A trailblazing figure in progressive Texas country music has died.
Joe Ely, the influential singer, songwriter and guitarist who helped define Austin’s genre-bending country-rock scene and famously forged creative ties with punk legends The Clash, died Monday, December 15, at the age of 78. A representative confirmed to Rolling Stone that Ely died at home in New Mexico due to complications from Lewy Body Dementia, Parkinson’s disease and pneumonia.
Over a career that defied easy categorization, Ely stood at the crossroads of country, rock, folk and punk, helping shape a sound that rippled far beyond Texas. He was widely regarded as one of the central architects of the progressive country movement that emerged in the 1970s, blending traditional songwriting with the urgency and edge of rock music…