Asleep at the Wheel is pleased to debut “Take Me Back To Tulsa,” the second single from the band’s forthcoming 50th anniversary album Half A Hundred Years exclusively via SiriusXM. Fans of the Wheel can tune into SiriusXM’s Outlaw Country (ch. 60) and Willie’s Roadhouse (ch. 59) this week (today through Aug. 27) to hear the track first before it is released to the public on Friday, Aug. 27.
 
“Take Me Back To Tulsa,” a cover of the Bob Wills’ classic, features The Wheel joined by longtime friends Willie Nelson and George Strait. Fans of the Wheel will know that this is the first Bob Wills song the band recorded way back in 1972. Ray Benson jokes, “To me it doesn’t get more Texan than George, Willie, and Asleep at the Wheel doin’ a Bob Wills classic!”
 
There’s no mistaking the pride in the voice of long-time Asleep at the Wheel front man, Ray Benson, when he sings the album’s title track, “Start the jam, roll one up, and ice another beer. I’ll tip my hat and raise a toast to half a hundred years.” The revelrous, to put it lightly, refrain of “Half A Hundred Years,” the album’s first single, is the icing on the birthday cake for Benson and his band who are ringing in their 50th anniversary with a brand new album on October 1st, 2021.
 
Half A Hundred Years is a nineteen-track celebration of Asleep At The Wheel’s half-century-long career, filled out by a number of world-class friends of the band; a guest-list testament to Asleep at the Wheel’s reputation as a cornerstone of American music for the last 50 years. Greats like Willie Nelson, George Strait, Emmylou Harris, Lee Ann Womack, and Lyle Lovett appear throughout Half A Hundred Years on a host of classic and destined-to-be-classic Western Swing and Country tunes. Additionally, three original members of Asleep at the Wheel—Chris O’Connell, Leroy Preston, and Lucky Oceans—returned after 4o years to lend their voices and musicianship to a number of tracks on Half A Hundred Years.
 
Fans can listen to “Half A Hundred Years” now at this link and pre-order or pre-save Half A Hundred Years ahead of its release on Home Records in partnership with Thirty Tigers right here.
 
When it’s all said and done, Half A Hundred Years is a reminder for one to take ownership and care of the things they love, just as Ray Benson has cherished, polished, built, and rebuilt Asleep at the Wheel, and to some extent, the history and future of Western Swing music—even when the odds were stacked against him. “The one reason that I kept going,” Benson says, “is that every week a fan would come up and be so appreciative, saying, ‘Don’t ever stop. You’re the only band that goes out on the road and does this old, cool music.’ That’s when I knew it was more than just a living–that I was blessed with caretaking a form of music.”
 
Half A Hundred Years Tracklist:
Half A Hundred Years
It’s The Same Old South feat. Chris O’Connell
I Do What I Must feat. Leroy Preston
There You Go Again feat. Lyle Lovett
My Little Baby feat. Chris O’Connell
Paycheck To Paycheck feat. Leroy Preston
Word To The Wise feat. Bill Kirchen
That’s How I Remember It feat. Chris O’Connell
The Photo feat. Leroy Preston
I Love You Most Of All (When You’re Not Here) feat. Lucky Oceans
The Wheel Boogie
Take Me Back To Tulsa feat. George Strait and Willie Nelson
The Letter That Johnny Walker Read feat. Lee Ann Womack
Bump Bounce Boogie Feat. Chris O'Connell, Elizabeth McQueen, & Katie Shore
Miles And Miles Of Texas
Get Your Kicks On Route 66 Feat. Leroy Preston, Johnny Nicholas, & Ray Benson
Marie Feat. Willie Nelson
Spanish Two Step Feat. Johnny Gimble And Jesse Ashlock
The Road Will Hold Me Tonight Feat. Emmylou Harris And Willie Nelson