’Growing up in West Texas, the wind was an unseen force. It moved all that was in its way. Buddy Holly used that force to fill the sky with music and song, influencing many musicians who came after him. His lyrical imagination and unforgettable melodies will linger as long as the wind continues to blow. One of the musicians lucky enough to be captured by this force was Joe Ely.

Joe’s eponymous debut solo album was released in 1977 and the following year he met the Clash in London, with a mutual musical respect emerging between the group and Ely. They toured together, Joe sang backing vocals on the Clash’s ‘Should I Stay or Should I Go’ and the band name-checked him in their song ‘If Music Could Talk’. Sadly, the death of the Clash’s front man, Joe Strummer, meant that a planned collaboration never happened.

Joe’s song ‘Brainlock’ was featured in the 1980 film Roadie and in 1998 he contributed a song to the soundtrack of the Robert Redford film The Horse Whisperer. Joe was made Texas State Musician in 2016, a designation held for a year, and in 2022 he was inducted into the Austin City Limits Hall of Fame.

Mike Read