- Gregg Allman - Laurindo Almeida - Amazing Rhythm Aces - American Breed - Bill Anderson - Ray Anthony -Asia - Asleep At The Wheel - Steve Azar -
gregg allman

Gregory LeNoir Allman (December 8, 1947 – May 27, 2017) was an American musician, singer and songwriter. He was known for performing in the Allman Brothers Band. Allman grew up with an interest in rhythm and blues music, and the Allman Brothers Band fused it with rock music, jazz, and country at times. He wrote several of the band's biggest songs, including "Whipping Post", "Melissa", and "Midnight Rider". Allman also had a successful solo career, releasing seven studio albums. He was born and spent much of his childhood in Nashville, Tennessee, before relocating to Daytona Beach, Florida and then Macon, Georgia. Allman died at his home in Richmond Hill, Georgia, on May 27, 2017, due to complications from liver cancer at the age of 69. His funeral took place at Snow's Memorial Chapel in Macon on June 3, and was attended by once-estranged bandmate Dickey Betts, his ex-wife Cher, and former President Carter, among others. According to Rolling Stone, the mourners dressed casually in jeans per Allman's request, and "hundreds of fans, many wearing Allman Brothers shirts and listening to the band's music, lined the route along the funeral procession." He was buried at Rose Hill Cemetery in Macon, beside his brother Duane, and fellow band member Berry Oakley.
Before his death, Allman recorded his last album, Southern Blood, with producer Don Was at FAME Studios in Muscle Shoals, Alabama. The album was recorded with his then-current backing band. The album was released on September 8, 2017, and received critical acclaim.
Before his death, Allman recorded his last album, Southern Blood, with producer Don Was at FAME Studios in Muscle Shoals, Alabama. The album was recorded with his then-current backing band. The album was released on September 8, 2017, and received critical acclaim.

Sermon: “Good News for Midnight Riders” (June 11, 2017)| Jun 12, 2017 |
Christ Episcopal Church, Valdosta
“Good News for Midnight Riders” (2 Corinthians 13:13)
June 11, 2017
Dave Johnson
In the Name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
As you know Southern rock icon Gregg Allman recently passed away and was buried in the legendary Rose Hill Cemetery in Macon. In attendance at the funeral were a number of celebrities, including his longtime friend, Jimmy Carter. Near the end of his fascinating 2012 autobiography My Cross to Bear Allman wrote:
Music is in my life’s blood. I love music, I love to play good music, and I love to play music for people who appreciate it. And when it’s all said and done, I’ll go to my grave and my brother (Duane) will greet me, saying, “Nice work, little brother—you did all right” (378).
One of my favorite songs by the Allman Brothers Band is “Midnight Rider.” See if you can relate to any of these lyrics:
I’ve got to run to keep from hiding
And I’m bound to keep on riding…
I don’t own the clothes I’m wearing
And the road goes on forever…
I’ve gone by the point of caring
Some old bed I’ll soon be sharing
And I’ve got one more silver dollar
But I’m not gonna let them catch me, no
Not gonna let them catch the Midnight Rider
(From the Allman Brothers Band 1970 album Idlewild South)
There are many people who have “to run to keep from hiding” or have “gone by the point of caring”? The world is full of Midnight Riders.
Today is the first Sunday after Pentecost, Trinity Sunday, when we celebrate the redeeming work of one God in three Persons—Father, Son and Holy Spirit—and “acknowledge the glory of the eternal Trinity” (The Book of Common Prayer 228).
Recently a professor named Ed Stetzer, who many years ago became a Christian at an Episcopal church, published an article in The Washington Post about the long term decline among Protestant mainline churches. “If current trends continue,” he wrote, “mainline Protestantism has about 23 Easters left.” He continues:
The news of mainline Protestantism’s decline is hardly new. Yet the trend lines are showing a trajectory toward zero in both those who attend a mainline church regularly and those who will identify with a mainline denomination 23 years from now.
He then posits his view as to why this is the case:
Over the past few decades, some mainline Protestants have abandoned central doctrines that were deemed “offensive” to the surrounding culture….Some mainline Protestant leaders rejected or minimized these beliefs—beliefs that made the “protest” in Protestantism 500 years ago—as an invitation for more people to join a more culturally relevant and socially acceptable church. But if the mainline Protestant expression isn’t different enough from mainstream culture, people turn to other answers (The Washington Post, April 28, 2017).
Stetzer is exactly right, “if the mainline Protestant expression isn’t different from mainstream culture,” people—especially Midnight Riders who “run to keep from hiding” and have passed “the point of caring”—will indeed “turn to other answers.” But rather than turn to other answers, in the Christian faith we are beckoned to turn to the Triune God—Father, Son and Holy Spirit.........................While we do not know what mainline Protestantism in America will look like 23 years from now, we do know that God’s saving work of “the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit” will continue. Gregg Allman was right—“the road goes on forever”—and so does the saving work of our Triune God…very good news for Midnight Riders, for eventually midnight will turn to dawn.
Amen.
Christ Episcopal Church, Valdosta
“Good News for Midnight Riders” (2 Corinthians 13:13)
June 11, 2017
Dave Johnson
In the Name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
As you know Southern rock icon Gregg Allman recently passed away and was buried in the legendary Rose Hill Cemetery in Macon. In attendance at the funeral were a number of celebrities, including his longtime friend, Jimmy Carter. Near the end of his fascinating 2012 autobiography My Cross to Bear Allman wrote:
Music is in my life’s blood. I love music, I love to play good music, and I love to play music for people who appreciate it. And when it’s all said and done, I’ll go to my grave and my brother (Duane) will greet me, saying, “Nice work, little brother—you did all right” (378).
One of my favorite songs by the Allman Brothers Band is “Midnight Rider.” See if you can relate to any of these lyrics:
I’ve got to run to keep from hiding
And I’m bound to keep on riding…
I don’t own the clothes I’m wearing
And the road goes on forever…
I’ve gone by the point of caring
Some old bed I’ll soon be sharing
And I’ve got one more silver dollar
But I’m not gonna let them catch me, no
Not gonna let them catch the Midnight Rider
(From the Allman Brothers Band 1970 album Idlewild South)
There are many people who have “to run to keep from hiding” or have “gone by the point of caring”? The world is full of Midnight Riders.
Today is the first Sunday after Pentecost, Trinity Sunday, when we celebrate the redeeming work of one God in three Persons—Father, Son and Holy Spirit—and “acknowledge the glory of the eternal Trinity” (The Book of Common Prayer 228).
Recently a professor named Ed Stetzer, who many years ago became a Christian at an Episcopal church, published an article in The Washington Post about the long term decline among Protestant mainline churches. “If current trends continue,” he wrote, “mainline Protestantism has about 23 Easters left.” He continues:
The news of mainline Protestantism’s decline is hardly new. Yet the trend lines are showing a trajectory toward zero in both those who attend a mainline church regularly and those who will identify with a mainline denomination 23 years from now.
He then posits his view as to why this is the case:
Over the past few decades, some mainline Protestants have abandoned central doctrines that were deemed “offensive” to the surrounding culture….Some mainline Protestant leaders rejected or minimized these beliefs—beliefs that made the “protest” in Protestantism 500 years ago—as an invitation for more people to join a more culturally relevant and socially acceptable church. But if the mainline Protestant expression isn’t different enough from mainstream culture, people turn to other answers (The Washington Post, April 28, 2017).
Stetzer is exactly right, “if the mainline Protestant expression isn’t different from mainstream culture,” people—especially Midnight Riders who “run to keep from hiding” and have passed “the point of caring”—will indeed “turn to other answers.” But rather than turn to other answers, in the Christian faith we are beckoned to turn to the Triune God—Father, Son and Holy Spirit.........................While we do not know what mainline Protestantism in America will look like 23 years from now, we do know that God’s saving work of “the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit” will continue. Gregg Allman was right—“the road goes on forever”—and so does the saving work of our Triune God…very good news for Midnight Riders, for eventually midnight will turn to dawn.
Amen.

To the "Christian" lady who made the mean-spirited remarks about Gregg Allman: You should be ashamed attempting to defame a man who recently died of cancer. He can't defend himself. Pull out your Bible: "Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone."
Perhaps you're too busy casting stones.
I've been following Jesus Christ from the time I was a child and now am 70. I am proud to say I've been a Gregg Allman fan since I met him in Macon, Ga., four-and-a-half decades ago. I've observed him turn his life around and give up drugs, alcohol and tobacco. Mercer University, a Baptist college, awarded him an honorary doctorate in humanities.
Gregg Allman was a Christian and I feel certain is now with Jesus in heaven.
Dalton Daily Citizen; Letter to the Editor 6.14.17
Perhaps you're too busy casting stones.
I've been following Jesus Christ from the time I was a child and now am 70. I am proud to say I've been a Gregg Allman fan since I met him in Macon, Ga., four-and-a-half decades ago. I've observed him turn his life around and give up drugs, alcohol and tobacco. Mercer University, a Baptist college, awarded him an honorary doctorate in humanities.
Gregg Allman was a Christian and I feel certain is now with Jesus in heaven.
Dalton Daily Citizen; Letter to the Editor 6.14.17

I do believe in God, because somebody had to plan all this–stuff like this just doesn’t happen. I didn’t always feel that way, though. For a long time, I didn’t really believe in God, but I didn’t really not believe in him either. It just wasn’t one of my favorite subjects… Thankfully, by the time everything started going on with my liver [in 2007-08], I’d been thinking differently about all that for a while. About fifteen years ago I started wearing a cross, because I finally got some sort of spirituality…
A big part of my getting straight with God had to do with sobering up. I’ve had a life that’s gone all different places and directions, and I’ve missed out on a certain amount of stuff because of the drugs and alcohol. As I got sober, because I was so sick of missing out, I finally reached out and prayed. Before then I’d been praying for a long time, but I never seemed to get any kind of answer. Later on, though, it became clear to me and kinda hit me at once. It was such a revelation, man.
Basically, what I did, in one big fell swoop, was surrender, and with that came all the rest. My life went into something like the spin cycle of a washing machine, and when I came out, I didn’t want any more cigarettes, and I damn sure didn’t want any more liquor. Now, if I’m having a problem, or a friend of mine is having a problem, or something is keeping me from sleeping, I’ll just lay there and not really pray so much as just meditate. I get real still and talk to the Man, and he’ll help you if you ask… God is there all the time, and so is my guardian angel, or whatever it is that keeps me from self-destructing or keeps me out of harm’s way…
One of [my ex-wife] Stacey’s strongest influences on me was to get me thinking about God. All Stacey’s people have a certain amount of faith, more than I ever had around me. She got me going to church, even though that got a little bit hinky, because people were asking me for autographs. The preacher was dynamite, and they had a full band, with horns, a killer bass player, and a choir–I loved that part of it. I hadn’t been to church in a while, because I didn’t believe in the dog-and-pony show–who can outdo who in the collection plate, that stuff bothered me. The church was so crowded, and it became such a thing, a happening, and although I met a lot of nice people, it was too much.
At one point I was going to convert to Catholicism, but they had so many rules. I have to say that the Catholic Church is very much about who has the nicest suit, the valet parking–too much about the money. I don’t think you have to dress up or show God a bunch of gold for him to forgive you your sins, love you, and guide you. Then I went to an Episcopal church in Daytona, and it just felt right. The Episcopal Church isn’t about gimme, gimme, gimme. The Episcopalians are like enlightened Catholics. They have the faith, but they’re a little more open-minded.
Now I sit here in my house in Savannah, look out over the water at the oaks, and know that I have a reason to live. After all I’ve been through, I can’t help but feel I’ve been redeemed, over and over.
--Gregg Allman; My Cross To Bear (pg 366-368)
A big part of my getting straight with God had to do with sobering up. I’ve had a life that’s gone all different places and directions, and I’ve missed out on a certain amount of stuff because of the drugs and alcohol. As I got sober, because I was so sick of missing out, I finally reached out and prayed. Before then I’d been praying for a long time, but I never seemed to get any kind of answer. Later on, though, it became clear to me and kinda hit me at once. It was such a revelation, man.
Basically, what I did, in one big fell swoop, was surrender, and with that came all the rest. My life went into something like the spin cycle of a washing machine, and when I came out, I didn’t want any more cigarettes, and I damn sure didn’t want any more liquor. Now, if I’m having a problem, or a friend of mine is having a problem, or something is keeping me from sleeping, I’ll just lay there and not really pray so much as just meditate. I get real still and talk to the Man, and he’ll help you if you ask… God is there all the time, and so is my guardian angel, or whatever it is that keeps me from self-destructing or keeps me out of harm’s way…
One of [my ex-wife] Stacey’s strongest influences on me was to get me thinking about God. All Stacey’s people have a certain amount of faith, more than I ever had around me. She got me going to church, even though that got a little bit hinky, because people were asking me for autographs. The preacher was dynamite, and they had a full band, with horns, a killer bass player, and a choir–I loved that part of it. I hadn’t been to church in a while, because I didn’t believe in the dog-and-pony show–who can outdo who in the collection plate, that stuff bothered me. The church was so crowded, and it became such a thing, a happening, and although I met a lot of nice people, it was too much.
At one point I was going to convert to Catholicism, but they had so many rules. I have to say that the Catholic Church is very much about who has the nicest suit, the valet parking–too much about the money. I don’t think you have to dress up or show God a bunch of gold for him to forgive you your sins, love you, and guide you. Then I went to an Episcopal church in Daytona, and it just felt right. The Episcopal Church isn’t about gimme, gimme, gimme. The Episcopalians are like enlightened Catholics. They have the faith, but they’re a little more open-minded.
Now I sit here in my house in Savannah, look out over the water at the oaks, and know that I have a reason to live. After all I’ve been through, I can’t help but feel I’ve been redeemed, over and over.
--Gregg Allman; My Cross To Bear (pg 366-368)

Allman was averse to organized religion for many years, but claimed he always believed in a God. Following his health ailments in the latter stages of his life, he came around to his own form of Christianity, and began wearing a cross necklace. In his memoir, he stated: "As long as you have spirituality, you're never alone. It's sort of like my mother said all those years ago: now I have my own kind of faith, just like other people. They take what they want of faith, and they leave the rest alone, and I do the same. That's the way it should be." He credited his sixth wife, Stacey Fountain, with helping him increase his faith. --The Drive 97.; Gregg Allman

A friend shared the following from Gregg Allman of the Allman brothers band.
I respect his musical giftedness but take exception to the idea that an individual can simply have his "own kind of faith." There is one faith (Ephesians 4:4-6) and all Christians are obligated to vigorously defend the one faith communicated in Scripture (Jude 3; Matthew 7:13-14, 21-23).
Allman was married seven times. He married Shelley Kay Jefts in 1971 and divorced the following year. He married Janice Blair in 1973 and divorced in 1974; she is pictured on the sleeve of Laid Back. His most well-known relationship was with Cher, whom he married in 1975. After their 1978 divorce, he wed Julie Bindas the following year, and divorced in 1981. He married Galliano in 1989, and they divorced in 1994. His longest marriage was to Stacey Fountain, from 2001 to 2008 "seven out-of-sight years," he remarked. In My Cross to Bear, he writes that "Every woman I've ever had a relationship with has loved me for who they thought I was." At the time of its writing, he noted that he only spoke to two out of his then-six wives, including Cher. In 2012, he announced his engagement to Shannon Williams, who was 40 years his junior. They were quietly married in February 2017....
Allman was averse to organized religion for many years, but claimed he always believed in a God. Following his health ailments in the latter stages of his life, he came around to his own form of Christianity, and began wearing a cross necklace. In his memoir, he stated: "As long as you have spirituality, you're never alone. It's sort of like my mother said all those years ago: now I have my own kind of faith, just like other people. They take what they want of faith, and they leave the rest alone, and I do the same. That's the way it should be." He credited his sixth wife, Stacey Fountain, with helping him increase his faith. --FaceBook Post by Let The Bible Speak; April 2, 2019
I respect his musical giftedness but take exception to the idea that an individual can simply have his "own kind of faith." There is one faith (Ephesians 4:4-6) and all Christians are obligated to vigorously defend the one faith communicated in Scripture (Jude 3; Matthew 7:13-14, 21-23).
Allman was married seven times. He married Shelley Kay Jefts in 1971 and divorced the following year. He married Janice Blair in 1973 and divorced in 1974; she is pictured on the sleeve of Laid Back. His most well-known relationship was with Cher, whom he married in 1975. After their 1978 divorce, he wed Julie Bindas the following year, and divorced in 1981. He married Galliano in 1989, and they divorced in 1994. His longest marriage was to Stacey Fountain, from 2001 to 2008 "seven out-of-sight years," he remarked. In My Cross to Bear, he writes that "Every woman I've ever had a relationship with has loved me for who they thought I was." At the time of its writing, he noted that he only spoke to two out of his then-six wives, including Cher. In 2012, he announced his engagement to Shannon Williams, who was 40 years his junior. They were quietly married in February 2017....
Allman was averse to organized religion for many years, but claimed he always believed in a God. Following his health ailments in the latter stages of his life, he came around to his own form of Christianity, and began wearing a cross necklace. In his memoir, he stated: "As long as you have spirituality, you're never alone. It's sort of like my mother said all those years ago: now I have my own kind of faith, just like other people. They take what they want of faith, and they leave the rest alone, and I do the same. That's the way it should be." He credited his sixth wife, Stacey Fountain, with helping him increase his faith. --FaceBook Post by Let The Bible Speak; April 2, 2019
LAURINDO ALMEIDA

Laurindo Almeida (September 2, 1917 – July 26, 1995) was a Brazilian guitarist and composer in classical, jazz, and Latin music. He and Bud Shank were pioneers in the creation of bossa nova. Almeida was the first guitarist to receive Grammy Awards for both classical and jazz performances. His discography encompasses more than a hundred recordings over five decades.
Laurindo Almeida (September 2, 1917 – July 26, 1995) was a Brazilian guitarist and composer in classical, jazz, and Latin music. He and Bud Shank were pioneers in the creation of bossa nova. Almeida was the first guitarist to receive Grammy Awards for both classical and jazz performances. His discography encompasses more than a hundred recordings over five decades.
Feb 8, 2022: Acoustic Guitar: Remarkable ‘Samba in Seattle: Live at the Penthouse 1966–68’ from Bola Sete Trio Showcases Classical Guitar Influences
The great Brazilian guitarist Bola Sete (born Djalma De Andrade; 1923–1987) carved out a unique niche in the late 1950s in Brazil and the ’60s in the U.S., where he first gained renown playing alongside horn titan Dizzy Gillespie, then through a stint with pianist Vince Guaraldi. Along the way, he also established a career as a leader, fronting guitar-bass-percussion trios. Playing a nylon-string classical guitar, he was a masterful improviser, with influences that ranged from jazz guitarists Django Reinhardt, Barney Kessel, and Charlie Christian to Brazilian players including Laurindo Almeida, Baden Powell, Luiz Bonfá, and João Gilberto. His popularity was both fueled by and fed the worldwide intertest in samba and bossa nova during that era.
The great Brazilian guitarist Bola Sete (born Djalma De Andrade; 1923–1987) carved out a unique niche in the late 1950s in Brazil and the ’60s in the U.S., where he first gained renown playing alongside horn titan Dizzy Gillespie, then through a stint with pianist Vince Guaraldi. Along the way, he also established a career as a leader, fronting guitar-bass-percussion trios. Playing a nylon-string classical guitar, he was a masterful improviser, with influences that ranged from jazz guitarists Django Reinhardt, Barney Kessel, and Charlie Christian to Brazilian players including Laurindo Almeida, Baden Powell, Luiz Bonfá, and João Gilberto. His popularity was both fueled by and fed the worldwide intertest in samba and bossa nova during that era.
Amazing Rhythm Aces

The Amazing Rhythm Aces were formed in Memphis in 1974 by bassist Jeff Davis and drummer Butch McDade, who had earlier recorded and toured with the great singer/songwriter Jesse Winchester. After striking out on their own, Davis and McDade enlisted vocalist/guitarist Russell Smith, keyboardist Billy Earheart, Dobro player Barry Burton, and pianist James Hooker to develop a sound composed of equal parts pop, country, and blue-eyed soul. Stacked Deck, the Amazing Rhythm Aces' debut album, appeared in 1975; it produced two significant crossover hits, "Third Rate Romance" and "Amazing Grace (Used to Be Her Favorite Song)," the group's lone Top Ten country single. (Source: All Music)
american breed |
- Wikipedia -
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The American Breed was an American rock band from Chicago in the 1960s. The band was originally called Gary & The Knight Lites before adopting the name The American Breed in 1967. The band had a number of charting songs in 1967–68, the best-known of which was "Bend Me, Shape Me". The band broke up in 1970, and members went on to form Rufus after the split
January 20, 1967, a freak snow storm that dumped twenty inches on Chicago changed the fate of Gary & The Knight Lites when Kenny Myers, former Senior Vice President of Mercury Records, found himself stranded and met with Producer Bill Traut in his studio at Universal Recording. After Traut played Meyers some of the band's tapes, Meyers was impressed enough to sign them to his new record label, Acta (a subsidiary of Dot Records, itself owned by Paramount Pictures, whose record holdings later evolved into the Famous Music Group) and suggested they change their name. "They told us Gary and the Knight Lites sounded a little dated", Loizzo told Chicago Tribune in 1994. "So we put a bunch of names in a hat and pulled out American Breed". The band's first single was "Ï Don't Think You Know Me", written by Carole King and Gerry Goffin.
December 1967: The single "Bend Me Shape Me" was released on the Atco label.
December 1967: The single "Bend Me Shape Me" was released on the Atco label.
bill anderson

Bill Anderson was born on November 1, 1937. At the University of Georgia, Bill majored in journalism and got hooked on radio. He landed a job as a deejay at station WGAU in Athens, but – after being fired for playing country records on a strictly rock-and-roll station – soon moved 18 miles north to country station WJJC in tiny Commerce, Georgia. There, he began writing music again.In the summer of 1958, Owen Bradley decided to take a chance on him as a recording artist. Bill cut his first Decca record in the Quonset Hut that August and his dual career as songwriter and recording artist began. By 1989, when he penned his memoir, Whisperin’ Bill (a reference to his soft singing style and the frequent recitations within his songs), few artists had had so many popular recorded songs on the charts: 72 singles of his own and countless hundreds he’d written that had been recorded by others.

“Life is no straight and easy corridor along which we travel free and unhampered, but a maze of passages, through which we must seek our way, lost and confused, now and again checked in a blind alley. But always, if we have faith, a door will open for us, not perhaps one that we ourselves would ever have thought of, but one that will ultimately prove good for us”
-- Bill Anderson
ray anthony

Ray Anthony (born Raymond Antonini; January 20, 1922) is an American bandleader, trumpeter, songwriter, and former actor. He is the last surviving member of the Glenn Miller Orchestra. He played in Glenn Miller's band from 1940 to 1941 and appeared in the Glenn Miller movie Sun Valley Serenade before joining the U.S. Navy during World War II. After the war he formed his own group. The Ray Anthony Orchestra became popular in the early 1950s with "The Bunny Hop", "Hokey Pokey", and the theme from Dragnet.
He had a No. 2 chart hit with a recording of the tune "At Last" in 1952; it was the highest charting pop version of the song in the U.S. His 1962 recording 'Worried Mind' received considerable radio airplay.
He had a No. 2 chart hit with a recording of the tune "At Last" in 1952; it was the highest charting pop version of the song in the U.S. His 1962 recording 'Worried Mind' received considerable radio airplay.
asia

Asia are an English rock supergroup formed in London in 1981. The most commercially successful lineup was its original, which consisted of four members of different progressive rock bands who had enjoyed great success in the 1970s: lead vocalist and bassist John Wetton (King Crimson and U.K.), guitarist Steve Howe (Yes), keyboardist Geoff Downes (Yes and the Buggles) and drummer Carl Palmer (Emerson, Lake & Palmer). Their debut album, Asia, released in 1982, remains their best-selling album and went to number one in several countries. Billboard listed it as the top album in the U.S. in 1982. The lead single from the album, "Heat of the Moment", remains their top charting and best-known song, reaching the top 40 in over a dozen markets. It peaked at #4 in the U.S. on the Billboard Hot 100 and hit #1 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart.
asleep at the wheel

Asleep at the Wheel is an American Western swing group that was formed in Paw Paw, West Virginia, and is based in Austin, Texas. The band has won nine Grammy Awards since their 1970 inception, released over twenty albums, and has charted more than 21 singles on the Billboard country charts. Their highest-charting single, "The Letter That Johnny Walker Read", peaked at No. 10 in 1975. In 1977, the band was voted Best Country Western Band by Rolling Stone and was awarded the Touring Band of the Year by the Academy of Country Music.
July 10, 2023: Dallas Observer: Amanda Shires, Asleep at the Wheel Paid Tribute to Western Swing at the Longhorn Ballroom
“This is not a normal night for us,” intoned the towering Ray Benson, just before he and his Asleep at the Wheel bandmates tore into Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen’s “Hot Rod Lincoln.”
“This is not a normal night for us,” intoned the towering Ray Benson, just before he and his Asleep at the Wheel bandmates tore into Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen’s “Hot Rod Lincoln.”
steve azar

Stephen Thomas Azar (born April 11, 1964) is an American country music singer, songwriter, guitarist, and philanthropist. Active since 1996, he has released a total of seven studio albums: one on the former River North Records, one on Mercury Nashville, and five independently. Azar has charted nine times on Billboard Hot Country Songs, most successfully with his late 2001-early 2002 hit "I Don't Have to Be Me ('til Monday)", which reached the number two position there. After leaving Mercury in 2005, Azar began recording independently; Slide On Over Here, his second independently-released album, charted the top-40 country singles "Moo La Moo" and "Sunshine (Everybody Needs a Little)" in 2009.
Feb 12, 2023: USA Today: What is your state song? All 50 states (except for one) have had an official song. Here's the list.
Mississippi held "Go, Mississippi" as its state song since 1962 until it was replaced with "One Mississippi" in 2022.
"Go, Mississippi" was first used as a campaign tune for former Mississippi governor Ross Barnett in 1959. "One Mississippi" was written by Mississippi native country singer Steve Azar.
Mississippi held "Go, Mississippi" as its state song since 1962 until it was replaced with "One Mississippi" in 2022.
"Go, Mississippi" was first used as a campaign tune for former Mississippi governor Ross Barnett in 1959. "One Mississippi" was written by Mississippi native country singer Steve Azar.