Still the King: Celebrating the Music of Bob Wills

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About Still The King: Celebrating The Music Of Bob Wills

Product Description Western swing is all things Texas, uniquely American, and loved the world-over. Nine-time Grammy winners Ray Benson & Asleep At The Wheel have been the genre's chief practitioners, conspirators, and caretakers for over forty years, carrying its timeless tradition well into the 21st century. Now with this collection, Benson brings together not only a legendary cast of Texas music contemporaries but also a new generation of Americana artists inspired by the Lone Star State's favorite son, Bob Wills. The result herein is 22 compelling reasons why Bob Wills is "Still The King." Beautifully embossed CD package, contains 20 page booklet. Review "I think the so-called Western Swing will slack off for a little while, then I think one of these boys will come out here one of these days with a golden voice and it will build again," the voice of Bob Wills says in the opening of "Still the King." The rollicking blend of jazz and country-western sounds that the "King of Western Swing" led with his Texas Playboys might not be topping the modern charts, but Ray Benson and Asleep at the Wheel have ensured the American art form has stayed relevant, intact and vibrant since Wills' death in 1975. Now, for the third time in its career, the group recruited a who's who of contemporary stars (including the Avett Brothers on a marching "The Girl I Left Behind") legends (Merle Haggard, Willie Nelson and George Strait each step to the microphone) and original Playboys Leon Rausch and Billy Briggs to pay tribute to Wills in a 22-track album that swings, sways and hollers across the Lone Star sky. --Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Still the King is Alseep at the Wheel s third and latest tribute album dedicated to the music of the legendary, late Bob Wills and his Texas Playboys. Every track features one of a range of Americana musicians, including Pokey LaFarge, Lyle Lovett,Willie Nelson, Old Crow Medicine Showand The Devil Makes Three, among others. I reached out to every great singer we knew. I just kept asking folks who I felt would fit in. I was looking for the roots of American music, said Asleep at the Wheel frontman Ray Benson. Still the King began production when Benson s son and co-producer Sam Seifert pointed out that over 15 years had passed since Asleep at the Wheel s last tribute to the music of Bob Wills, enough time for interest to renew and fresh talent to emerge. What followed was a two-year quest to track down the right songs and the collaborators to play them. Our no list was pretty awesome, Seifert laughed when asked about the process of contacting musicians for Still the King. That being said, we really got the majority of who we wanted. We would kind of get artists in batches, it was very laborious...We were working all throughout and to the end. The process may have been laborious at times, but the finished product displays a fine balance between the nostalgic and the new; artists in their twenties play alongside those who have been onstage for decades. Benson saw the album as an opportunity to include some younger musicians and to bring Wills work to new generations. The result is an album that should please both western swing neophytes and lifelong listeners. Asleep at the Wheel has drawn from a diverse pool of talent in their commemoration of the king of western swing, and there s not a disappointing track out of the 22 compositions included. The album opens with Texas Playboy Theme, featuring original Texas Playboy member Leon Rausch. Saxophonist Billy Briggs, now over 90, also makes an appearance during Twin Guitar Special. The first half of Still the King showcases the voices of Lyle Lovett and Amos Lee before moving into Old Crow Medicine Show s rapid fiddling in their rendition of Tiger Rag. Elizabeth Cook s hazy vocals on I Had Someone Else Before I Had You, and My Window Faces the South with Brad Paisley also stand out for their toe-tapping enthusiasm. Besides fulfilling its role as a tribute to his music, S