joe ely

Joe Ely
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Joe Ely in concert, 2006.Joe Ely (born February 9, 1947 in Amarillo, Texas) is an American singer, songwriter and guitarist whose music touches on honky-tonk, country and rock and roll.

He has had a genre-crossing career, performing with Bruce Springsteen, Los Super Seven, and James McMurtry in addition to his early work with The Clash and more recent acoustic tours with Lyle Lovett, John Hiatt, and Guy Clark.

Contents
1 Biography
1.1 Early life and career
1.2 Solo career
2 Discography
3 Charts
3.1 Album charts
3.2 Singles charts
4 See also
5 References
6 External links



[edit] Biography

[edit] Early life and career
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.


[edit] Solo career
Ely's own first, self titled album, 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 Lubbock, as well as Laredo and Ciudad Juarez in Mexico, across the border from El Paso, Texas. Ely would contribute backing vocals on "Should I Stay or Should I Go?" from Combat Rock (1982), and Ely's Live Shots includes photos of Clash member Joe Strummer performing as a guest with Ely's band.

From the mid-1970s, Ely has issued a steady stream of albums, most on the MCA label. Ely's energetic live performances have become legendary, and he has released a live album roughly every ten years (the last was Live at Antone's in 2000).

In the late 1990s, Ely was asked to write songs for Robert Redford's movie The Horse Whisperer, which led to reforming The Flatlanders with Gilmore and Hancock for an appearance on the movie soundtrack. A new album from the trio followed in 2002, with a third in 2004.

In February 2007, Ely will release "Happy Songs From Rattlesnake Gulch" on his own label, Rack 'Em Records. A book of Ely's writings is being published in early 2007 by the University of Texas Press. Ely also will release a second album of old lyrics that he has finally recorded.

Several other reissues of Ely's previous work is due out later in 2007 on Rack 'Em. Ely said in an interview with Country Standard Time that he thought it would be easier to release the material on his own label instead of dealing with a regular record label and their release cycles.

As for The Flatlanders, recording could occur in the summer of 2007 for a new album.

Joe Ely's well-tested recipe for musical success calls for a Texas-size scoop of country, honky-tonk, plus a dash of good ol' rock 'n' roll.

Joe's been busy of late - he released two CD's this year: "Silver City" and "Happy Songs From Rattlesnake Gulch."

On top of that, he's now an author! "Bonfire of Roadmaps" are excerpts of journals Joe wrote while on the road, telling of the inspiration, exhaustion and musical highlights of a life on the road, for those who "want to venture beyond the horizon just to see what is there."

He has performed with Bruce Springsteen, The Clash, Lyle Lovett and many others, and he's come to the Second Cup Cafe stage to perform songs from his latest CD.

For more information on his recordings and tour dates, you can visit Joe Ely's Web site