{"id":89520,"date":"2025-12-16T03:47:08","date_gmt":"2025-12-16T03:47:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/89520\/"},"modified":"2025-12-16T03:47:08","modified_gmt":"2025-12-16T03:47:08","slug":"texas-roots-rock-pioneer-was-78","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/89520\/","title":{"rendered":"Texas Roots-Rock Pioneer Was 78"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tJoe Ely<\/a>, the singer-songwriter who helped drive a new wave of Texas-based music that united rock and country fans in the 1980s and beyond, died Monday. The cause of death was complications from Lewy Body Dementia, Parkinson\u2019s disease and pneumonia. <\/p>\n

\n\tAn announcement from the family said that Ely died at his home in Taos, New Mexico, with his wife and manager, Sharon, and daughter, Marie, at this side.<\/p>\n

\n\tEly had announced his diagnosis of Lewy body dementia and Parkinson\u2019s in a Facebook post on Sept. 9, \u201cnot to dwell in hardship, but to bring understanding, awareness and hope through the healing power of music,\u201d he and his wife said in a statement at the time.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cMy hero\u2026 my template\u2026 my friend\u2026 Joe Ely passed today,\u201d tweeted Monte Warden, of another pioneering roots-rock act to rise up in that era, the Wagoneers. \u201cHe means as much to me as Buddy, Elvis or Don Everly. Such an artist. Texan. I\u2019m just\u2026heartbroken.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cJoe Ely performed American roots music with the fervor of a true believer who knew music could transport souls,\u201d said Kyle Young, CEO of the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. \u201cHis distinctive musical style could only have emerged from Texas, with its southwestern blend of honky-tonk, rock & roll, roadhouse blues, western swing, and conjunto.\u201d While hailing Ely\u2019s long catalog of recordings, Young said that \u201chis true measure came through in the dynamic intensity of his powerhouse live performances, where he could stand his ground aside fellow zealots Bruce Springsteen, who recorded duets with Ely, and the Stones and the Clash, who took Ely on tour as an opening act.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tEly was recognized as one of the more poetic souls of the Texas-rooted country-rock scene to rise up in the late \u201970s and \u201980s, but his shows often turned into sweaty rave-ups, as if Willie Nelson were overtaken by the spirit of rockabilly.<\/p>\n

\n\tIn 1999, Modern Twang writer David Goodman called the Lubbock-bred Ely \u201cthe consummate alternative country artist of the last 25 years,\u201d and the passage of another quarter-century and change since that remark was made has not dimmed the accuracy of the description, in the minds of many roots-rock aficionados.<\/p>\n

\n\tA famous fan, Bruce Springsteen, said of Ely, \u201cI\u2019ve been blessed to sing on his records and be onstage with Joe on occasion and the only thing I can say is: Thank God he wasn\u2019t born in New Jersey. I would have had a lot more of my work cut out for me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tHowever much his music was country-based, at least in its earliest stages, Ely was beloved by several generations of rockers, many of whom first discovered him in plum spots opening for the biggest artists of the day, at their behest. Forty-five years ago this week, Ely was working as a support act for the Rolling Stones on a stadium tour, and he is equally renowned and remembered for his stint opening for the Clash. He also opened for Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers 17 times, along with acts including Stevie Nicks, Linda Ronstadt, the Pretenders, the Kinks and Jimmy Cliff.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe fans he made doing those warmup gigs tended to stay fans throughout the decades, well after the fame by association of being favored by the Stones had worn off. <\/p>\n

\n\tHis best-known album may have been \u201cMusta Notta Gotta Lotta,\u201d which was the fourth recording he put out with MCA Records, with whom he signed in the 1970s. Earlier albums, including 1977\u2019s self-titled debut, 1978\u2019s \u201cHonky Tonk Masquerade\u201d and 1979\u2019s \u201cDown on the Drag,\u201d may have been just as good, and produced at least as many classic country songs. But it was the harder-rocking tone of \u201cMusta Notta\u2026\u201d \u2014 along with all those gigs with the superstars \u2014 that kicked his career into gear with a wider audience.<\/p>\n

\n\tEly\u2019s mercurial streak did not mean that he limited his output to \u201coutlaw country.\u201d Indeed, with his next album, 1984\u2019s \u201cHi-Res,\u201d he looked to broaden his sound beyond his essential roots appeal. But the reception to the departure this new music represented was mixed, and he soon parted ways with MCA, although he and the company would reunite in the \u201990s.<\/p>\n

\n\tOther career highlights included \u201cLord of the Highway\u201d from 1987, the first of two albums he would cut for Hightone Records. The most recent of his 17 studio albums was \u201cLove and Freedom,\u201d released earlier this year.<\/p>\n

\n\tHis signature songs included \u201cHonky Tonk Masquerade,\u201d \u201cFingernails,\u201d \u201cDallas,\u201d \u201cHard Livin\u2019,\u201d \u201cWishin\u2019 for You\u201d and \u201cShe Never Spoke Spanish to Me.\u201d <\/p>\n

\n\tEly was born in Amarillo and moved to Lubbock at 11. He formed the Flatlanders in 1971 with Jimmie Dale Gilmore and Butch Hancock, whose material he recorded during his later solo career, as well. They released only one album during their initial lifespan, but reunited for \u201cNow Again\u201d in 2002 and a followups in 2004, 2009 and 2021.<\/p>\n

\n\tAfter the Flatlanders broke up after one album, he had a stint working for the Ringling Brothers Circus, then found employment as a roofer. Forming his own band in Austin in the mid-\u201970s, he played the venue that would later become Stubb\u2019s, alternating nights with Stevie Ray Vaughan.<\/p>\n

\n\tIt was Jerry Jeff Walker\u2019s recommendation that was said to have led to the MCA signing in 1975.<\/p>\n

\n\tEly\u2019s association with the Clash extended beyond his opening their gigs. He sang backup on \u201cShould I Stay or Should I Go?,\u201d and he was mentioned by name in the \u201cSandinista!\u201d song \u201cIf Music Could Talk\u201d (\u201cWell there ain\u2019t no better blend than Joe Ely and his Texas Men\u201d).<\/p>\n

\n\tIn the 1990s, he formed a short-lived supergroup called the Buzzin\u2019 Cousins with John Mellencamp, John Prine and James McMurtry, which resulted in his sole Grammy nomination.<\/p>\n

\n\tHis \u201cHi-Res\u201d album in the mid-\u201980s was not his only more experimental work. His album \u201cB4 84\u201d was reported to be one of the first albums ever recorded on an Apple II desktop computer, and Apple co-founder Steve Jobs wrote the liner notes.<\/p>\n

\n\tHe was inducted into the Austin City Limits Hall of Fame in 2022. Prior to that, in 2007, Ely was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award for Live Performance by the Americana Music Association; named the Texas State Musician for 2016; and, in that same year, inducted into the Texas Heritage Songwriters\u2019 Association Hall of Fame that same year.<\/p>\n

\n\tHis family said that more information would be forthcoming in the coming days.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Joe Ely, the singer-songwriter who helped drive a new wave of Texas-based music that united rock and country…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":89521,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[42271,27,29,28],"class_list":["post-89520","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-texas","tag-joe-ely","tag-texas","tag-texas-headlines","tag-texas-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/89520","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=89520"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/89520\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/89521"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=89520"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=89520"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=89520"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}