Cracker
Barrel
Old Country Store
HERITAGE
CB105 Asleep at the Wheel Hang Up My Spurs Western Swing
1. Hang Up My Spurs and Saddle 2:33
2. T-U-L-S-A Straight Ahead 2:35
3. Silver Lake Blues 2:58
4. I Didn't Realize 2:54
5. Milk Cow Blues 5:10
6. Beaumont Rag 3:04
7. San Antonio Rose 4:18
8. Tumbling Tumbleweeds 2:48
9. Don't Let the Deal Go Down 2:37
10. Bubbles in My Beer 2:25
11. Westphalia Waltz 3:23
12. Ain't Got Nothing but the Blues 4:12
Electric
LarryLand
<D®2002 CB Music, LLC. All rights reserved.
CB105 Asleep at the Wheel Hang Up My Spurs Western Swing
HERITAGE MUSIC COLLECTION
Old Country Store
The heritage of American music is about as diverse as you can get, blending styles and
rhythms and traditions from everywhere in the world. We like to think of America's music
as a great patchwork quilt of sound. No two pieces of this sound quilt are exactly the
same. They vary as much as the people and the landscapes of our country. But they join
together to create a single quilt, and it covers and warms our nation. The Heritage Music
Collection is a chance to take a new look at some of the music that enriches America
today. Much of the music is based in regions, communities, families and religious tradi¬
tions. In other words, this music comes from the heart of America. In offering you these
samples from America's musical quilt, Cracker Barrel is being assisted by the National
Council for the Traditional Arts, which has been recording, documenting, and presenting
America's music since President Roosevelt's first Administration. Heritage Music is
American music. It's the sound of where we came from, who we are, and where we're
going. We sure hope you enjoy listening.
Over the course of the
last three decades. Asleep at the Wheel has
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 millions and won praise and admiration from every¬
one from Willie Nelson to Bob Dylan, to George Strait, to Van Morrison. For their efforts
through the years, they've managed to pick up nine Grammy® awards.
Founded in 1970, in Paw Paw, West Virginia, the band gained recognition in the San
Francisco Bay area, before finally settling permanently in Austin, TX, in 1973. Front man
from the beginning, Ray Benson, with the big voice and 6' 7" stature, brings yet anoth¬
er generation into the fold, evoking, with each performance, the legacy and
continuing vitality of a music first popularized by Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys. The
Wheel has performed at least 11 times on Austin City Limits, and boasts over
3 million miles of travel on their old tour bus. But let's let Ray Benson tell you about it...
- Joe Wilson
Western swing is the southwestern United States' answer to Bluegrass music. In the
1930's and 40's, while Bill Monroe and Flatt and Scruggs were pioneering Bluegrass
music in Kentucky and the south. Bob Wills, Milton Brown, and scores of others were
playing their own form of hybrid rural music which became known as western swing.
The notable difference between the two was the inclusion of drums and swing rhythms
to what was basically a string band format.
What both kinds of music had in common was the fiddle. In bluegrass music the fiddle
was secondary to the mandolin and banjo; in western swing the fiddle was the lead
instrument. Not only was the fiddle the lead, it was joined by another and, sometimes,
two other fiddles in a fiddle ensemble that has been a mainstay of Texas music and
country music ever since.
We've recorded some of the favorite old western swing numbers on this collection,
as well as some new ones. We hope you enjoy the old waltzes, fiddle tunes, Bob Wills
classics, and the great obscure western numbers we've included here. And remember,
western swing ain't dead, it's Asleep at the Wheel.
- Ray Benson
Joe Wilson has been the director of the National Council for the Traditional Arts since 1976, and has produced
over 100 full-length discs of traditional music.
Ray Benson has been the leader of Asleep at the Wheel since its inception and is a respected historian of
Western music. We are pleased to accept his kindness in sharing his description of this music.
Ray Benson describes the songs on this
recording:
1. Hang Up My Spurs and Saddle
I wrote this tune to commemorate my
retirement from ridin' horses due to a
bad back. I never was a cowboy, but I
think the same sentiments apply to
any situation where ya gotta give up
something you've done and are looking
forward to not havin' to deal with the
bad parts of whatever you're leavin'
Ray Benson/Lew-Bob Songs o/b/o Paw
Paw Music (BMI)/2:33
2. T-U-L-S-A Straight Ahead
We learned this gem from the great
Leon McCauliff and his Cimmaron Valley
Boys. After Leon left Bob Wills, he led
a swingin' and very successful band
in Tulsa, Oklahoma City, and later in
Arkansas. This version, written by
Jimmy Hall, is what I would call
Oklahoma swing.
Jimmy Hall/Cherio Corporation
(BMI)/2:35
3. Silver Lake Blues
This fiddle tune was one of Bob Wills'
favorites, and points to the importance
of fiddle tunes in the western swing
repertoire. The sweet and melodic
twin fiddles followed by the whistling
harmonics of the steel guitar are pure
western swing. You hear a lotta cowboy
music here.
Ray Benson/Jason Roberts/Lew-Bob
Songs o/b/o Asleep At The Wheel Music
(BMI)/2:58
4. I Didn't Realize
According to Johnny Gimble, Rusty
MacDonald wrote and sang this with Bob
Wills in an April, 1950 recording for MGM.
Johnny said, "I know 'cause I was there."
This is a great example of a western swing
tune with more swing than western in
its makeup. The complex chord structure
and modulation in the bridge are pretty
sophisticated, and point to the complex
nature of western swing music.
Rusty MacDonald/Bob Wills/Unichappell
Music , Inc. o/b/o Bob Wills Music ,
Inc./ASCAP/2:54
5. Milk Cow Blues
Originally done by bluesman Kokomo
Arnold, Bob Wills made this a western
swing standard that has been carried
on by Merle Haggard, George Strait, and
now by us. Its "big band/blues done by
a string band" format is really the
essence of what defines western swing.
Kokomo Amold/Universal-MCA Music
Publishing (Div. of Universal Studios , Inc.)
(ASCAP)/5:10
6. Beaumont Rag
Originally recorded by Smith's Garage Band
in 1928, this fiddle tune is a staple among
Texas fiddlers, and really defines the
difference between the Texas fiddling
tradition and the other geographical fid¬
dle styles. The use of a diminished chord
is one of the signatures of Texas fiddling,
and the chord progression owes more to
Dixieland jazz than it does to the jigs
and reels of Irish fiddling.
Ray Benson/Daniel Levin/Lew-Bob Songs
o/b/o Asleep At The Wheel Music
(BMI)/3:04
7. San Antonio Rose
Probably the biggest hit that western
swing ever had, this Bob Wills classic
was originally a fiddle tune that was
turned into a vocal with trumpets and
a "Pop" arrangement of the day. It was
a huge cover hit for Bing Crosby, and
remains today the "signature" tune of
western swing music.
Bob Wills/Bourne Co. (ASCAP)/4:18
8. Tumbling Tumbleweeds
Well, whoever took the western outta
Country/Western never heard the Sons
of the Pioneers sing this song! One of
the reasons we chose western swing as
the style of music we wanted to play
was because we could sing Tumblin'
Tumbleweeds, wear a cowboy hat and
boots, and play swing and jazz and
blues to boot!
Bob Nolan/Songwriters Guild of America
o/b/o Music of the West (BMI)/2:48
9. Don't Let the Deal Go Down
This is one of those fiddle tunes that
crosses all genres of country fiddling. You
can hear a bluegrass band or an old-timey
traditional fiddle version of this tune
and it'll be similar but different from
this version, which is very much in the
tradition of Bob Wills and Texas fiddlers.
Ray Benson/Jason Roberts/Lew-Bob
Songs o/b/o Asleep At The Wheel Music
(BMI)/2:37
10. Bubbles in My Beer
One of the great songs written by Cindy
Walker and done originally by Bob Wills,
this is certainly one of the "classic"
western swing tunes of all time. With
the twin fiddles and barroom sentiments,
its music is of the western swing variety,
while its words are clearly in the honky-
tonk tradition of "cryin' in my beer" lyrics.
Cindy Walker/Tommy Duncan/Bob
Wills/Chappell & Company (BMI)/Red
River Songs , Inc. (BMI)/2:25
11. Westphalia Waltz
This old Texas waltz was written by the
late Cotton Collins, and has been a dance
hall staple for years in Texas. Westphalia
is a small town in central Texas; if you
play a dance in this area-settled by folks
from Czechoslovakia and Bohemia- you
must play a waltz or two.
Cotton Collins/Century Songs (BMI)/3:23
12. Ain't Got Nothing but the Blues
I wrote the words to this one a while
ago, but never had the music. One night,
before the session, it just came to me;
and before I knew it, the tune was
done. I kind of see it as a "Fats Waller
meets Bob Wills" kinda deal!
Ray Benson/Lew-Bob Songs o/b/o Paw
Paw Music (BMI)/4:12
Ray Benson - acoustic and electric
guitar, lead and harmony vocals
David Miller - bass and harmony vocals
Jim Murphy - steel guitar
Jason Roberts - fiddle, electric guitar,
lead and harmony vocals
David Sanger - drums
John Michael Whitby - piano and
harmony vocals
Special Guests:
Floyd Domino: piano on "I Didn't Realize"
Cindy Cashdollar: steel guitar on
"I Didn't Realize"
Producer - Ray Benson for Bismeaux
Productions
Recorded and mixed at Bismeaux
Studio, Austin, TX
Engineer - Cris Burns
Assistant Engineer - Dave Kembro
Mastered by Larry Seyer for Electric
LarryLand Recording Studio, Austin, TX
Asleep at the Wheel would like to thank
Fides Drums, Aquaria Drumheads, Promark
Sticks, Sabia Cymbals, John Pearse Strings
from Breezy Ridge & Instruments, LTD,
John Knutson Luthiery, and Bethel Guitar.
Special Thanks to The National Council
for the Traditional Arts including Joe
Wilson, Julia Olin, Madeleine Remez,
and Rhonda Jenkins.
Peter Schwarz, Album Production Manager
Bridget Bauer, Production Coordinator
Jim Finney, Road Manager
Holly Gleason, at Joe's Garage, Publicity
To join the Asleep At The Wheel Fan
Club or for more information go to:
www.asleepatthewheel.com or e-mail
aatw@gte.net
Management:
Bismeaux Productions
P.0. Box 463
Austin, TX 78767
512-444-9885
bismeaux@austin.rr.com
Booking Agency:
William Morris Agency
2100 West End Avenue
Suite 1000
Nashville, TN 37203
615-963-3000
This recording is part of a 15-CD set
organized and curated for Cracker Barrel
Old Country Store® by the National
Council for the Traditional Arts (NCTA),
a not-for-profit corporation dedicated to
the presentation and documentation of
folk and traditional arts in the United
States. Founded in 1933 , it is the nation's
oldest producing and presenting organiza¬
tion with such a focus. The NCTA stresses
quality and authenticity in presenting
traditional artists to the public in festivals,
national and international tours; concerts,
radio and television programs , films,
recordings and other programs. This work
was conceived and managed by Joe Wilson ,
Julia Olin and Madeleine Remez.
www.ncta.net
www. crackerbarrel. com
©2002 CB Music, LLC
Running an old country store all these
years, we like to think we've gotten pretty
good at gathering together the best of what's
around. The Cracker Barrel Old Country Store Music
Catalogue™ is sort of the same idea, only with music. It's
tunes from around the country, organized into collections
of our favorites. Within the catalogue, you'll find old standards and
modem classics, new recordings done especially for us and some rare gems that
we hope you'll enjoy. As the catalogue grows there will be things like holiday
music, traveling music and music you may have never even heard of, but hope¬
fully will enjoy a lot. We've tried to make sure it's all the highest quality
possible, made by the best artists we can find.
We sure hope you find something you can enjoy
listening to, wherever you may be headed.
Cracker
Barrel
Old Country Store
