Heck being this age really sucks! I really hate reporting the deaths in recent years as my generation gets into their seventies, eighties and beyond but the loss of Ely is big time . I think it was hearing Butch Hancock and Jimmy Dale Gilmore in the Flatliners that I found Joe Ely’s work and always thoroughly enjoyed it . . .a particular unique voice and creative master of songwriting is lost to us
The highly influential American singer, songwriter and guitarist Joe Ely, known for his distinctive blend of country, rock, Americana, alternative country, and roots rock, has died.
“Joe Ely performed American roots music with the fervor of a true believer who knew music could transport souls,” said Kyle Young, CEO of the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. “His distinctive musical style could only have emerged from Texas, with its southwestern blend of honky-tonk, rock & roll, roadhouse blues, western swing, and conjunto.” While hailing Ely’s long catalog of recordings, Young said that “his 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.”
Ely was recognized as one of the more poetic souls of the Texas-rooted country-rock scene to rise up in the late ’70s and ’80s, but his shows often turned into sweaty rave-ups, as if Willie Nelson were overtaken by the spirit of rockabilly.
In 1999, Modern Twang writer David Goodman called the Lubbock-bred Ely “the consummate alternative country artist of the last 25 years,” 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.
Photo by Michael Wilson (Maybe)
Joe Ely - The Road Goes On Forever
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