Texas country music legend Joe Ely announced on Sept. 9 in a Facebook post that he has been diagnosed with Lewy body dementia and Parkinson’s disease. Both conditions significantly affect cognitive and physical functions and independent activity.
Ely and his wife, Sharon Ely, said that they are sharing the journey “not to dwell in hardship, but to bring understanding, awareness and hope through the healing power of music.”
“Our story is about how music continues to lift us up,” Sharon Ely wrote in the post. “Revisiting Joe’s recordings and hearing them brought to life again has given him so much joy, and we want others to feel that same joy too.”
Joe Ely of the Flatlanders performs at the Frank Erwin Center during the Neighbors in Need Benefit Concert on Sept. 21, 2005. (Brian K. Diggs/American-Statesman)
From the Flatlanders to Ringling Bros.: A storied life
As a singer-songwriter, Ely’s contributions to Texas music have spanned decades, but beyond the music, he has led a storied life. He was born in Amarillo and moved to Lubbock at age 11. He rode a motorcycle down the hallways of Monterey High School on the first day of his freshman year. He later was expelled from the school for singing “Cherry Pie” at an assembly.
He broke out on the Texas music scene as a founding member of the Flatlanders, a country-rock band formed in Lubbock in 1972. Despite being named a winner at the inaugural Kerrville Folk Festival’s New Folk Singer-Songwriter Competition, the group disbanded shortly after their first album faced a limited commercial release.
Ely then joined the Ringling Bros. circus in the summer of 1974 where he cared for the llamas and the world’s smallest horse. After being kicked unconscious by one of the show’s horses, Ely hitchhiked back to Lubbock with two broken ribs. He then had a short-lived career as a roofer, which ended after his crew removed the roof from the wrong house.
In the fall of 1974, Ely was asked to play the role of Buddy Holly in a script written by Holly’s drummer, Jerry Allison. He even went to Hollywood and rehearsed for two weeks with Gary Busey, who was cast in Allison’s role, but the project was later scrapped.
The Flatlanders, Joe Ely, left, Jimmie Dale Gilmore and Butch Hancock perform during the “No Two Alike” concert series at the Cactus Cafe in Austin on Jan. 31, 1990. (Jay Godwin/American-Statesman)
The Joe Ely Band years
He eventually made a reputation for himself as one of Austin’s progressive country pioneers, but he started out playing the One Knite tavern after first moving to the city, alternating nights with Stevie Ray Vaughan in a venue that would eventually become Stubb’s Bar-B-Q.
He went on to put together the Joe Ely Band in early 1975 and, by the recommendation of Jerry Jeff Walker, signed to MCA Records that same year. He put out his debut album “Joe Ely” in 1977 and followed it up with “Honky Tonk Masquerade” a year later, which landed him a feature story in Time magazine.
In the late 1970s, Ely and his band toured with the Clash. He even sang backing vocals on the Clash’s 1982 hit “Should I Stay or Should I Go?” The band opened for Linda Ronstadt, the Kinks, Tom Petty and the Rolling Stones through the early 1980s.
That barely scratches the surface.
Scattered throughout the 1990s, he played onstage with Paul McCartney and Bruce Springsteen, recorded with Los Super Seven and joined a supergroup named the Buzzin’ Cousins with John Mellencamp, John Prine and James McMurtry. He embarked on a trip to New York City with famed local artist Jim Franklin, but ended up joining the cast of “Stomp” after Franklin stranded him in the city. His stint in “Stomp” led him to Germany, where he recorded a piece of music for the Museum of Modern Art in Munich with composer Eberhard Schoener using the first Moog synthesizer in Europe.
He made 11 appearances on the music television show “Austin City Limits,” appeared on David Letterman and Conan O’Brien’s late-night shows and wrote a novel. To add to all that, Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak wrote the liner notes for his 2014 release, “B4 84,” as it was one of the first albums ever digitally recorded using an Apple II computer.
Joe Ely and wife Sharon Ely heading back to their place in their Buick in May 1998. (Rebecca McEntee/American-Statesman)
Honoring Joe Ely’s legacy
In 2007, Ely was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award for Live Performance by the Americana Music Association. He was named the Texas State Musician for 2016 and inducted into the Texas Heritage Songwriters’ Association Hall of Fame that same year. In 2022, Joe Ely was inducted into the Austin City Limits Hall of Fame alongside Sheryl Crow.
Following the recent diagnoses, Ely and his wife shared that they are working on a book about his life and invited friends and fans to submit stories of his music career for possible inclusion. Submissions may be sent to [email protected].
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