Asleep at the Wheel, Willie Nelson Willie and the Wheel

• Hesitation Blues
• Sweet Jennie Lee
• Fan It
• I Ain't Gonna Give Nobody None O' This Jelly Roll
• Oh! You Pretty Woman
• Bring It On Down To My House
• Right Or Wrong
• Corrine Corrina
• I'm Sittin' On Top Of The World
• Shame On You
• South (featuring Paul Shaffer and Vince Gill )
• Won't You Ride In My Little Red Wagon

It makes sense the long-running Western swing band would finally get together with country legend Willie Nelson and record an album. The original band moved to its current home in Austin, Texas at the behest of Nelson way back in 1972, after all. The Wheel are still led by guitarist Ray Benson – now the only original member – and haven’t shied away from updating their sound, as the female vocals on their last effort, Reinventing the Wheel, attest. For Willie and the Wheel, the artists collaborate on classic songs chosen by legendary producer and Atlantic Records partner Jerry Wexler who came up with the idea in 2007 but died in 2008. According to Nelson, Wexler got to hear the record before he passed away.  

Abstract by Tony Sclafani