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Artist
The Flatlanders
12+ albums
Alt-countrycountrytexasamericanalubbock
about
The Flatlanders is an American country band from Lubbock, Texas, founded in 1972 by Joe Ely (died 2025), Jimmie Dale Gilmore and Butch Hancock. The Flatlanders were voted into the Austin Music Awards Hall of Fame in March 2016. In 1972, Gilmore, Ely and Hancock, formed The Flatlanders with each contributing vocals, guitar, and songwriting skills. Other key musicians were Steve Wesson on autoharp and musical saw, Tony Pearson on mandolin and backup harmony, Tommy Hancock (no relation to Butch Hancock) on fiddle and Syl Rice on string bass. One of the band's first appearances was at the Kerrville Folk Festival in 1972, where they were named one of the winners of the inaugural Kerrville Folk Festival New Folk Singer/Songwriter Competition. The band's first recording project was produced in 1972 by Shelby Singleton, the then-owner of Memphis, Tennessee's famed Sun Studios. A promotional single, Gilmore's "Dallas", was a commercial failure, and the planned album, All American Music, was all but scrapped, being released only in a limited run on 8-track tape in order to fulfill contractual obligations. The Flatlanders performed through 1973 before disbanding. By the end of the decade, however, Gilmore, Ely and Hancock had all found success as solo performers, and rumors of their earlier obscure collaboration began to circulate. In 1990, Rounder Records issued the 1972 sessions as More a Legend Than a Band. The three musicians continued to reunite for occasional Flatlanders
