Austin's Western Swing greats Asleep at the Wheel are celebrating their 50th anniversary this year and helping them do it is PBS series Austin City Limits. They were musical guests on the series' first regular episode (Willie Nelson taped the pilot) and have appeared 11 times over the years. They'll make it a dozen with "ACL Presents: 50 Years of Asleep at the Wheel" on October 31, which will feature new interviews and classic performances from the last five decades, including collaborations with Willie Nelson, The Texas Playboys, Lyle Lovett, The Avett Brothers, Vince Gill and more.
We've got the premiere of a teaser for the anniversary special, featuring a conversation between Asleep at the Wheel founder and frontman Ray Benson, and ACL's Terry Lickona. Ray talks about moving from West Virginia to Austin, playing the series' first episode, and the ones that followed. "This was our introduction to the world," says Benson. "Austin City Limits was the only way that people who couldn't see us live got to see what it was. Our records, although they were were good and we had smaller hits here and there, that's not what we were all about. This is what we were all about, the stage." Ray goes on to call ACL "the broadest collection of American music on film that exists," and he and Terry reminisce about Willie Nelson, legendary fiddle player Johnny Gimble and more. Watch that, and you can check out the list of classic ACL performances that are a part of 50 Years of Asleep at the Wheel, below.