In the fifty-plus years that Ray Benson has fronted the nine-time Grammy Award-winning, Western Swing road warriors, Asleep At The Wheel, he has never shied away from a musical challenge. So, when invited by producer Doctor Dread of RAS Records fame to come to Kingston, Jamaica, to record an album of his music with some of the island’s top studio musicians, Benson was all in. On August 30th, the fruits of Benson and Doctor Dread’s labor, a brand new LP dubbed Swingin’ and Skankin’, will hit record store shelves and internet airwaves from Austin to Kingston, and beyond. Featuring 10 songs culled from both Texas and Jamaica’s musical canon, the collaboration between Benson and Doctor Dread really took off as the two greats of their respective genres began to understand when to respect the others’ expertise.
“I was looking to go to a musical place where no man had ever gone before. Just like in Star Trek,” remembers Doctor Dread, the architect of the entire project. “Music is freedom so why not give it a try?” Benson enthusiastically put it before the start of the session, “Let’s see what the Jamaicans do with our music.” And when “the players of instruments” include the likes of consummate veterans Sly Dunbar on drums, Bob Dylan bassist and former Asleep At The Wheel member Tony Garnier, keyboardist/arranger Robbie Lyn and guitarists Dwight Pinkney and Steve Golding, rest assured the music was in expert hands.
Today Benson released a single from Swingin’ and Skankin’, “Put It On.” Originally recorded in 1965 by the Wailing Wailers—later to become Bob Marley & The Wailers—“Put It On” has seen many versions over the last sixty years. “A very challenging tune to take on, and I feel very good about our take on it,” says Benson. “It’s the closest thing to a “prayer’ that I’ve ever done in a song.” Benson’s take on “Put It On” falls somewhere in between the original Ska version and the signature-sound of Bob Marley & The Wailers’ cut on 1973’s Burnin’, albeit with the addition of pedal steel melodies and a delay-ridden dub outro.
Fans can stream or purchase “Put It On” today at this link and pre-order or pre-save Swingin’ and Skankin’ ahead of its August 30th release on Tafari Records’ Sweet and Spicy label right here.
More about Swingin’ and Skankin’:
Recorded at the renowned Music Works Studio with the likes of legendary Jamaican musicians that included drummer Sly Dunbar, guitarist Dwight Pinkney and keyboardist/arranger Robbie Lyn as well as former Wheel and decades-long Bob Dylan bassist Tony Garnier, Benson’s goal was to see what happens when the two-step meets the one drop, referring to the dance step associated to Western Swing and the Reggae riddim championed by Bob Marley.
The results proved to be extraordinary, a true musical mash-up with delightful surprises all along the way. There are a couple of foundational, pre-Reggae, Jamaican tunes, two AATW rave-ups, classic songs associated with Bob Marley, Willie Nelson, Bob Dylan, Bob Wills and Roy Rogers plus a crucial instrumental to top things off. Along with Benson’s nimble vocals throughout, special musical guests include Willie Nelson, guitarists Warren Haynes and Stanley Jordan, with original Asleep At The Wheel steel guitarist Lucky Oceans and fiddler Katie Shore for good measure.
Swingin’ and Skankin’ Tracklist:
Easy Snappin'/Easy Skankin'
On The Road Again
Route 66
Boogie Back To Texas
Boogie In My Bones
Highway 61 Revisited
Got Riddim
Bubbles In My Beer
Put It On
Happy Trails
