Swingin' Texas Style

Asleep at the Wheel in concert

When I was growing up, Sunday mornings always had a reassuring sameness to them. While my Mother and I would prepare for church, my Dad would shave (the smell of Old Spice still transports me back to my childhood) and then prepare our family stereo for his weekly dose of country spirituality - a playlist consisting of artists such as Hank Williams, Patsy Cline, and because he was born a Texan, a large measure of the western swing sounds of Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys.

Of course, it being the 1950s and 60s and me being a natural rebel, I had to reject my Dad's musical choices. Rock was my thing. It wasn't until a couple of years after my Dad's death that 2 long-haired country boys - Willie Nelson and Waylon Jennings - finally made me realize what my Father found in those regular Sunday concerts of his.

Thoughts of those long-ago Sundays came back tonight as we attended a concert by the most noted practitioners of Texas swing today, 9-time Grammy winners Asleep at the Wheel. The performance was part of  Swing, Swing, Swing; A Celebration of of the Rhythmic Beat That Still Drives Jazz Today, a 2-week free festival on the Millennium Stage at the Kennedy Center.

For those of you not fortunate enough to have a father introduce you, Texas swing is simultaneously  simple and complex. You start with drums and an upright bass for rhythm, throw in a boogie-woogie piano, and top it all off with the twang of guitar, fiddle, and pedal steel.

As for the music itself, it winds all over the place as the song selections by the Wheelers showed.  Cowboy songs like "I'm an Old Cowhand (from the Rio Grande) ... check.  Pop classics such as "Route 66" and "It's a Better Day" by Peggy Lee. Willie Nelson and Waylon Jennings represented ... Willie by "Sittin' on Top of the World" and "Hesitation Blues" and Waylon with his tribute "Bob Willis Is Still the King." Of course, you need 3 or 4 tunes by Willis himself like "Ida Red". Then there's 1 of my Dad's favorites "Beat Me Daddy, 8 to the Bar." Why you can even throw in a masterpiece by guitar virtuoso Django Reinhardt if  you want to really slam home your musical prowess.

Asleep at the Wheel was formed in 1970 and its 1 constant has been guitarist and lead vocalist Ray Benson, who provides a lot of the pickin' and almost all the grinnin'. In his introduction, Benson noted "we've got a crowd to cut rug. But I don 't think we've ever had a crowd sitting on the rug (a reference to the large number of audience members on the Kennedy center carpets around the stage)."

Several times throughout the night, Benson referenced that the last time Asleep at the Wheel played  the Kennedy Center they were performing in A Ride with Bob, a musical tribute in which Mr. Benson, playing himself, encounters the ghost of Bob Willis on a tour bus. "We'd like to do that again," Benson said with a sly Southern grin. "I'm not sure which Kennedy is a runnin' this place now, but if you write him maybe he'll have us back."

Well, Mr. Benson, thanks to some musical schooling by my Daddy, if you and the Wheelers do come back, you can bet I'll be there. That is "Lord willin' and the crick don't rise," as both my Daddy and Hank Williams used to say.

Tales, Tidbits, and Traveling Tips
They say retirement is the perfect time to try out new things. Well, in my wildest imagination. I never envisioned myself getting swing dancing lessons at the Kennedy Center. But that's exactly what I found myself doing for 1 hour before the Asleep at the Wheel show. Now I know many of you who know me are saying "Just can't see you doing that; I think you are telling us a tall Texas tale." But I have proof. Well, at least I thought I did. Our instructors claimed they were taping the lessons. But they lied. So you can't see me kicking 28 of my 28 dance partners as I stumble around the Kennedy Center dance floor. But you can check out one amazing  Asleep at the Wheel performance by clicking here.