Ray Benson Tests Positive For the Coronavirus
Western Swing legend and frontman of Asleep At The Wheel Ray Benson is the latest country artist to test positive for the Coronavirus. The 69-year-old who lives in the Austin area said on Tuesday morning (3-31) he’s been feeling tired for the last 10 days, and went in for a test on March 21st, but there were no tests available. So he went back on Monday and it came back positive for COVID-19.
The good news is that Ray Benson currently seems to be in good spirits, and is not suffering from many of the worst symptoms of the disease. “Hoping for the best don’t have the usual symptoms but feel tired head ache no fever no cough!! I’ll be ok sure do miss playin music and seein everyone! Stay well this shits serious!! I have been alone for the most part and wore mask washed hands used hand sanitizer still got it! Do not listen to right wing BS!”
Two days before Ray Benson initially went in to get tested, he was hosting the Luck Reunion virtual festival called “‘Till Further Notice” that was streamed live online. Most of the performers participated remotely, and those in contact with Ray were practicing social distancing.
The nine-time Grammy winner is known for being one of the biggest champions for keeping the Western Swing tradition of country music alive in the modern context. Good friends with Willie Nelson, and so many other country legends, the Philadelphia native relocated to Austin in 1973 at the suggestion of Willie Nelson and never looked back, becoming part of the city’s “hippies & cowboys” mix.
Ray Benson joins John Prine, Kalie Shorr, and Laura Bell Bundy as artists from the country world who’ve contracted the Coronavirus. John Prine is currently in an ICU and intubated due to the disease. Joe Diffie became the first major music celebrity to die of the disease on Sunday (3-29).
March 31, 2020 @ 9:55 am
This is really starting to fuck with my head.
March 31, 2020 @ 10:03 am
Mr. Benson is a true country hero.
March 31, 2020 @ 10:59 am
Props for not editing his statement for space or content.
Get well soon Ray.
March 31, 2020 @ 11:27 am
Sounds like Mr. Benson didn’t get hit as hard as some of the others. Hoping for a complete and speedy recovery!
March 31, 2020 @ 11:36 am
Not sure what right wing BS he is talking about?
March 31, 2020 @ 11:48 am
That would refer to the right wing dingleberries downplaying the severity of COVID 19 and comparing it to a run-of-the-mill flu.
March 31, 2020 @ 11:55 am
Well it’s nice in this day and age that you can go back and listen to Limbaugh and Hannity, and even the president himself and see what they were saying 3-4 weeks ago. Compare that to what the ‘fake news’ was saying and see who’s predictions line up with where we are now.
March 31, 2020 @ 12:13 pm
I agree that in the past (3-4 weeks ago) comments may have been made that downplayed the severity. However, I think most have come around and acknowledged the seriousness of what is going on. I just hate to see that everything has to have a political bent to it.
March 31, 2020 @ 12:28 pm
Oh man, I couldn’t agree more with the last sentence. And I agree that some of the people who were downplaying it have since come around. And although I think most of the down-playing came from the right, it hasn’t only been right-wingers, DeBlasio has been grilled about telling people they should go about their normal routine just a couple weeks ago. Of course he responds that we shouldn’t be looking back, while at the same time blaming the president for what he said weeks ago. Fuggin politics
March 31, 2020 @ 12:50 pm
Pelosi was encouraging people to go join crowds in SF Chinatown. Sadiq Khan similar to DiBlasio, in London. Massive hypocrisy on display from all partisan hacks, on all sides, as usual. Sweden is STILL not taking a hard line. Are they right wing?
Get better Ray…
March 31, 2020 @ 12:55 pm
Ray is known for being outspoken politically. Not as much as many others, but if you know him, you know where his politics are. This felt like a playful jab in a missive he didn’t put enough effort into to even punctuate properly, so I don’t think anyone should take offense. I think he wanted folks to know he had the virus, but didn’t want to be too alarmist.
Undoubtedly, it’s been mostly folks on the right calling Coronavirus a “hoax” and such, but I continue to feel it is very unhelpful to politicize this situation, including by people on the right. Folks who think things would have gone different in the United States under different political leadership need to take a look at what’s happening in Spain which is operated by the PSOE, or the Spanish Socialist Workers Party, China where it started and is outright communist, and France and other places whose politics are very left-leaning. This situation is unprecedented, and undoubtedly mistakes have been made at all levels of government, including by the right. But politicizing this crisis I think directly impedes our ability to get out of it. Trump just shut the country down for another month for crying out loud. He also shut down travel from China before anyone. Testing was very slow at the beginning, but this was an unprecedented situation, and now the US has tested more people than anyone. Ray Benson is a beneficiary of this new rapid rollout in testing. It’s a shame he wasn’t tested before, but he did the right thing by self-quarantining anyway.
March 31, 2020 @ 1:45 pm
Are you kidding me? Trump was still shaking hands at press conferences around St. Patrick’s day. The millions of his fans followed his lead and it probably lead to tens of thousands getting infected. His flipped attitude and casual response (and they fabrication of conspiracy theories) made this situation far worse.
Fox fired tv personalities over their irresponsible reporting.
March 31, 2020 @ 2:30 pm
Look, I’m not trying to defend Trump. My only point is that if you’re looking for world leaders to blame for not taking this virus seriously, the list is in the hundreds, and Trump is in the middle of the pack. And political affiliation is virtually inconsequential. Otherwise you could blame socialism for Spain’s problems, which would be just as incorrect, and just as unhelpful. Everyone failed in an unprecedented situation. Trump just makes an easy target.
March 31, 2020 @ 4:03 pm
I’m all for avoiding the right vs left/Dem vs rep sniping, and for avoiding antagonizing each other needlessly. I think you are also mostly right that there isn’t much correlation between socialism/capitalism or political affiliation and positive outcomes so far.
I do think, though, that there’s a correlation between leadership and social responsibility and a good outcome, and we’re on the wrong side of that correlation. It’s not like every country has handled this situation poorly, and there are few if any countries that we can claim to have done better than at this point.
I don’t think declarative comments like “Trump is in the middle of the pack” are particularly helpful or thoughtful, especially without any type of concrete metrics provided. Even if it were true, “middle of the pack” is nowhere to aspire to. We should expect and strive for better, and we still have time to do better. There’s no way to go back in time and correct the mistakes that were made but we can at least disabuse ourselves of the idea that we’ve done great so far and start doing better
March 31, 2020 @ 7:51 pm
I think when you look at the metrics of the deaths per million, and the United States is currently at 12, and Italy is at 206, Spain is at 181, and pretty much every other major Western nation is much higher than the US aside from Germany, that helps substantiate that Trump’s travel ban from China which was the first in the world, along with the aggressive mitigation we are currently under, has put the United States on par with similar nations at the absolute worst, if not much ahead of them upon an objective assessment. Again, I’m not saying that Trump deserves great credit here. But the idea that the reason we’re seeing so much death is solely due to his late response, when the United States’ response was consistent with most other nations, and the death is much lower. It just doesn’t bear out. Many people hate Trump, and the “right wing” as Benson said, and I get that. But the idea that the United States would have come out of this epidemic unscathed if we had a different administration I think is just extremely presumptuous, especially when institutions such as the CDC and FDA are non-political career organizations.
Here’s where I’m pulling my death per millions from:
https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/
March 31, 2020 @ 9:50 pm
I’m with you on those numbers. On a per capita basis we are doing better than the worst off countries, and hopefully we are able to change our trajectory to avoid getting there. I think you have to think about things in a time adjusted way though… The outbreak started in Europe before it started here. If you adjust the beginning of the scale to the day we first had 200 new cases, for example, you see that it’s spread much faster here than anywhere else in the world.
https://www.ft.com/coronavirus-latest
I of course am under no illusion that there exists a world where we come out of this unscathed. I also think there are cultural and infrastructure differences that make it likely impossible that any administration would have been able to respond as well as South Korea, even though they are also a free and capitalist country.
It isn’t fair or reasonable though to write off Trump’s words about this being a “hoax” or “totally under control” as superficial or immaterial. Besides wasting time that the public could have used to get prepared, it’s set us on the polarized and angry path we now find ourselves. Critical thinking is seen as partisan. Roughly half the country spent weeks mocking experts raising the alarm as “leftists”, and it’s because the leader of our country did the same thing. Our professionally run institutions, known in some circles as the “deep state”, have been the safety net that’s prevented total catastrophe, but we would have been better served by spending the last few years strengthening these institutions than by undermining them.
Anyways, my two cents. Hope everyone stays healthy
April 1, 2020 @ 7:04 am
The US had a two month preview of this virus and our elected officials sat on their hands.
April 3, 2020 @ 8:41 pm
Trump is at the bottom of the pack. And he continues to be. The bar is set so low for him, that people like you make him look like a fucking hero. The U.S. used to be the country one expected to be on top of things.
April 3, 2020 @ 9:22 pm
Please point out anything I’ve said in this thread that makes Trump look like a “hero.”
March 31, 2020 @ 1:48 pm
Agree with most of what you say. But when you say USA has tested more that anybody else you have to remember that USA is vastly greater in population size than others. If only all these politicians would pull together we would be undoubtedly better off. It is pathetic to see them arguing whilst decent people are dying. The real heroes here are those trying to do the impossible. The doctors, nurses and all those to numerous to mention here. The people who should be in charge are those specialists who can find a solution. But the politicians will not let that happen. They have to be able to claim the credit. Maybe when it is over they will stand up and explain why they were blindsighted by something that scientists had warned about years ago.
March 31, 2020 @ 3:32 pm
@JakeC–You’re one of the rare intellectually honest people who don’t try to fit everything to some partisan bent.
Elected officials of either or any party have a natural tendency cheer lead for business in their district/locality/state/nation and to play down the risks of some potential or hypothetical danger that’s still somewhere down the road. That’s true for Pelosi, DeBlasio, Sadiq Khan and Trump.
March 31, 2020 @ 5:53 pm
Equating the PSOE currently having a tenuous hold on the Spanish government to Spain being a socialist country is pretty inaccurate. For one, the PSOE is just Spain’s center left party, they aren’t particularly radical or left wing. That would be Podemos. They also barely have control of the government; it’s been less than 2 years since Sanchez became PM, and he carried forward most of the budgets, etc… from the PP. I think the larger point you’re trying to make is that the virus response isn’t really an ideological thing, which is true. The better read is that some of the current people in power sought to downplay it, and their partisans have responded by running with it. Although I hope at this point everyone gets that it’s something to be taken seriously.
April 1, 2020 @ 10:18 am
Prayers for Ray, truly an hero of mine. On a side note i have to say a super musician and good friend Flavio pasquetto from Rome who also happens to play pedal steel on my record is officialy the new steeler for AATW
March 31, 2020 @ 1:32 pm
You.
April 3, 2020 @ 8:38 pm
Start with this…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ch7_t2Ri2Zg
March 31, 2020 @ 11:38 am
I think Prine is out of ICU. His wife issued an update yesterday saying he was “stable,” no longer critical. It’s unclear from this story whether he is still on a ventilator:
https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/music/2020/03/30/john-prine-celebrities-honor-singer-coronavirus-update/5088254002/
March 31, 2020 @ 11:51 am
John Prine is still in the ICU and continues to be intubated. I have been able to confirm that directly. A lot of outlets ran with Fiona Prine’s first tweet, but she clarified in a later tweet that he was still in critical condition. I posted an update about it here:
https://www.savingcountrymusic.com/john-prine-health-update-stable-but-still-critical-due-to-covid-19/
March 31, 2020 @ 11:54 am
Thank you for clarifying. I definitely don’t want to be spreading misinformation.
March 31, 2020 @ 11:58 am
How is this even worth reporting?
March 31, 2020 @ 12:59 pm
It is totally worth reporting. The whole pandemic is a lot more real when people we know personally are stricken. At least it hits me on a more personal level when I hear of it. Get well soon Ray!
March 31, 2020 @ 1:54 pm
I’m guessing it is worth reporting since this is a website that reports on country music news.
March 31, 2020 @ 2:16 pm
So, you really need to know if Kenny Chesney gets jock itch?
March 31, 2020 @ 2:19 pm
I sure hope jock itch doesn’t become a pandemic!
March 31, 2020 @ 2:21 pm
Johnny Cash had hemmorhoids before he died!
March 31, 2020 @ 2:19 pm
presumably you are at least somewhat aware of what is happening in the world, yes?
March 31, 2020 @ 2:36 pm
Yes, of course, the Bengals are finally spending on free agents!
March 31, 2020 @ 6:52 pm
For better or worse, there is no way this wouldn’t be news, but well played Kevin. As for the Bengals…GTFO 🤣
March 31, 2020 @ 1:05 pm
*Do not listen to right wing BS!”* Ray Benson can kiss my libertarian ass- I despise the left/right dogma in its entirety- that includes left wing apologist and their BS-
And while I’m at it; the story I read at Rolling Stone said Joe Diffie died of “related to” causes; which means he was already ailing with something- or, is that just “left wing” BS speaking.
Everyone is well aware of the Saints that spew left wing BS are pure as the driven snow, Ray. There’s no need to campaign for them. And I have news for ALL of you. To politicians you’re either a tool or an enemy. Period. We’re ALL merely fodder for their Saintly games of omnipotence.
April 1, 2020 @ 1:54 pm
Haven’t you heard being a Libertarian makes you a selfish child who can’t deal with reality and wastes his vote in every election? That’s what folks say to me when they found out about my Libertarianism anyway. The Lefty and Righty scumbags….err politicians I mean can both, largely, go to hell.
March 31, 2020 @ 1:12 pm
In a strange twist of fate, we were origjnally supposed to see Ray and Asleep at the Wheel in concert in Plymouth, NH a week from Friday. Get well Ray!
Rescheduled for July the Good Lord willin. Wanna celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Wheel rolling on!!
March 31, 2020 @ 1:20 pm
Right wind B.S.? Here we go, again. Sorry. This isn’t political to some of us but it seems to be political to you. Been hanging around old weed-Willie too much.
Nonetheless, hope he gets better. He is much needed.
March 31, 2020 @ 1:43 pm
Rome is burning, but quick, everyone yell at each other about politics!
March 31, 2020 @ 1:58 pm
I see you have higher expectations for regular folk on a comment thread then you do the leader of the free world. It’s kind of hard for people not to bring politics into this when it’s been politicized the way it has, and you have the president of the United States himself using his daily COVID updates as mini-rallies to blow smoke up his supporters’ asses…’oh we should be back to normal by Easter, there’s nothing more beautiful than a full church on Easter!’ (paraphrasing).
March 31, 2020 @ 2:17 pm
Never said I don’t disagree with Ray. Hell, as a Bernie supporter chances are Ray and I agree on most things. I just find the desire of so many on the internet to get into banal political arguments at a time unemployment could reach 30% and hundreds of thousands of people will die to be depressing.
March 31, 2020 @ 1:57 pm
Detroit Border Patrol stop Chinese Scientist with vials of live Sars, Mers, in suitcase.
Look up the arrest of “distinguished” Harvard prof. Charles Lieber.
Shame on the “news” outlets, for cover-ups.
*People need to wake up.*
March 31, 2020 @ 2:06 pm
just did. what was a supposed to learn? according to our own government, what you said is wrong. https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/harvard-university-professor-and-two-chinese-nationals-charged-three-separate-china-related
and if you think it has to do with coronovirus, it does not.
https://www.factcheck.org/2020/02/no-link-between-harvard-scientist-charles-lieber-and-coronavirus/
a minute of googling. that’s all that took.
trigger, how is this allowed? honestly.
March 31, 2020 @ 2:18 pm
Deleting comments is always a last case resort. If you see something you disagree with it, challenge it, just like you did here. That’s what lends to healthy discussion.
March 31, 2020 @ 3:20 pm
Berklee College of Music did something similar with a very large group of students. I also saw that Dolly Parton will be reading children’s books online for kids’ bedtimes. Although I would love things to go back to normal, it is heartwarming to see a lot of the stuff that’s going on now (politics obviously not one of those things).
https://www.berklee.edu/news/berklee-now/what-world-needs-now-student-made-video
March 31, 2020 @ 2:16 pm
I found stories about Lieber’s arrest on NPR, CNN, NBC, FOX, and the New York Times so what cover up are you talking about? Unless you’re saying that he had connection to the Chinese scientist arrested by the Border Patrol or the spread of COVID 19, in which case you’re peddling crackpot conspiracy theories and there are really better websites to do that on.
March 31, 2020 @ 3:48 pm
Did not say the two were linked.
March 31, 2020 @ 2:16 pm
Di Harris (and others),
Once again, let’s please keep comments on the topic at hand. This is a country music website, and I understand Ray made a political stab, and I wasn’t going to censor his words, just like I don’t want to censor anyone else’s. But we all need to work to keep these comment sections as a place that people can come and discuss country music and the effect the Coronavirus is having (if it’s relevant) without polarizing elements disrupting the discussion.
Thanks!
March 31, 2020 @ 2:50 pm
Ok Trigger,
Sure will.
If you get time, and want to look at this link, would you mind taking a look/listen, see what you think?
Thanks.
Think it could be comforting to a lot of people.
https://www.wsmv.com/news/a-group-of-nashville-studio-singers-perform-an-epic-cell/article_2245fbf8-6eb2-11ea-9be3-db6cec04c8f3.html
April 1, 2020 @ 1:19 pm
Hey Di,
Thanks for the link. There’s quite a few of these kinds of things going on and I wish I could cover more of them.
April 1, 2020 @ 2:55 pm
Thank you Trigger
March 31, 2020 @ 2:32 pm
Oh, heck no! Don’t need another one of my favorite artists falling to this damned virus. Glad to hear he’s doing okay so far, and I hope he recovers quickly! Can’t imagine this world without one of the biggest supporters of western swing.
March 31, 2020 @ 7:26 pm
Ray, Please get well. If you do I will give you even more weed than I did when you were last in southern Oregon. Daddy needs his medicine!
March 31, 2020 @ 8:36 pm
Hindsight is always 20/20. The situation grew exponentially in just a 1 week or two. Most people who had originally downplayed it would not have said the same thing just a week later. No use in still spreading blame. Let’s just follow the rules and ride this out.
April 1, 2020 @ 7:53 am
Jim L., if the President were not running for reelection in 2020, I might agree with you that there is no use in looking backward and “spreading blame.” But President Trump is seeking another four years. Assessing his past performance is relevant as a way to predict his future performance. If he has done great in this and other contexts, as some believe, that would provide a reason to vote for him. If he has bungled this and other responsibilities, as others believe, that would be a reason to vote for his opponent.
April 1, 2020 @ 9:11 am
Perhaps he could have gotten an earlier jump on this, but he may have been a wee bit distracted by that impeachment thing.
April 1, 2020 @ 11:17 am
he was acquitted in february 5th. so that theory doesn’t really hold water. he declared a national emergency on march 13th. on march 9th he was still downplaying everything and telling everyone “the fake news media & their partner, the Democrat Party, is doing everything within its semi-considerable power to inflame the Coronavirus situation.” i’m very confident in saying that he was receiving daily briefings on the subject. distraction is not an excuse at the presidential level.
April 1, 2020 @ 1:00 pm
China travel restrictions began before Feb 5th.
April 1, 2020 @ 11:34 am
Or by the frequent visits to his Florida club. Or by all the golf he played. Or by the numerous political rallies he had, bringing in people to be close together as experts were warning it was only a matter of time before the virus exploded in America. Or maybe he was distracted by the endless hours of Fox News he watches and what appears to be the numerous hours he posts on Twitter while taking a crap. Buy yeah, it was impeachment that distracted him.
April 1, 2020 @ 11:39 am
Politics has anything to do with Ray Benson’s condition. In a time when people are dying, including country music heroes, his politics don’t matter and neither do mine. Get well soon Ray! Prayers for a speedy recovery. We need you playing country AND WESTERN music for years to come.
April 2, 2020 @ 4:00 am
Dolly Parton announced she was making a 1 Million Dollar donation to Vanderbilt University’s coronavirus research. Thank you, Lady.
April 2, 2020 @ 11:15 am
Hope Ray continues to do well. I wish everyone would come together and not place blame on those helping our country and working tirelessly to find solutions in this ordeal. The blame belongs to China.