Artist Biographies - Asleep At The Wheel

	Asleep At The Wheel Biography

Western Swing has always played an integral part in Country music. Bob Wills and his Texas Playboys and The Light Crust Doughboys were giants in the field of Western Swing. Unfortunately, Western Swing has waned over the years, though don't tell that to Asleep at the Wheel, who over the years have successfully carried the banner for Western Swing. Asleep at the Wheel was formed in 1970 by Ray Benson Seifert (lead guitar, vocalist), Lucky Oceans (born Reuben Gosfield; steel guitar), and Leroy Preston (rhythm guitar) in Paw Paw, W.V. They felt something was missing from their sound, so they added Chris O'Connell, a young lady fresh out of high school. The band started out playing strictly Country music, but then they heard Merle Haggard's Bob Wills Tribute Album, and they fell in love with Western Swing. Commander Cody, who mostly influenced Asleep at the Wheel, was instrumental in getting them signed with his own manager. The band eventually landed in San Francisco and became the staple act at Berkeley's Longbranch Saloon. San Francisco is where Van Morrison discovered Asleep at the Wheel. He loved them and praised them in an article in Rolling Stone Magazine. That buzz helped them get signed by United Artists, which led to their first album,Comin' Right at Ya, being released in 1973. However, San Francisco Asleep at the Wheel was feeling a little out of place with the music being produced in San Francisco, so they moved to Austin, TX, closer to the heart of Texas Swing. They left United Artists for Epic Records and released their second album, Asleep At The Wheel, which spawned their first charting single, "Choo Choo Ch'Boogie." In 1975 Asleep at the Wheel left Epic for Capitol where they released the album Texas Gold and the top-ten single "The Letter That Johnny Walker Read." They would go on to release a number of critically acclaimed albums in the 70s, including Wheelin' and Dealin', The Wheel, and the Grammy-winning Collision Course. 1980 was a tough year for Asleep at the Wheel. They moved to yet another record label, MCA., and while releasing the album Framed, Lucky Oceans left the group, as did Chris O'Connell, who wanted to start a family. The band was hurting financially, too, and they worked on movie soundtracks and commercials to help cover the debt. Moonlighting as a producer, Ray Benson Seifert helped Asleep at the Wheel get their second shot with Epic. Chris returned with a new line up featuring Larry Franklin on fiddle, steel guitarist John Ely, Tim Alexander on piano and accordion, saxophonist Mike Francis, Jon Mitchell on bass and drummer David Sanger. This revamped Asleep at the Wheel released the highly anticipated album, Asleep at the Wheel 10, which spawned the top 20 hit, "House of Blue Lights," and the Grammy-winning single, "String of Pars," featuring Johnny Gimble of the Texas Playboys on fiddle. Their next album, Western Standard Time, contained the Grammy-winning hit "Sugarfoot Rag". In the 90s, Asleep at the Wheel further popularized Texas Swing, including releasing two tribute albums to Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys. Though the faces changed through the years, one thing remains certain: Asleep at the Wheel is committed to keeping Texas Swing alive and kicking.

Asleep At The Wheel Biography