A Great Texas Artist Who Nearly Conquered The World
Joe Ely, an icon of Texas music and country rock, has died at home in Taos, New Mexico, on December 15th from complications of Lewy Body Dementia, Parkinson’s, and pneumonia. In the late ‘70s, Joe Ely and his band were the most exciting country rock band of the moment, so much so that they formed a mutual appreciation society with the Clash, who they also toured with. The quality of the songs on Ely’s first two albums and the energy he brought to his live shows meant that for a while, he occupied the same musical niche as the then-young Springsteen. In fact, he did move in a more rock direction in the early ‘80s, but this did not lead to him conquering the rock music charts. He recalibrated his career in the late ‘80s and became the icon and elder statesman of Texas music that he was.
Born in Amarillo, Texas, he moved with his family to Lubbock, Texas, when he was a teenager, where he attended Monterey High School with his contemporaries Jimmie Dale Gilmore, Butch Hancock, and Terry Allen. Ely formed the Flatlanders with Hancock and Gilmore, which became viewed as a legendary, mythical band because their debut album, recorded in Nashville in 1972, was given limited distribution and then only on 8-track cartridge, and only re-released in the UK following Ely’s early success (it has seen various re-releases over the years). In a way, the Flatlanders have been the biggest influence on Joe Ely’s iconic status, even though they disbanded in 1973 (they occasionally performed together before reforming officially in 2002, releasing several albums).
A significant part of Ely’s success was down to the quality of the Joe Ely band, which featured players like steel guitarist Lloyd Maines. He started putting the band together in 1974 in Lubbock, and thanks to a demo tape that found its way to Jerry Jeff Walker, Joe Ely landed a contract with MCA Records. Ely himself has said that he was the rock and roller in the Flatliners, and his own music mixed acoustic folk, tex-mex, traditional country, blues and rock and roll. His 1977 eponymous debut album was recorded in Nashville with a mix of Nashville players, his own band, and the Muscle Shoals Horns, and was the perfect introduction to Ely’s take on country rock. The songwriting included five Ely songs, four by Butch Hancock, and one by Jimmie Dale Gilmore. His second album, 1978’s “Honky Tonk Masquerade”, is his masterpiece. It was again recorded in Nashville, but features more of his own band, which now included accordionist Ponty Boone. The mix of songwriters is similar to his debut album, and it includes a cover of Hank Williams’ ‘Honky Tonkin’’. The album includes great songs, great performances, and great vocals, and won various critical plaudits.
1978 also found Joe Ely in London, where he hooked up with the Clash. They formed a mutual appreciation society based on their live performances, and Joe Ely toured with the Clash as support act, with a London show being featured on the live album “Live Shots”. Ely subsequently sang backing vocals on the Clash’s ‘Should I Stay or Should I Go?’, and though Joe Strummer planned to record with Ely, he died before this could happen. The Clash influenced Joe Ely’s music, and his fourth album, “Musta Notta Gotta Lotta”, featured more of a rock sound, with little of Lloyd Maines’ steel guitar and Ponty Boone’s accordion in the mix. Also, the songwriting was not as good as on his earlier albums. This situation continued on 1984’s “Hi-Res”, which featured nothing written by his flatlander bandmates, and a very ‘80s use of synths. Joe Ely took three years to release his next album, “Lord of the Highway”, and took a lot more care with his songwriting. This saw him with a country rock sound, and he was no longer aiming for musical stardom. Subsequent albums saw him become the quintessential Texas musician, something that was officially recognised when he was made 2016’s “Texas State Musician”.
Joe Ely moved Texas music into the ‘80s and found a way to link it to the punk explosion of the time. He achieved this through his own performance abilities, support of a great band, and access to not only his own songs, but those of Butch Hancock and Jimmie Dale Gilmore. While his later albums haven’t been as innovative as his early albums, when he seemed poised to take over the world, this doesn’t detract from his standing as an iconic artist and the embodiment of Texas music. He even won a Grammy for Best Mexican/Mexican American Album for his contribution to “Los Super Seven” in 1999. Joe Ely made a musical difference, which is the greatest compliment you can pay a musician.
Very sad, but i guess, expected news. One of the clutch of artists that got me on my musical path, right to this day. A terrible loss. But as your all to frequently used chapter title says — “The song(s) remain”. R.I.P. Joe.