In 1975, Ray Benson and his band Asleep at the Wheel were riding high with a hit album under their belts and a Grammy nomination (the first of many it seems).

“My roommate was booking this new television show here in Austin,” recalls bandleader Ray Benson. “I told him that we’d do it as long as they invited some of the original Texas Playboys to join in.”
After all, Ray’s good friend Willie Nelson had just taped a pilot episode for the new program in October 1974. That show was “Austin City Limits.” And, when the very first episode was broadcast in 1976, it was Asleep at the Wheel who launched what would become 35 years of music television history.

Now the longest-running music series in American television history, ACL showcases popular music legends and innovators from every genre. In addition to being honored by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum as a rock and roll landmark, ACL is the only television program to ever receive the National Medal of Arts, the nation’s highest award for artistic excellence.

This standard of excellence continues in ACL’s 35th anniversary season. And, on November 14, the two artists that started it all team up to perform songs from their critically acclaimed CD release Willie and The Wheel. The album that Rolling Stone gave “****” and The Washington Post hailed as “one of the first great albums of 2009,” is a collection of classic western swing songs hand-picked by the late Jerry Wexler. The very special broadcast also features Nelson hits such “On the Road Again” and “Always on my Mind.”

Willie Nelson, Asleep at the Wheel
“Hesitation Blues” (mp3)
from Willie And The Wheel
(Bismeaux Records)

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