Willie Nelson and Asleep at the Wheel announced today upcoming tour dates to support the release of their CD collaboration, Willie & The Wheel. The record is a concept thirty years in the making - a collection of classic western swing songs hand-picked by the late Jerry Wexler.
“Willie and I are cooking up quite a concert. Not only will we be showcasing songs from the album, but Willie Nelson and the Family will be busting out the classics. I’m sure there will be a few surprises too!”
"Jerry wanted us to do this album and I'm glad we got to do it for him," said Willie Nelson. “And that he heard it before he passed on."
“Willie & the Wheel is a CD whose time has come,” said Ray Benson. “Jerry Wexler originally came up with this concept back when Willie was on the Atlantic label. But, before the record could be made Willie left Atlantic for CBS records and so the idea was shelved.”
Better known as ‘Mr. R&B’, Jerry Wexler was a great fan of the original Western Swing bands like Bob Wills, Milton Brown and Cliff Bruner – all first introduced to him while he was studying journalism in Kansas City. Willie Nelson also had grown up on western swing, and it has always figured heavily into his approach to music.
In 2007, Willie Nelson, Merle Haggard, Ray Price and Asleep at the Wheel set out on the wildly successful Last of the Breedtour and PBS television broadcast - showcasing classic western swing and Texas Country Music. Not long after, Ray Benson got the call from Willie and his manager.
According to Benson, they asked, "’Jerry Wexler thinks now’s the time to do the western swing CD.” From a catalogue of nearly 40 selections Wexler and Benson painstakingly narrowed the list down to twelve. Always the producer with a vision, Wexler was involved in every way. He insisted that some of the tracks should include horns as well as a return to traditional fiddles and lap steel guitar associated with western swing.
“It was a sad day indeed when the news came in that Jerry Wexler had passed away,” said Benson. “We’re so proud to have had this opportunity to make this record with him.”
Willie and The Wheel tour dates:
12/2 Sahuarita, AZ Desert Diamond Casino
12/3 Sahuarita, AZ Desert Diamond Casino
12/4 Indio, CA Fantasy Springs Casino
12/5 Las Vegas, NV Planet Hollywood
12/6 San Jose, CA San Jose Civic Auditorium
12/7 Bakersfield, CA Fox Theatre
12/8 Los Angeles, CA Club Nokia
12/9 Thousand Oaks, CA Fred Kavli Theatre
12/10 Highland, CA San Manuel Indian Casino
12/12 Rio Puerco, NM Route 66 Casino
12/13 Mescalero, NM Inn of the Mountain Gods Casino
12/15 Austin, TX Austin Music Hall
