Western Swing

Don Gonyea talks to Ray Benson, leader of the Austin-based band Asleep at the Wheel, about a new tribute to the late Bob Wills that features contributions by the musicians Wills helped inspire.

'Still The King': A Tribute To An Icon Of Western Swing

Listen · 8:02
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/394299966/394334591" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Asleep At The Wheel On Mountain Stage

Asleep At The Wheel. Brian Blauser/Mountain Stage hide caption

toggle caption
Brian Blauser/Mountain Stage

Mountain Stage

Asleep At The Wheel On Mountain Stage

The iconic Western swing band has spent more than 40 years honing its energetic, evolving, crowd-pleasing sound. Hear a super-sized 12-song concert, recorded live at the birthplace of country music.

Asleep At The Wheel On Mountain Stage

  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/181598301/180852299" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">

Music Interviews

Willie Nelson Brings It Back To Western Swing

Two Austin musical institutions — Willie Nelson and Asleep at the Wheel — have teamed up on a new album to showcase classic western swing. With horns, fiddles and a pedal steel guitar, the music takes Nelson back to his roots. The project has been in the works for a while, having hatched from the mind of the great Jerry Wexler more than 30 years ago.

Willie Nelson Brings It Back To Western Swing

Listen · 5:43
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/102003062/102015872" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Mountain Stage

Asleep At The Wheel On Mountain Stage

No band has done more to keep alive the legend of Texas swing than Asleep at the Wheel. The Austin group originally formed in West Virginia more than three decades ago and returned recently to play on Mountain Stage for the seventh time since 1990.

Listen Now: Asleep At The Wheel On Mountain Stage

  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/95085523/95082462" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">

Studio Sessions

Asleep at the Wheel: Driving Western Swing

Bob Wills was the father of the Western swing genre, and the band Asleep at the Wheel has carried it into the new millennium. Now, the band has brought Wills' story to the stage in a musical drama called A Ride with Bob.

Asleep at the Wheel: Driving Western Swing

Listen
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/6167532/6168065" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Browse archive or search npr.org