The Pantagraph from Bloomington, Illinois • Page 15

THE PANTAGRAPH, Friday, Dec. 29, 1995 B7 Ober out as CBS News president Asleep at the Wheel is still rollin Genelius said no successor had been named. Andrew Heyward, producer of 'The CBS Evening News," is widely considered by CBS News insiders as front-runner to be Ober's replacement Ober's departure had been expected for months, as CBS News reeled from plunging morale and ratings, as well as from CBS' transition to new ownership by Westinghouse Electric. When Westinghouse announced its new CBS management team a month ago, some observers were surprised that Ober remained. Even so, he was given little more than a tepid en NEW YORK (AP) Eric Ober, who headed CBS News for five stormy years, is leaving the network, a CBS News spokeswoman said Thursday.

In an internal memo issued Thursday morning, Ober, who has been with the network for three decades, told colleagues that CBS President Peter Lund "has decided to make a change in the presidency of CBS News." Ober's memo said he was leaving Jan. 12. Neither Ober nor other CBS executives were available for comment However, the dismissal was confirmed by Sandy Genelius, a CBS News spokeswoman. fi. in i 'I think long-haul truckers are among my biggest fans.

They need a lot of music to listen to when they're out there on the road all alone for so Ray Benson dorsement The band is particularly popular in Texas where Western swing has never been abandoned. Their live shows attract crowds, and their popularity got a boost with the release of the "Tribute" album, which featured songs of the Texas legend performed by a number of country music stars including Garth Brooks, Vince Gill and former members of the Bob Wills' group. "I think long-haul truckers are among my biggest fans. They need a lot of music to listen to when they're out there on the road all alone for so long," he said. Benson said that when he's not touring he has his own recording studio in Austin which produces a bunch of musical acts each year "including 62-year-old Don Walser, a yo-deling cowboy from Texas" among other yodelers.

"I've cornered the market on yodelers," he said. Benson said he plans to continue performing for another 25 years unless the audience "dries up." But, he said, different generations seem to discover his brand of music, and he is able to "make a living out of it It's timeless music. It was old when I started playing it" iu Yarn Line NEW YEAR'S EVE PARTY! AT TRI-LAKES 0 CelebrationQl By NANCY GORDON Pantagraph staff Ray Benson, leader of the group, Asleep at the Wheel, will enjoy coming to Bloomington again he said in an interview with The Pantagraph. "We've been at the Lafayette Club twice before. That's a great dance floor and there are some great dancers in Bloomington," he said.

"We don't get a lot of opportunity to play for dancing, but we like it" Benson and his Western-swing band from Austin, Texas, will perform Saturday night at the Lafayette Club, after a Friday night gig in Tulsa, Okla. The Modern Cowboyz band will open for Asleep at the Wheel, beginning at 8:30 p.m. Benson's interview was conducted via his mobile phone from Austin, while he was driving his sons, Sam, 12, and Aaron, 9, to a winter golf tournament "They're my joys," he said of his sons, "They aren't a bit interested in music careers although Sam is learning guitar and Aaron takes piano lessons, and they both sing." Benson, 44, formed Asleep at the Wheel 25 years ago. The group's 16th album, "The Wheel Keeps On Rollin" came out in November. "It's just our bad luck that the album came out at the "same time as Garth Brooks' 'Fresh album and the Beetles' new album," he said.

A s'lrigle from the album, Benson's rendition of Eric Clapton's "Lay Down Sally," will be released in January, and a video is also due to be released, Benson said. i "I wrote a number of the songs on SUNDAY. DEC. 31st BANQUET DANCE HALL 2100 S. Bunn Bloomington Dec.

31 8 pm-1 am CountryCountry Rock Music by ELDORADO For tirlpfc nr rKorvaHnns 6 p.m.-z:uo a.m. swing that has characterized it since it began in 1970 in Paw Paw, W.Va. Admittedly a style that turns very little monetary profit, he said that most musicians playing Western swing "have a day job." With some pretty lean years in the 1980s, Benson said the band was recording but nobody would put the records out "But when we did shows about twice a month the fans would go nuts and told us not to stop doing this. That really affected me," he said in the Dallas interview. When Epic Records released "House of Blue Lights," in 1987, it became the group's biggest chart hit since the 1975 release, "The Letter That Johnny Walker Read." bntertamment by Smooth Move 8:30 a Champagne, Food Party Favors Qj $7.50 per person.

Tickets on sale today. 3 OO E. Waahlnaton. Blm. 1 Snacks Party favors Champagne Toast at Midnight $10Person the album, and there is an instrumental which features (fiddler) Johnny Gimble.

I call it Western bee-bop," he said. Benson and Asleep at the Wheel have had their share of musical accolades, winning five Grammy awards and receiving 18 Grammy nominations. "Red Wing" was named the best country instrumental in 1994. In 1995 they received the award for best country song by a group or duo with vocal for "Blues for Dixie," with Lyle Lovett The group was nominated as top vocal group in 1994 by the Academy of Country Music and received the Grammy nomination for the best country album in 1995 for "Tribute to the Music of Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys." Benson and his players have "single-handedly preserved the Western swing sound popularized by the lengendary Bob Wills," it was reported in a recent article about Benson in the Dallas Morning News. Benson has kept the band's sound true to the original brand of Western Thursday, Dec.

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