Singer-songwriter and guitarist Ely is one of the most completely realized artists in contemporary country music, especially in the live situation where he excels. His work for MCA Records in the late 70s is latterly regarded as the link between country rock and so-called new country.
Ely moved with his parents in 1958 to Lubbock, the major city of the flatlands of Texas, from which such luminaries as Buddy Holly, Roy Orbison and Waylon Jennings had previously emerged. Ely formed his first band at the age of 13, playing a fusion of country and R&B, before dropping out of high school and following in the footsteps of Woody Guthrie and the writer Jack Kerouac, hopping freight trains and working at a variety of non-musical jobs before finding himself stranded in New York with nothing but his guitar. He joined a theatrical company from Austin, Texas, and travelled to Europe with his theatrical employers in the early 70s before returning to Lubbock, where he teamed up with fellow singer-songwriters Jimmie Dale Gilmore and Butch Hancock and a couple of other local musicians (including a musical saw player!) in an informal combo known as the Flatlanders. Although they were never immensely successful, the unit did some recording in Nashville for Shelby Singleton's Plantation label, but only a couple of singles were released at the time. Later, when Ely was signed to MCA Records in the late 70s, the recordings by the Flatlanders, which had achieved legendary status, were anthologized on One Road More, an album that was first released by European label Charly Records in 1980, but did not appear in the USA until the mid-80s (the album is also available with the title More A Legend Than A Band).
After a spell with the Ringling Bros. Circus, Ely formed his own band, whose members included Lloyd Maines (steel drum), Jesse Taylor (guitar), Gregg Wright (bass) and Steve Keeton (drums), plus auxiliary picker Ponty Bone (accordion). This basic line-up recorded three albums, Joe Ely, Honky Tonk Masquerade, and Down On The Drag, before Keeton was replaced by Robert Marquam and Wright by Michael Robertson for 1981's Musta Notta Gotta Lotta, which also featured Reese Wyhans (keyboards), among others. Although these albums were artistic successes, featuring great songs mainly written by Ely, Hancock (especially) and Gilmore, the musical tide of the times was inclined far more towards punk and new wave music than towards Texan singer-songwriters. In 1980, the Ely Band had toured extensively as opening act for the Clash, with whom Ely became very friendly, and Live Shots was released that year. The album featured Taylor, Marquam, Wright, Bone and Maines and was recorded on dates with the Clash, but was no more successful than the three studio albums that preceded it. In 1984 Ely recorded Hi-Res, which featured a completely new band of little-known musicians, but was no more successful than the previous albums in commercial terms.
By 1987, Ely had assembled a new band: David Grissom (lead guitar), Jimmy Pettit (bass) and Davis McLarty (drums). This line-up recorded two artistically stunning albums for the US independent label HighTone, Lord Of The Highway and Dig All Night, the latter featuring for the first time a repertoire totally composed of Ely's own songs. Both albums were licensed in the UK to Demon Records; in the wake of this renewed interest, Sunstorm Records, a tiny London label launched by Pete O'Brien, the editor of Omaha Rainbow fanzine, licensed two albums worth of Ely's early material. Milkshakes And Malts, a compilation of Ely's recordings of songs by Butch Hancock, and What Ever Happened To Maria?, which similarly compiled Ely's own self-penned songs. At this point, the band had been together for three years and had achieved an incredible onstage empathy, especially between Ely and Grissom, whose R&B guitar work had moved the band's music away from country. In 1990, they recorded a powerhouse live album in Austin, Live At Liberty Lunch, which was sufficiently impressive for Ely's old label, MCA, to re-sign him.
Ely's extra-curricular activities during this period included contributions to the soundtrack of Roadie, a movie starring Meat Loaf, in which he could be heard playing 'Brainlock' and 'I Had My Hopes Up High', and his participation as a member of the ad hoc group Buzzin' Cousins, in which he was joined by John Mellencamp, John Prine, Dwight Yoakam and James McMurtry, on the soundtrack to the Mellencamp movie Falling From Grace. Ely, Hancock, Terry Allen, Robert Earl Keen, Wayne Hancock, Jo Harvey Allen and Jo Carol Pierce composed a stage musical about a prostitute, Chippy, the soundtrack to which was released in 1995 by Hollywood Records.
Ely's 1995 release Letter To Laredo, was a return to the sound of his early MCA albums and included an update of Butch Hancock's 'She Never Spoke Spanish To Me' (included on his 1977 debut) as 'She Finally Spoke Spanish To Me'. The key track was a fine version of Tom Russell's song about cockfighting, 'Gallao Del Cielo'. The follow-up Twistin' In The Wind fleshed out the sound of the largely acoustic Letter To Laredo. In 1999, Ely joined a number of leading Mexican and American musicians in the Grammy-award winning Los Super Seven project. The following year he recorded another stinging live album with long-time collaborators Taylor and Maines.
In the new millennium Ely reunited with Jimmie Dale Gilmore and Butch Hancock to record a new Flatlanders album, almost three decades after they had first begun making music together. The ensuing Now Again ably updated the trio's legendary status, with Ely and Hancock providing a greater artistic input than on the Gilmore-dominated 70s recordings. Further recordings followed as the trio were welcomed back into the musical fold by both old and new fans. Ely, meanwhile, made his debut for the Rounder Records label with the 2003 studio release Streets Of Sin.
Ely moved with his parents in 1958 to Lubbock, the major city of the flatlands of Texas, from which such luminaries as Buddy Holly, Roy Orbison and Waylon Jennings had previously emerged. Ely formed his first band at the age of 13, playing a fusion of country and R&B, before dropping out of high school and following in the footsteps of Woody Guthrie and the writer Jack Kerouac, hopping freight trains and working at a variety of non-musical jobs before finding himself stranded in New York with nothing but his guitar. He joined a theatrical company from Austin, Texas, and travelled to Europe with his theatrical employers in the early 70s before returning to Lubbock, where he teamed up with fellow singer-songwriters Jimmie Dale Gilmore and Butch Hancock and a couple of other local musicians (including a musical saw player!) in an informal combo known as the Flatlanders. Although they were never immensely successful, the unit did some recording in Nashville for Shelby Singleton's Plantation label, but only a couple of singles were released at the time. Later, when Ely was signed to MCA Records in the late 70s, the recordings by the Flatlanders, which had achieved legendary status, were anthologized on One Road More, an album that was first released by European label Charly Records in 1980, but did not appear in the USA until the mid-80s (the album is also available with the title More A Legend Than A Band).
After a spell with the Ringling Bros. Circus, Ely formed his own band, whose members included Lloyd Maines (steel drum), Jesse Taylor (guitar), Gregg Wright (bass) and Steve Keeton (drums), plus auxiliary picker Ponty Bone (accordion). This basic line-up recorded three albums, Joe Ely, Honky Tonk Masquerade, and Down On The Drag, before Keeton was replaced by Robert Marquam and Wright by Michael Robertson for 1981's Musta Notta Gotta Lotta, which also featured Reese Wyhans (keyboards), among others. Although these albums were artistic successes, featuring great songs mainly written by Ely, Hancock (especially) and Gilmore, the musical tide of the times was inclined far more towards punk and new wave music than towards Texan singer-songwriters. In 1980, the Ely Band had toured extensively as opening act for the Clash, with whom Ely became very friendly, and Live Shots was released that year. The album featured Taylor, Marquam, Wright, Bone and Maines and was recorded on dates with the Clash, but was no more successful than the three studio albums that preceded it. In 1984 Ely recorded Hi-Res, which featured a completely new band of little-known musicians, but was no more successful than the previous albums in commercial terms.
By 1987, Ely had assembled a new band: David Grissom (lead guitar), Jimmy Pettit (bass) and Davis McLarty (drums). This line-up recorded two artistically stunning albums for the US independent label HighTone, Lord Of The Highway and Dig All Night, the latter featuring for the first time a repertoire totally composed of Ely's own songs. Both albums were licensed in the UK to Demon Records; in the wake of this renewed interest, Sunstorm Records, a tiny London label launched by Pete O'Brien, the editor of Omaha Rainbow fanzine, licensed two albums worth of Ely's early material. Milkshakes And Malts, a compilation of Ely's recordings of songs by Butch Hancock, and What Ever Happened To Maria?, which similarly compiled Ely's own self-penned songs. At this point, the band had been together for three years and had achieved an incredible onstage empathy, especially between Ely and Grissom, whose R&B guitar work had moved the band's music away from country. In 1990, they recorded a powerhouse live album in Austin, Live At Liberty Lunch, which was sufficiently impressive for Ely's old label, MCA, to re-sign him.
Ely's extra-curricular activities during this period included contributions to the soundtrack of Roadie, a movie starring Meat Loaf, in which he could be heard playing 'Brainlock' and 'I Had My Hopes Up High', and his participation as a member of the ad hoc group Buzzin' Cousins, in which he was joined by John Mellencamp, John Prine, Dwight Yoakam and James McMurtry, on the soundtrack to the Mellencamp movie Falling From Grace. Ely, Hancock, Terry Allen, Robert Earl Keen, Wayne Hancock, Jo Harvey Allen and Jo Carol Pierce composed a stage musical about a prostitute, Chippy, the soundtrack to which was released in 1995 by Hollywood Records.
Ely's 1995 release Letter To Laredo, was a return to the sound of his early MCA albums and included an update of Butch Hancock's 'She Never Spoke Spanish To Me' (included on his 1977 debut) as 'She Finally Spoke Spanish To Me'. The key track was a fine version of Tom Russell's song about cockfighting, 'Gallao Del Cielo'. The follow-up Twistin' In The Wind fleshed out the sound of the largely acoustic Letter To Laredo. In 1999, Ely joined a number of leading Mexican and American musicians in the Grammy-award winning Los Super Seven project. The following year he recorded another stinging live album with long-time collaborators Taylor and Maines.
In the new millennium Ely reunited with Jimmie Dale Gilmore and Butch Hancock to record a new Flatlanders album, almost three decades after they had first begun making music together. The ensuing Now Again ably updated the trio's legendary status, with Ely and Hancock providing a greater artistic input than on the Gilmore-dominated 70s recordings. Further recordings followed as the trio were welcomed back into the musical fold by both old and new fans. Ely, meanwhile, made his debut for the Rounder Records label with the 2003 studio release Streets Of Sin.
