Joe Ely on DeBaser: roots-rock grit, border tales, and live-wire songs

Joe Ely

Musician

Forfans of roots-rock, country-rock, americana, texas music, the flatlanders, and curious springsteen or clash listeners.
3 Reviews 0 Definitions 1 Charts

The Profile

Joe Ely (born 1947 in Amarillo, Texas) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist famed for blending country, rock, and Tex-Mex. A co-founder of The Flatlanders with Butch Hancock and Jimmie Dale Gilmore, he has earned acclaim for high-energy live sets and narrative-rich albums such as Honky Tonk Masquerade and Letter to Laredo.

Co-founded The Flatlanders; toured with The Clash around 1979–1980; collaborated with Bruce Springsteen on All Just To Get To You; long-time guitar foil David Grissom featured prominently; widely recognized for fusing country, rock, and Tex-Mex influences.

Three reviews track Joe Ely from barroom thunder to borderland reveries. Live at Liberty Lunch captures his electric, roots-rock punch. Love and Danger shows a sharp, versatile songwriter. Letter to Laredo is hailed as a peak: acoustic, flamenco-tinged, and rich with guests. Across it all, Ely stands as a Texan original.

Notable Quotes

❝ This album is a masterpiece!

❝ In short, an album highly recommended for anyone who still doesn't know Joe Ely, who after this “live” moment of reflection will still do great things (“Love And Danger”; “Letter To Laredo” already excellently reviewed on the DB; and the more recent “Satisfied At Last”) confirming himself among the most interesting musicians of the Lone Star State and beyond.

❝ Originally from Amarillo, the Texan Joe Ely, despite the excellence of his musical productions, has never had a devoted following and has always remained, at least here in Italy, a cult artist.