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Artist
Joe Ely
12+ albums
countryAlt-countryamericanasinger-songwritertexas
about
Joe Ely (born in Amarillo, Texas, on 9 February 1947; died 15 December 2025) was an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist remembered as one of the main movers" of Austin, Texas' progressive country scene in the 1970s and 1980s, and for his genre-crossing career performing with Bruce Springsteen, Uncle Tupelo, Los Super Seven, The Chieftains, James McMurtry, The Clash, Lyle Lovett, John Hiatt, and Guy Clark. In October 2022, he was inducted to the Austin City Limits Hall of Fame. Ely spent his formative years from age 12 in Lubbock, Texas. Shortly after high school, in 1970, with fellow Lubbock musicians Jimmie Dale Gilmore and Butch Hancock, he formed The Flatlanders. According to Ely, "Jimmie was like a well of country music. He knew everything about it. And Butch was from the folk world. I was kinda the rock & roll guy, and we almost had a triad. We hit it off and started playing a lot together. That opened up a whole new world I had never known existed." In 1972, the band released their first and— until 2002's Now Again— only album, but have appeared together on each other's albums. Since the band's initial break-up just after their album was cut, the three musicians have followed individual paths. Ely's own first album, self titled, was released in 1977. The following year, his band played London where he met punk rock group The Clash. Impressed with each other's performances, the two bands would later tour together, including appearances in Ely's hometown of Lu
