In my career covering Amarillo entertainment, few singers have been more fun to interview than the great Ray Benson, leader of Texas swing giants Asleep at the Wheel.
I’ve chatted with the voluble singer him for print pieces, online stories and TV broadcasts, and I even got to hang out with him backstage at Pioneer Amphitheatre before a concert with the Amarillo Symphony. So when the chance came to chat with him ahead of the band’s return to town for its Route 66 Centennial Tour, I didn’t hesitate. (This conversation has been edited for length and clarity.)
Chip Chandler: You decided you just had to come to Amarillo for this tour, right?
Ray Benson: Well, this is the 100th anniversary of Route 66 and we had some shows along the way—Albuquerque, Chicago, of course. To commemorate the highway and our interaction with it, we had to do Amarillo. It’s the only place that it crosses in Texas.
CC: You have some personal memories, too?
RB: What’s so interesting to me is that, when I was a kid in 1958, my family took a cross-country, three-month trip visiting our relatives in California. And one of my recollections is Route 66—coming back from Arizona through New Mexico and Texas. And then, when I went on the road [professionally] in 1971, we were backing up a country singer from Oklahoma, [traveling in] a Winnebago, and one of my endearing visions is driving late at night, going from somewhere in New Mexico through Amarillo.
CC: What prompted y’all to do this tour to celebrate the highway?
RB: Well, because in 1992, we did the 66th anniversary of Route 66, a whole tour from Chicago to LA. It’s just one of those passions we got. I’ve spent 56 years in a bus driving these roads, it’s sort of in the blood, you know.
CC: I would imagine that if you’re on the road for that long, something about this particular highway probably speaks to you, right?
RB: Route 66 has been chopped up and redirected, et cetera. But it’s all about the history of America and the automobile, and being asleep at the wheel, man, you know, we’ve missed a lot.
CC: How many times do you think you’ve been at least part way down the Mother Road in these 56 years?
RB: Oh, I couldn’t guess, but lots of times. Back in 1992, we went off to all kinds of little shrines which were being passed by everyday people—unseen, but such important places on the road.
CC: How many times do you think you’ve sung ‘[Get Your Kicks on] Route 66’?
RB: Oh s—. Say 50 years, twice a night, so a thousand or so. And then radio broadcasts. You do the math.
CC: That’s higher-level math. I am not qualified for that.
RB: And not only that, it’s been shared by four different vocalists. Whenever a new vocalist joins the band, I share it with them.
CC: We’ve talked about the highway, but why has that song in particular endured so well?
RB: It’s a travelogue, you know? One of my most successful songs is ‘Boogie Back to Texas,’ and it just lists all these cities. I think people enjoy that America is a bunch of different places tied together by roads. The story of the development of the highway systems is the story of America.
CC: Fifty-six years now with the band—could you have ever imagined crossing that kind of milestone?
RB: No, no. I never thought I’d live to be 56 years old. Every year is a blessing and a challenge, and it’s really wonderful because every day I get up and say, what are we going to do today, you know, and it’s music. You know, most of my band is under 40, and they play the s— better than when I started the band.
CC: Why is it important that Texas swing sticks around?
RB: Well, that’s a cultural thing, you know. The image of Texas, unfortunately, has been all about Hollywood. And Texas is obviously so much more. I mean, John Wayne was from Iowa, for crying out. The fabric of our state’s culture is one of blending. So you just got to have that part represented, saying, there were these crazy old folks here that played a kind of music that was inspired by New Orleans and Delta jazz and blues and cowboy music and the whole litany of Western swing. And it became an art form. And much like the British helped resurrect a lot of the Chicago blues, that’s what us and a number of other people, not just Asleep at the Wheel, were able to elevate these pioneers of Western swing music to the status of art.
The show begins at 7:30 p.m. Friday in the Globe-News Center for the Performing Arts, 500 S. Buchanan St. Tickets are $52 to $99. Call 806-378-3096.
This week’s other can’t-miss options:
Casey Berry: 6 p.m. Tuesday; Hummers Sports Café, 2600 Paramount Blvd., Suite B2; 806-353-0723
Andy Chase & Friends: 6:30 p.m. Tuesday; 575 Pizzeria, 2803 Civic Circle; 806-322-5575
Go Johnson, Moon Medallion, Suntiger and Social Anxiety: 8 p.m. Tuesday; The Black Lodge, 1505 S.W. 10th Ave.; blacklodgetx@gmail.com
The Solano Project: 6 p.m. Wednesday; Smokey Joe’s, 2903 S.W. Sixth Ave.; 806-331-6698
Wibby Wednesday with Neon Heartland: 7 p.m. Wednesday; Six Car Pub & Brewery, 625 S. Polk St.; 806-576-3396
Boss Texas: 6 p.m. Thursday; Smokey Joe’s, 2903 S.W. Sixth Ave.; 806-331-6698
Guidi & Friends: 7 p.m. Thursday; Georgia Street Taphouse, 2001 S. Georgia St.; 806-803-7000
Music in the Gardens featuring The Joe Trevino Band: 7 p.m. Thursday; Amarillo Botanical Gardens, 1400 Streit Drive; admission $10 nonmembers, $5 members; 806-352-6513
Driving Miss Daisy: 7:30 p.m. Thursday through Saturday and 2:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday; ALT Adventure Space, 2751 Civic Circle; sold out, but call for waitlist; 806-355-9991
Katie Beth Mihm: 8 p.m. Thursday; The Corner Grill, 14588 Farm-to-Market Road 2590; 806-806-0007
Mind Plays: 7:30 p.m. Friday; Shark Beach Burgers, 1505 E. Farm-to-Market Road 1151; no cover; 806-335-5644
R.W. Hampton album release party: 7:30 p.m. Friday; Bar Z Winery, 19290 Farm-to-Market Road 1541; tickets $35 to $40; 806-488-2214
Willy Wiggins: 7:30 p.m. Friday; The Food Park on 25ninety, 13130 Soncy Road; 806-420-0582
The Obvious Few: 8 p.m. Friday; Smokey Joe’s, 2903 S.W. Sixth Ave.; 806-331-6698
The Buster Bledsoe Band: 9 p.m. Friday; Blind Pig, 609 S. Independence St.; cover $5; 806-412-4251
Casey Berry: 9 p.m. Friday; Western Horseman Club, 2501 E. Interstate 40; cover; 806-379-6555, Ext. 2999
The Jaxon Malone Band: 9 p.m. Friday; Golden Light Cantina, 2906 S.W. Sixth Ave.; cover; 806-374-9237
Canyon Farmers Market: 8 a.m. to noon Saturday; continues through Sept. 26; Fourth Avenue and 15th Street in Canyon; 806-567-0746
Sunset Marketown: 8 a.m. to noon Saturday; continues through Sept. 19; Arts in the Sunset, 3701 Plains Blvd.; 806-354-8802
Pampafest featuring Stoney LaRue, Kevin Fowler, Adara Kay, Stealing Handshakes, The Jaxon Malone Band, Arieon Keller and Hayden LaBrier: 2 p.m. Saturday; downtown Pampa; tickets $50 at the gate; pampafest@yahoo.com
Boots vs. Badges: 7 p.m. Saturday; Hodgetown, 715 S. Buchanan St.; tickets $10; 806-803-9547
VHX and Heartbreak Petty (tributes to Van Halen and Tom Petty): 7:30 p.m. Saturday; Shark Beach Burgers, 1505 E. Farm-to-Market Road 1151; tickets $20 in advance, $25 at the door, plus fees; 806-335-5644
Backyardagain Session with Remy DeLara, Kenzie Crabtree, Stewart Cowan and Lucile: 8 p.m. Saturday; address provided with ticket purchase; tickets $15, plus fees; 806-337-2041
The Chancy Bernson Band: 9 p.m. Saturday; Hoots Pub, 2424 Hobbs Road; cover
Logan Ellis & The Fever Dream: 9 p.m. Saturday; Golden Light Cantina, 2906 S.W. Sixth Ave.; cover; 806-374-9237
Logan Samford: 9 p.m. Saturday; Western Horseman Club, 2501 E. Interstate 40; cover; 806-379-6555, Ext. 2999
Your Brother’s Uncle: 9 p.m. Saturday; Broken Spoke Lounge, 3101 S.W. Sixth Ave.; no cover; 806-373-9149
Amarillo Sod Poodles vs. Corpus Christi Hooks: Aug. 25 to 30; Hodgetown, 715 S. Buchanan St.; ticket prices vary; 806-803-9547
Email submissions to info@brickandelm.com.
Movie options:
Opening Thursday: Horror sequel Insidious: Out of the Further, action flick Mutiny and comedy Spa Weekend (Cinemark Hollywood 16, 9100 Canyon Drive, and Cinergy, 9201 Cinergy Square)
Special engagements: anime Your Name (Tuesday and Wednesday, Hollywood 16); Point Break 35th anniversary (Wednesday, Hollywood 16); The Fast and the Furious 25th anniversary (opens Thursday, Hollywood 16); anime Castle in the Sky 40th anniversary (Saturday, Sunday and Aug. 26, Hollywood 16)
