Willie Nelson

Appeared in these episodes:

In 1975, the Austin City Limits pilot hit the PBS airwaves, starring Texas country hero Willie Nelson. In 1976, the first full ACL season debuted, with a premiere episode featuring Austin’s Western swing revivalists Asleep at the Wheel. Now we bring the two pioneers together in studio 6A to kick off our 35th anniversary taping season. The performance draws from Willie and the Wheel, the Texas music titans’ first collaborative album. The concept of Willie and Ray Benson’s troop recording classic Western swing tunes together goes back to the early 70s, when Willie was on Atlantic Records and championed by legendary producer/A&R man Jerry Wexler. Willie’s tenure with Atlantic was brief and the project didn’t come together until this decade, when a retired and ill Wexler called Benson to revive the idea. Armed with a stack of old LPs donated from Wexler’s personal collection, complete with the initials “WN” pencilled in by certain tracks, the musicians completed Willie and the Wheel in time for Wexler to hear it before he passed on. Now, to commemorate both the albums’ public release and these artists’ long history with the show, Willie and the Wheel hit the stage in tandem, bringing their association with ACL full circle.