Talent Overview

Steiner Talent has the pleasure of providing Asleep at the Wheel for personal appearances and performances for special events and corporate functions. To book Asleep at the Wheel for your corporate event, private party or performance venue through Steiner Talent, inquire about booking fees and availability by calling us at (866) 319-0050 or by filling in the details of your event by clicking here. One of our agents will respond to your request within 24 hours.

Appearance and performance fees for Asleep at the Wheel are determined by a number of factors, including availability, location of corporate or private event, date of event, tour routing schedule and Asleep at the Wheel's interest level of appearing at your event. Please be sure to be specific about your event, including your entertainment budget, so that we can help you decide on suitable entertainment for your event.

We look forward to helping secure Asleep at the Wheel on your date for your corporate event, private event or venue.

Biography

Over the course of the last 36 years Benson and the Wheel have boldly defied the fickle lures of the mainstream -- and thrived -- by sticking to their noble cause of keeping that distinctly American of art forms, western swing, alive and kicking. Along the way, they've entertained thousands and won praise and admiration from everyone from Willie Nelson to Bob Dylan, George Strait to Van Morrison.

Theater isn�t the only new adventure the band has taken recently. After three plus decades in the music industry Asleep at the Wheel began playing their dance music with pops orchestras to an overwhelming response in Fort Worth, Dallas and Austin. After numerous packed houses the Wheel is eager to do it again.

Asleep at the Wheel is not just your typical dance band, they're an institution: an ever-shifting lineup (over 80 members to date) of like-minded musicians united under Benson's crusade to carry the torch of big band Western Swing music into the 21st Century. If you want to hear what Texas sounds like, all you need to do is pop in an Asleep at the Wheel CD.

For Ray Benson, the will to play the guitar began in Philadelphia, PA -- far, far away from the city of Austin, Texas, which the Wheel has proudly called home for the last thirty-three years. "I was born in 1951, and big band music was still very much around, and in my community it was still very much the thing," Benson explains. "I played bass in my school stage band in tenth grade, and my musical director introduced us to Count Bassie. My friend Lucky Ocean�s parents were sort of like beatniks, and his dad gave us some Lester Young records when we were still in high school. But I just happened to be a weird kind of guy: I was also into folk music, Chicago blues and country. My goal was to be more different than anybody, and that's what Asleep at the Wheel was all about: doing roots music that was different and eclectic."

"I've been told that I'm relentless, so I guess I am," he says. "Every time that I figured I was going to quit, we'd have a wonderful, incredible show where the people were so appreciative that we were doing this music that it's like, 'Well, hell -- this beats working, so why not keep doing it?' Honestly, I would like to see this go on forever. If I'm not here, I think there are some capable hands being developed right now. Western swing ain't going away."

The band's biggest success was in 1999 when their critically acclaimed album Ride with Bob struck gold on the charts and at the Grammys. But Ray felt that there was something missing with his music, �After the Ride With Bob album was done and it was doing real well, I was sitting in my office reading the sales reports on Asleep at the Wheel that the record company had sent me," says Benson. "And I looked at all the 'Best Of' Asleep at the Wheel albums, of which there are many, and none of them contained all of the songs that are our top requested songs night after night on the road. Every night the fans ask for certain songs, and there's not a package out there representing what our fans want. So that's what we set out to do."

The result is The Very Best of Asleep at the Wheel, the very first album to round up every single one of the legendary Western swing band's most requested songs after thirty-six years of rolling on the road. "It's not ballad heavy," states the 6'7" bandleader and guitar slinger with a deep laugh. "We're a dance band. That's what we're about. And that's plenty."

"This is improvisational music, which I think is the whole ball of wax, because that's where the rubber really meets the road -- and it's why we play it," says Benson. "I think it's interesting to listen to updated versions of what people do, hearing how they have evolved. People change, and I love to have the luxury of having a career this long to do it. Part of the impetus was touring with Bob Dylan a couple of years ago. Every night, Dylan would do those songs a little differently, and it made it very exciting to see where they were going to go each night."

Their importance in today�s music cannot be understated as they have continued to carry the torch of western swing and pack venues across the globe.

More Information

Link to this page: steinertalent.com/profile/booking_asleep_at_the_wheel

Steiner Talent is the booking agent working on your behalf as an entertainment broker/producer for corporate functions, private engagements and special events and does not claim or represent itself as the exclusive booking agent, booking agency or management of Asleep at the Wheel, unless specified above. Because we are not the exclusive talent or booking agent for Asleep at the Wheel, we are unable to answer fan club information requests, fan mail, public relations inquiries, or provide contact information for Asleep at the Wheel. Our agency works exclusively with corporate event planners, private party planners, talent buyers and wedding planners and we cannot respond to inquiries regarding entertainers' availability inquiries that do not meet our guidelines.

We look forward to helping secure Asleep at the Wheel on your date for your corporate event, private event or venue.