Asleep at the Wheel Teams with Signature Symphony
WILLS’ LEGACY: TCC Foundation Board Vice Chair Larry Mocha hosted Bob Wills’ daughter, Carolyn Wills, right, and granddaughter Andrea Ruby before the Asleep at the Wheel/Signature Symphony performance, Oct. 20.
GTR Newspapers photo
Western swing and boogie came to Tulsa for two nights, Oct. 19 and 20, as the Signature Symphony at Tulsa Community College and the Grammy award-winning Asleep at the Wheel teamed up together. The performances were an evening of country music built around Bob Wills and his Western swing.
Bob Wills’ daughter, Carolyn Wills, and granddaughter, Andrea Ruby, accepted the Signature Champion award for Wills’ legacy and enormous contribution to music during the performance on Saturday, Oct. 20. “Bob Wills had such an impact on music in the 1930s, it truly changed music forever,” says Barry Epperley, artistic director of Signature Symphony at . “He lived in culturally-diverse communities that came together to create Western swing, which many of us associate with Bob Wills today.”
In the same tradition as Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys, Asleep at the Wheel has been creating country swing for more than 40 years with more than 25 albums and nine Grammy awards. In 1999, Asleep at the Wheel produced a tribute album to Bob Wills and the group marked the 100th anniversary of Wills’ birth in 2005 with a play called “A Ride with Bob” which is billed as a musical tour of his life using the band and other actors.
The Signature Symphony Champion award is designed to recognize an exceptional individual or organization that supports music and music education in our community. Nominations are being accepted from the public, and winners are recognized throughout the 2012-2013 Signature Symphony season.
The Signature Symphony at performs at the Performing Arts Center for Education at Southeast Campus at 81st Street and Highway 169. For more information, call 918-595-7777.
Updated 10-29-2012
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