The godfather of Alt Country: Joe Ely dies aged 78
- jamesgeraghty
- 13 minutes ago
- 4 min read
I have often spoken about how Uncle Tupelo and Steve Earle pretty much invented the genre of Alt-Country in the late 1980s, blending together outlaw country with hints of punk.
But that, of course, is not really the full story – like claiming the Pistols and The Clash invented punk and omitting The Stooges and The Ramones from the narrative.
And that is the case here; Joe Ely, who sadly died yesterday aged 78, was doing all of that a decade before the rest.
Don’t believe me? He met the aforementioned Clash in 1977 and supported them live on several occasions, with one reporter noting that when Joe opened for them, 'he poured gasoline all over the place and the Clash came on and lit the match'. They may have come from vastly different geographic and cultural backgrounds, but their music shared many common roots.
He would go on to sing the Spanish backing vocals on Should I Stay Or Should I Go, before they fully immortalised him on If Music Could Talk from Sandanista!, with the line; “Well there ain’t no better blend than Joe Ely and his Texas Men.” It has been said that they wrote Brand New Cadillac in order to have a ‘Joe Ely type song’ – his connection to Austin is also apparently why they shot the video for Rock The Casbah there.
The Clash: Should I Stay Or Should I Go (audio only)
Texas has always been a big source of stellar musicians covering many genres, some have become household names (ZZ Top, Beyonce, Buddy Holly, Willie Nelson) while some have ploughed an influential furrow without ever making headlines; Doug Sahm is one of those, as are the three men that made up The Flatlanders – Butch Hancock, Jimmie Dale Gilmore and Joe Ely. Although their output, recorded and live, was only ever sporadic from their early 1970s inception in the dusty High Plains of Lubbock, the influence they wielded collectively and individually as singers and songwriters, has been incalculable.
My first awareness of The Flatlanders was when 10,000 Maniacs included the Hancock penned Dallas on their Natalie Merchant swansong, MTV Unplugged, where Merchant duetted with David Byrne. That was 1993, but I don’t think I did much further investigation for several decades….
Joe Ely was the rogue, the punk, the rebel of the gang. It wasn’t just The Clash who levitated towards him – there was also Bruce Springsteen, a long time admirer who first guested on two tracks on 1995s Letter To Laredo. When The Boss inducted Ely into the American Music Honors recently, he said; “He’s got that voice, the one I wished I had. It’s got that slight southern country twang, it’s got a hint of rockabilly. It’s got the depth and emotion of Johnny Cash and it’s as deeply authentic as his Texas roots…. Thank God he wasn’t born in New Jersey. I would have had a lot more of my work cut out for me.”
Joe Ely & Bruce Springsteen: All Just To Get To You (live version of a duet they did on Letter To Laredo - two great American voices together - great and powerful)
Joe Ely was born on 7 February 1947, growing up in Lubbock, Texas. It was there that he got immersed in music and hooked up with Gilmore and Hancock to eventually form The Flatlanders. Their debut album was never properly released initially, and they went their separate ways - to varying success as individual songwriters - but they always ended up occasionally getting back together.
The first of his 20+ solo records emerged with his self-titled debut was released in 1977. He never made the big time, but he was always in demand and with fellow musicians quick gto work with him. Think, the brief 1990s supergroup of sorts; the Buzzin’ Cousins, with John Mellencamp, John Prine, Dwight Yoakam and James McMurty who recorded the song Sweet Suzanne for the Falling From Grace soundtrack.
The Flatlanders: White Freight Liner Blues (live on Austin City Limits)
He was clearly getting iller over recent months and years, but still managed one final release with Love And Freedom earlier this year. He finally succumbed to a dreadful combination of Lewy Body Dementia, Parkinson’s and pneumonia at his Taos home, surrounded by family. Texas, and the world, lost another unsung musical force!
Joe Ely: Today It Did (audio only, from his last record, Love and Freedom)
Texas music website Galleywinter said that, “Joe didn’t just sing, he emoted every single syllable. He wrote the miles between towns. The cracked sidewalks of west Texas contrasted with the pull of the open road.”
Like many Texas musicians, he ended up spending much time in Austin, and Terry Lickona, the producer of legendary Austin City Limits programme was clear on Ely's legacy; “Joe Ely came out of West Texas like a rocket and shock the Austin City Limits stage like nobody before or since– over 10 times. Joe was and will always be a superstar. In Texas, he was our Bruce Springsteen.”
And his old friend commented on his Instagram page today;
"Over here, we’re deeply saddened by the loss of Joe Ely, a singular American singer, great musician and great artist. I was lucky enough to count Joe as a true friend and I will miss that voice and his companionship. Our hearts go out to his wonderful wife Sharon and the family. We’ve lost an American classic. Bruce Springsteen"
Here are a few more Joe Ely tunes that might interest you.... Rest In Peace Joe
The Road Goes On Forever (audio only - Ely's take on fellow Texan Robert Earl Keen's song)
Letter To Laredo (atmospheric live version of one his most popular tunes)
White Line Fever (audio only - an old Merle Haggard song)
Odds of the Blues (official music video of his most recent duet with Bruce Springsteen)
Highways & Heartaches (audio only, from 1992's Love and Danger)
Early Morning Rain (audio only, a truly beautiful rendition of a Gordon Lightfoot song)
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