Asleep At The Wheel

Genres:	Country & Bluegrass
Descriptive "tags":	country • western swing • texas • honky tonk
Decades Active:	1970s • 1980s • 1990s • 2000s
Artist Compilations:	Asleep At The Wheel (with Lyle Lovett)
Links online:	MySpace • Official Homepage • Wikipedia

Biography

Ray Benson (16 March 1951, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; guitar/vocals), Christine O’Connell (b. 21 March 1953, Williamsport, Maryland, USA; vocals), Lucky Oceans (b. Reuben Gosfield, 22 April 1951, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; steel guitar), Floyd Domino (piano) and Leroy Preston (rhythm guitar/drums) formed the core of the classic line-up of this protean western swing-styled unit. Although initially based in West Virginia, the band later moved to Austin, Texas, where they found a more receptive audience in the wake of their infectious debut album. They had a US Top 10 single in 1973 with ‘The Letter That Johnny Walker Read’ and won a Grammy for their version of Count Basie’s ‘One O’Clock Jump’.

Despite an undoubted live appeal and an appearance in the rock movie Roadie, Asleep At The Wheel’s anachronistic style has hampered a more widespread success. Led throughout by frontman Ray Benson, the...

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