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Joe Ely — the nation and rock star who helped put the Austin music scene on the map within the Nineteen Sixties and ’70s — has handed away.
He was 78 years outdated.
Joe Ely reads from his new guide “Reverb” whereas visiting Mojo Nixon in Celebration of his 10 12 months Anniversary On SiriusXM with A particular reside present on the SiriusXM Studios on November 12, 2014 in Austin, Texas. (Picture by Gary Miller/Getty Photographs for SiriusXM)
“Legendary songwriter, singer, and raconteur Joe Ely died today from complications of Lewy Body Dementia, Parkinson’s and pneumonia,” the assertion reads.
“His beloved spouse Sharon and daughter Marie have been at his facet at their house in Taos, New Mexico. Ely was born February 9, 1947 in Amarillo, Texas.
“He was a leader of the extraordinary parade of artists raised in Lubbock who later settled in the live music capital of Austin,” the submit continued.
Artist Joe Ely waits to go onstage throughout the CMHOF Outlaws and Armadillos VIP Opening Reception on Might 24, 2018 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Picture by Rick Diamond/Getty Photographs for Nation Music Corridor Of Fame & Museum)
“Ely signed with MCA Records in the 1970s and spent more than five decades recording and performing around the world.”
The assertion promised that “a full obituary” and extra data could be supplied shortly.
After establishing himself as a touring musician within the late ’60s, Ely shaped the nation trio The Flatlanders in 1972.
Joe Ely performs onstage for Nation’s Roaring ’70s: Outlaws and Armadillos exhibition opening live performance at Nation Music Corridor of Fame and Museum on Might 25, 2018 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Picture by Jason Kempin/Getty Photographs)
Ely continued touring and recording within the years that adopted, releasing his closing album, Love and Freedom, in February 2025.
A musician whose affect and fandom stretched effectively past the world of nation music, Ely caught the eye of legendary punk band the Conflict in 1978 and was later requested to tour with the band.
“I had teachers tell me I wouldn’t make it to 21 when I was going to high school, so I beat the odds,” the enduring musician famously quipped in a 2011 interview.
Ely is survived by his spouse and daughter.
Our ideas exit to his family members throughout this extremely tough one.
