Post by Caligonian1 on Jan 26, 2014 20:30:15 GMT -5
During last week's MCR chat room experience, Joe Ely's name came up in connection with the mention of pedal steel guitarist extraordinaire, Lloyd Maines. For those of you who may not be familiar with Joe's music, I would encourage you to do yourselves a huge favor and check it out ASAP.
For anyone who feels moved to delve into Joe's music, I would suggest starting out the way I did, with his first two albums, "Joe Ely" (1977) and "Honky Tonk Masquerade" (1978).
www.amazon.com/Joe-Ely-Honky-Tonk-Masquerade/dp/B00004U682/ref=sr_1_9?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1390779867&sr=1-9&keywords=joe+ely
There is not one song on these two albums that is anything less than a bonafide Americana classic. In fact, it's not possible for me to fully convey to you the depths of my love of and admiration for these two albums. They hold a special place of honor for me in the Great American Musical Treasure Chest. They sound just as fresh and innovative today as when they were released nearly forty years ago and are truly worth their weight in gold.
Joe has earned a well-deserved reputation as a fantastic, energetic live performer -- I can attest to this from experience. I would be remiss not to mention that his music possesses elements of wry humor. I don't know if he has ever appeared on MCR. I'm guessing not, because if he had, he and his band surely would have blown the roof off of the Loveless Barn for all eternity.
Joe Ely ~ "She Never Spoke Spanish To Me"
www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZqkJUHSBYHY
Joe Ely ~ "Because Of The Wind"
www.youtube.com/watch?v=jLyvHZoBa9Q
Joe Ely ~ "Honky Tonk Masquerade"
www.youtube.com/watch?v=NWYH8VsIPW4
Joe Ely ~ "Gambler's Bride" (don't know why, but the sound is sped up a little)
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ad2dEw0MlZs
Joe Ely Band ~ "Fingernails" (from his "Live Shots" album)
www.youtube.com/watch?v=pM5Frw_gNe0
Here's an exerpt from Joe's biograpy (see full bio at www.ely.com/Biography.html )
"Biography by William Ruhlmann
Country-rock singer/songwriter/guitarist Joe Ely was born Earle R. Ely on February 9, 1947, in Amarillo, TX. His family had worked for the Rock Island Line railroad dating back to the start of the century. When he was 12, the family moved to Lubbock, TX, where his father ran a used clothing store. Inspired by seeing Jerry Lee Lewis perform when he was a child, Ely aspired to a musical career, and he briefly took violin and steel guitar lessons before turning to the guitar. His father died when he was 14, and his mother was institutionalized for a year due to the trauma, so he and his brother were forced to stay with relatives in other cities. When the family came back together in Lubbock, he took a job washing dishes to bring in some money.
He also dropped out of school and began playing music professionally in local clubs, forming a band called the Twilights that became successful enough for him to quit being a dishwasher. Soon after, however, he became sufficiently restless to begin traveling, at first to other cities in Texas, then California, and later New York, with even a trip to Europe working for a theatrical company. This peripatetic period in his life lasted a full seven years, from 1963 to 1970. In the summer of 1971, back in Lubbock, he teamed up with a couple of singer/songwriter friends with whom he was living, Butch Hancock and Jimmie Dale Gilmore, along with some other musicians, to form the Flatlanders, a country-folk group. They attracted interest from the small Nashville record label Plantation Records and in March 1972 went to Nashville and cut an album that Plantation barely released, credited to Jimmie Dale & the Flatlanders. (The album is reputed to have been issued only as an eight-track tape.)
Ely returned to rambling around the country, but he was back in Lubbock by 1974, when he began putting together a permanent backup band to play there and around Texas. The Joe Ely Band featured Ely on acoustic guitar and vocals; Jesse Taylor on electric guitar; Lloyd Maines on steel guitar; Gregg Wright on bass; and Steve Keeton on drums. A demo tape made by the group was passed to members of Jerry Jeff Walker's backup band, who gave it to Walker, who gave it to an A&R representative of Walker's label, MCA Records, and in the fall of 1975, Ely was signed to MCA. During 1976, he recorded his debut album, Joe Ely, which was released on January 10, 1977, along with a single, "All My Love," that reached the Billboard country charts. That song was one of five original Ely compositions on the LP; the other five had been written by Hancock or Gilmore.
Over a year later, on February 13, 1978, Ely followed with his second album, Honky Tonk Masquerade. (By this point, accordionist Ponty Bone had joined the backup band.) Again, the collection was a combination of Ely originals, including the title song, "Fingernails" (a Jerry Lee Lewis-styled rocker with piano by Shane Keister), and "Cornbread Moon" (all of which were released as singles), and songs written by Hancock and Gilmore (the latter's "Tonight I Think I'm Gonna Go Downtown," co-written with John X. Reed, had appeared on the Flatlanders' album). There was also a cover of Hank Williams' "Honky Tonkin'." Honky Tonk Masquerade was well received critically upon release (and a 1990 article in Rolling Stone magazine named it one of the essential albums of the 1970s), but it didn't sell. Ely was back in record stores a year later with Down on the Drag, released in February 1979. Another four Hancock compositions were introduced, along with five Ely originals. The album reached the Cash Box country chart....."
I must confess I have not kept up with Joe's music of late -- my loss, for sure -- as I've been wandering down other worthy musical paths. In fact, because of what Jim L. said at his Portland show last Friday, I'm starting to check out the music of Shawn Camp -- a long overdue endeavor.
Cali ♥ Joe Ely!
For anyone who feels moved to delve into Joe's music, I would suggest starting out the way I did, with his first two albums, "Joe Ely" (1977) and "Honky Tonk Masquerade" (1978).
www.amazon.com/Joe-Ely-Honky-Tonk-Masquerade/dp/B00004U682/ref=sr_1_9?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1390779867&sr=1-9&keywords=joe+ely
There is not one song on these two albums that is anything less than a bonafide Americana classic. In fact, it's not possible for me to fully convey to you the depths of my love of and admiration for these two albums. They hold a special place of honor for me in the Great American Musical Treasure Chest. They sound just as fresh and innovative today as when they were released nearly forty years ago and are truly worth their weight in gold.
Joe has earned a well-deserved reputation as a fantastic, energetic live performer -- I can attest to this from experience. I would be remiss not to mention that his music possesses elements of wry humor. I don't know if he has ever appeared on MCR. I'm guessing not, because if he had, he and his band surely would have blown the roof off of the Loveless Barn for all eternity.
Joe Ely ~ "She Never Spoke Spanish To Me"
www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZqkJUHSBYHY
Joe Ely ~ "Because Of The Wind"
www.youtube.com/watch?v=jLyvHZoBa9Q
Joe Ely ~ "Honky Tonk Masquerade"
www.youtube.com/watch?v=NWYH8VsIPW4
Joe Ely ~ "Gambler's Bride" (don't know why, but the sound is sped up a little)
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ad2dEw0MlZs
Joe Ely Band ~ "Fingernails" (from his "Live Shots" album)
www.youtube.com/watch?v=pM5Frw_gNe0
Here's an exerpt from Joe's biograpy (see full bio at www.ely.com/Biography.html )
"Biography by William Ruhlmann
Country-rock singer/songwriter/guitarist Joe Ely was born Earle R. Ely on February 9, 1947, in Amarillo, TX. His family had worked for the Rock Island Line railroad dating back to the start of the century. When he was 12, the family moved to Lubbock, TX, where his father ran a used clothing store. Inspired by seeing Jerry Lee Lewis perform when he was a child, Ely aspired to a musical career, and he briefly took violin and steel guitar lessons before turning to the guitar. His father died when he was 14, and his mother was institutionalized for a year due to the trauma, so he and his brother were forced to stay with relatives in other cities. When the family came back together in Lubbock, he took a job washing dishes to bring in some money.
He also dropped out of school and began playing music professionally in local clubs, forming a band called the Twilights that became successful enough for him to quit being a dishwasher. Soon after, however, he became sufficiently restless to begin traveling, at first to other cities in Texas, then California, and later New York, with even a trip to Europe working for a theatrical company. This peripatetic period in his life lasted a full seven years, from 1963 to 1970. In the summer of 1971, back in Lubbock, he teamed up with a couple of singer/songwriter friends with whom he was living, Butch Hancock and Jimmie Dale Gilmore, along with some other musicians, to form the Flatlanders, a country-folk group. They attracted interest from the small Nashville record label Plantation Records and in March 1972 went to Nashville and cut an album that Plantation barely released, credited to Jimmie Dale & the Flatlanders. (The album is reputed to have been issued only as an eight-track tape.)
Ely returned to rambling around the country, but he was back in Lubbock by 1974, when he began putting together a permanent backup band to play there and around Texas. The Joe Ely Band featured Ely on acoustic guitar and vocals; Jesse Taylor on electric guitar; Lloyd Maines on steel guitar; Gregg Wright on bass; and Steve Keeton on drums. A demo tape made by the group was passed to members of Jerry Jeff Walker's backup band, who gave it to Walker, who gave it to an A&R representative of Walker's label, MCA Records, and in the fall of 1975, Ely was signed to MCA. During 1976, he recorded his debut album, Joe Ely, which was released on January 10, 1977, along with a single, "All My Love," that reached the Billboard country charts. That song was one of five original Ely compositions on the LP; the other five had been written by Hancock or Gilmore.
Over a year later, on February 13, 1978, Ely followed with his second album, Honky Tonk Masquerade. (By this point, accordionist Ponty Bone had joined the backup band.) Again, the collection was a combination of Ely originals, including the title song, "Fingernails" (a Jerry Lee Lewis-styled rocker with piano by Shane Keister), and "Cornbread Moon" (all of which were released as singles), and songs written by Hancock and Gilmore (the latter's "Tonight I Think I'm Gonna Go Downtown," co-written with John X. Reed, had appeared on the Flatlanders' album). There was also a cover of Hank Williams' "Honky Tonkin'." Honky Tonk Masquerade was well received critically upon release (and a 1990 article in Rolling Stone magazine named it one of the essential albums of the 1970s), but it didn't sell. Ely was back in record stores a year later with Down on the Drag, released in February 1979. Another four Hancock compositions were introduced, along with five Ely originals. The album reached the Cash Box country chart....."
I must confess I have not kept up with Joe's music of late -- my loss, for sure -- as I've been wandering down other worthy musical paths. In fact, because of what Jim L. said at his Portland show last Friday, I'm starting to check out the music of Shawn Camp -- a long overdue endeavor.
Cali ♥ Joe Ely!