Biography

Early life and career

Ely spent his formative years from age 12 in Lubbock, Texas, and attended Monterey 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 breakup just after their first album was cut, the three musicians have followed individual paths.

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 later toured together, including appearances in Ely's hometown of Lubbock, as well as Laredo and Ciudad Juárez in Mexico, across the border from El Paso, Texas. Ely sang backing vocals on the Clash single "Should I Stay or Should I Go?". Joe Strummer planned to record with Ely's band, but died before that ever happened—one of Ely's greatest regrets. Another collaboration was with Dutch flamenco guitarist Teye, with whom he recorded Letter to Laredo (1995) and Twistin' in the Wind (1998).

Throughout his career, Ely has issued a steady stream of albums, most on the MCA label, and a live album roughly every ten years.

The Joe Ely Band song "Brainlock" was featured in the 1980 movie Roadie starring Meat Loaf, Alice Cooper, Don Cornelius and Kaki Hunter.

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

In February 2007, Ely released Happy Songs From Rattlesnake Gulch on his own label, Rack 'Em Records. 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. A book of Ely's writings, Bonfire of Roadmaps, was published in early 2007 by the University of Texas Press. In early 2008, Ely released a new live album featuring Joel Guzman on accordion recorded at the Cactus Cafe in Austin, Texas late 2006.

The Flatlanders released their newest album "Hills and Valleys" on March 31, 2009.

In 2011, Ely released the critically acclaimed album, "Satisfied At Last."

In September 2015, he released Panhandle Rambler, an album with a reflective west Texas feel.

Discography

Albums

Year	Album	Chart Positions				Label
1977	Joe Ely					MCA
1978	Honky Tonk Masquerade
1979	Down on the Drag
1980	Live Shots		159
1981	Musta Notta Gotta Lotta		135
1984	Hi-Res		204
1987	Lord of the Highway					Hightone
1988	Dig All Night
	Milkshakes and Malts					Sunstorm
	What Ever Happened to Maria
1990	Live at Liberty Lunch	57				MCA
1993	Love and Danger
1995	Chippy					Hollywood
	Letter to Laredo	68				MCA
1998	Live at Cambridge					Strange Fruit
	Twistin' in the Wind	55				MCA
2000	Live @ Antones	66				Antones
2003	Streets of Sin	51				Rounder
	Ten in Texas					Icehouse
2007	Happy Songs from Rattlesnake Gulch					Rack 'Em Records
	Silver City
2008	LIVE Cactus!
2009	LIVE Chicago 1987!
2011	Satisfied At Last	46		18
2015	Panhandle Rambler	43		24	18

Singles

Year	Single	Peak chart positions		Album
		US Country	US MSR
1977	"All My Love"	89	—	Joe Ely
1981	"Musta Notta Gotta Lotta"	—	40	Musta Notta Gotta Lotta
1993	"Highways and Heartaches"	—	—	Love and Danger
1996	"All Just to Get to You"	—	—	Letter to Laredo
2011	"You Can Bet I'm Gone"	—	—	Satisfied at Last
"—" denotes releases that did not chart

Guest singles

Year	Single	Artist	Peak positions	Album
			US Country
1992	"Sweet Suzanne"	Buzzin' Cousins	68	Falling from Grace soundtrack

Music videos

Year	Video	Director
1993	"Highways and Heartaches"	Deaton-Flanigen

[ Source: Wikipedia ]