Seven Days: Vermont's Independent Voice

Still Rolling

Some long-lived bands reinvent themselves every decade or so. But Asleep at the Wheel have weathered four decades — and plenty of location, label and personnel changes — while staying true blue to their founders’ love of Western swing in the tradition of Bob Wills (1905-75). Ray Benson, the Wheel’s 6-foot-7 baritone frontman since the band’s beginning in 1970, calls the danceable music “jazz with a cowboy hat.” Back in the Vietnam War era, the six original members bucked trends with their commitment to American roots music, but today the Wheel is right in step. The Austin-based ensemble has picked up nine Grammys, collaborated with Willie Nelson and the Dixie Chicks, transformed its Wills tribute into a theatrical musical, and recorded four versions of “(Get Your Kicks on) Route 66.” Whether or not anyone’s steering, it’s been one helluva ride.