MUSIC

The Grand 1894 Opera House presents A Ride with Bob, starring Ray Benson and Asleep at the Wheel, Fri.-Sun., July 8-10, 2011. A Toe-tapping musical about the life and music of Bob Wills!

Called “the most entertaining night in Texas” by Liz Smith of The New York Post, A Ride With Bob stars the nine-time Grammy-Award winner Ray Benson and the famous band Asleep at the Wheel. This musical biography - written by Ray Benson and Anne Rapp - includes a lively performance of fifteen of Wills’ most popular songs - all interwoven in a production that combines Benson’s present day with past stages of Will’s storied life.

Before there was Elvis… before there was Hank… there was a fiddler from West Texas by the name of Bob Wills – and he was The King. Featuring an all-star cast of actors and musicians, this show will take you on a trip through the life of the founder of western music – Bob Wills. The performance focuses on a conversation between Benson and Wills about the trials and tribulations of being a working musician.

In 1973 after the release of the band’s first album, Benson was invited to Dallas to meet Wills – his “idol.” Upon his arrival, he learned that Wills was not feeling well and the meeting was postponed. That same night, Wills had a stroke and subsequently died. In this production, Benson finally gets his conversation with “the Spirit of Bob” who visits him on Asleep at the Wheel’s bus late one night. A Ride With Bob presents a fascinating – and sometimes outrageous – account of Wills’ career, his contribution to American music, and his “raucous” personal life. Audiences can look forward to an incredible evening of entertainment highlighted by such favorites as “San Antonio Rose”, “Faded Love”, “Cherokee Maiden”, and “Take Me Back to Tulsa.”

“Part memory play, part loving homage, part country concert, this Ride is so peppy and irresistible… Waylon Jennings was right: Bob Wills is still the king,” says The Dallas Morning News. “You’ll be dancing in the aisles!”