ASLEEP AT ... THE GRAMMYS WESTERN SWING OUTFIT EARNS 6 NOMINATIONS.

Byline: Fred Shuster Music Writer

Already the recipient of six Grammy Awards, Asleep at the Wheel could be forgiven for being at bit jaded about the chance to double that number with its half-dozen nominations for Wednesday's awards ceremony.

In fact, the band credited with keeping western swing alive views its Grammy bids as proof that the innovative country-jazz style pioneered by Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys is as vital today as when ``San Antonio Rose'' and ``Faded Love'' first packed honky-tonks across the country in the 1940s.

``This reaffirms my belief that western swing is truly one of the treasures of American music,'' says Asleep at the Wheel leader Ray Benson. ``To have survived 70 years and still be as vital in today's musical culture speaks volumes about its ability to connect with people.''

Asleep at the Wheel's ``Ride With Bob,'' a star-studded tribute to Wills, was cited for country album of the year. Moreover, the band competes with itself in the country vocals category, where the Dixie Chicks showcase ``Roly Poly'' goes up against ``Goin' Away Party,'' featuring Willie Nelson and the Manhattan Transfer. The album also garnered an instrumental performance nod for ``Bob's Breakdowns'' (featuring Vince Gill and Steve Wariner), as well as nominations for best album package and best long-form music video (for ``The Making of 'Ride With Bob' '').

The disc is actually Benson's second all-star homage to Wills. In 1993, Asleep at the Wheel issued ``Tribute to the Music of Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys,'' a triple Grammy-winning effort featuring Garth Brooks, George Strait, Dolly Parton and several original Texas Playboys that failed to accomplish Benson's main goal.

``I figured, let's try again with artists who can draw an audience that may not have any idea who Bob Wills is,'' Benson, 48, said from his Austin, Texas, home. ``I dislike the culture of sequels as much as anyone, but I realized on that first album we hadn't done half the tunes or covered all the styles Bob was known for.''

Benson actually encountered Wills just before he died in 1973. Wills was cutting what would be his final album, ``For the Last Time,'' when the two met for a fleeting moment in the hallway of a recording studio.

``Bob was in a wheelchair, and they were wheeling him out,'' Benson recalled. ``I said, 'Hey Mr. Wills, I'm Ray Benson.' And he kind of grunted .... That night he had a stroke and never came out of the coma.'

The cast of ``Ride With Bob'' (DreamWorks) includes Tim McGraw, Lyle Lovett, the Dixie Chicks, Merle Haggard, Clint Black, Dwight Yoakam, Lee Ann Womack, Tracy Byrd, Shawn Colvin, Texas yodeler Don Walser, Reba McEntire and Mark Chesnutt. The swing-influenced Squirrel Nut Zippers play on two rollicking tracks.

``I had a feeling we might get a couple nominations,'' Benson said. ``But six? It's amazing - though I guess it's not surprising when you consider all the talented musicians, singers and technical people involved. After all, these artists feel so passionately about the material and did such a great job; people who know and love this music don't miss that kind of thing.''

Asleep at the Wheel, which Texas singer-guitarist Benson co-founded in 1970, appears Saturday at Arcadia on the Santa Monica Pier. Over the years and the group's 21 albums, more than 80 musicians have passed through the ranks.

Benson's original plan, back in 1969, was to form an authentic western swing band, influenced by the likes of fellow gonzo-country act Commander Cody and his Lost Planet Airmen. After drifting through Washington, D.C., and San Francisco, Asleep at the Wheel relocated to Austin and landed a record deal after Van Morrison raved about them in the pages of Rolling Stone.

Benson's seven-member outfit was an immediate hit with the same folks who embraced Nelson and the Outlaws, along with other refugees from Nashville's bland country music factory.

Now going on three decades of keeping western swing's pilot light burning, Asleep at the Wheel has maintained a musical integrity that has rarely wavered, while avoiding putting the music behind a glass museum case.

``What people take for granted is the fact that every day, people play Bob Wills' music,'' Benson said. ``And people forget that Bob blurred a lot of lines. He worked the whole big-band thing into what he was doing and took r&b and pop and brought it into Texas and Oklahoma. He was like Duke Ellington. That's what we tried to do with 'Ride With Bob,' blur the lines between genres - and swing.''

The facts

--Who: Asleep at the Wheel.

--Where: Arcadia, 250 Santa Monica Pier.

--When: 8 p.m. Saturday.

--Tickets: $30.

--Information: [phone].

CAPTION(S):

photo

Photo: ``Ride With Bob'' is Asleep at the Wheel's second tribute to the late western swing pioneer Bob Wills.