Joe Ely has died. He had dementia with Lewy bodies, Parkinson's disease and pneumonia. He was 78 years old and in many ways embodied the figure of the cult rocker even in Italy where he had a passionate and faithful following.
Texan, protagonist of the so-called progressive country season, he began making music in the 70s with the Flatlanders, a small group (he once defined it as “a kitchen band”) which released an album in 1973 and was later re-evaluated given that he played with other cult musicians such as Jimmie Dale Gilmore and Butch Hancock. Born in Amarillo, raised in Lubbock, later associated with the Austin scene, he never abandoned those lands that were a source of inspiration.
“In high school,” he said to Lone Star Music Magazine in 2011 expressing the spirit of his music making «there were teachers who told me I wouldn't make it to 21, so I'm here against all odds. I traveled millions of kilometers, zigzagging on every means of transport known to man, I tried to move from one place to another to create some more music.”
After a period in which he was away from music and worked in a circus, he released his first solo album in 1977 followed by Honky Tonk Masquerade. Noticed by Joe Strummer with whom he became friends, he opened some concerts on the tour London Calling by The Clash. And the Clash actually mentioned it in If Music Could Talk: “There is no better combination than Joe Ely and his Texas Men.” He also did backing vocals on the group's hit song Should I Stay or Should I Go. Among his most beloved records is Love and Danger from 1992, which contains his cover of The Road Goes on Forever by Robert Earl Keen.
He was never mainstream, but he was loved by an audience that followed him with affection. Even in Italy, thanks to the work in the 80s and 90s of specialized newspapers such as Buscadero And Wild Bunch. “I was just lucky, apparently records find their audience on their own,” he said with some modesty in 2011. “In a certain sense they take a tortuous path, maybe they have to go through some twists and turns, go through alleys and go around bayou and things like that, but in the end they find their audience.”
He has collaborated and opened concerts for many musicians. He was what you call a musician's musician. “He has a little Southern country accent, a touch of rockabilly,” Bruce Springsteen said in 2016, in his induction speech at the Austin City Limits Hall of Fame. “It has the depth and emotion of Johnny Cash and is as authentic as his Texas roots.”
