Asleep at the Wheel came together in West Virginia in 1970, when musicians and founders Lucky Oceans and Ray Benson met while performing as opening acts at a concert in Washington, D.C. Within three years, they’d formed Asleep at the Wheel and released Comin’ Right At Ya, their debut album.
After the release of Comin’ Right at Ya, Asleep at the Wheel relocated to Texas, and since that time the band has enjoyed nearly forty years of highly successful albums and records. Over the next four decades, Asleep at the Wheel released: Texas Gold (1975), Wheelin’ & Dealin’ (1976), The Wheel (1977), Collision Course (1978), 10 (1987), Western Standard Time (1988), Keepin’ Me Up Nights (1990), Ride with Bob (1999), and Willie and the Wheel, (2009, alongside Willie Nelson), to name a few. Featured singles include “Choo Choo Ch’Boogie” (1974), “The Letter that Johnny Walker Read” (1975, their highest charting single), “Bump, Bounce Boogie” (1975), “Route 66” (1976), “Miles and Miles of Texas” (1976), “Texas Me and You” (1978), “House of Blue Lights” (1987), “Walk on By” (1988), “That’s the Way Love Is” (1990), and “Lay Down Sally” (1996.)
In total, Asleep at the Wheel has been recognized with nine Grammy wins since their early beginnings. Although Lucky Oceans left the band in the early 1980’s, Asleep at the Wheel continues to record and perform under Ray Benson and the current lineup of: Elizabeth McQueen, Eddie Rivers, David Earl Miller, Jason Roberts, Dan Walton, and David Sanger.
