Joe Ely

Joe Ely died last week aged 78. He'd been unwell for a while, diagnosed with Parkinson's and Lewy body dementia and it s pneumonia did for him in the end. Joe was a key figure in the Austin, Texas scene in the mid- to- late 70s. He started out in Lubbock, birthplace of Buddy Holly, and as one of The Flatlanders played a country and rock 'n' roll hybrid. Joe released his first solo album in 1977. In 1978 Joe and his band played in London and hit it off with Joe Strummer and Mick Jones, playing with each other when The Clash toured the USA in 1978 and 1979. The two Joes especially became good friends, finding plenty of common ground in their respective record collections.  

The photos on the back of London Calling are from a Clash gig at The Armadillo World Headquarters in Austin, a nod of the black fedora to Joe Ely from The Clash and a raucous gig they played just before the release of London Calling, Ely supporting The Clash and then appearing with them. Joe appears on Should I Stay Or Should I Go (on backing vox) and when The Clash played The Tribal Stomp at Monterrey in 1979 they played Fingernails, a Joe Ely song, with Joe guesting on vocals.

Fingernails (Live at Tribal Stomp 1979)

On Sandinista!, The Clash's 1980 triple album (which I wrote about only last week on the occaison of it's 45th birthday) Joe Strummer included a line about Joe Ely in the song If Music Could Talk- 'Well there ain't no better blend/ Than Joe Ely and his Texas Men. If Music Could Talk is Sandinista! at it's most experimental, the music from Shepherd's Delight, a Clash/ Mikey Dread track from the session at Pluto in Manchester (that resulted in Bankrobber) with a stream of consciousness Strummer lyric split between the left and right channels. Joe Ely is in good company- the song also name checks Bo Diddley, Errol Flynn, Isaac Newton, Buddy Holly, Elvis, Jim Morrison and Samson. Gary Barnacle's jazz saxophone drifts in and out. Is talking blues crossed with experimental dub jazz what people wanted  or expected from The Clash in 1980? 

If Music Could Talk

Joe Ely's career resulted in a steady stream of albums, twenty studio albums and a handful of live ones. In 1992 he released Love And Danger which included this song (written by Robert Earl Keen), The Road Goes On Forever, country and rock 'n' roll

The Road Goes On Forever

Joe Ely RIP

Cheap Gasoline

These photographs were published as part of a much larger set in a Clash group I'm a member of, the band in Monterey, California on September 9th 1979. As a set of pictures of four men who have absolutely nailed a look and that four men against the world mentality they take some beating and the sheer colour, excitement and drama of The Clash on the road is evident. Joe in red and white with white brothel creepers and ending up in the crowd, Paul all in black with jeans tucked into his biker boots and quiff perfectly in place, Mick in black and white with sunburst Les Paul, and Topper in pink.

The Tribal Stomp was an attempt to put on a festival reviving something of the spirit of the hippies but attracting some of the punks. It was poorly attended than the organisers hoped and they lost loads of money. The Clash played it as part of their first big US tour, after recording London Calling in the summer of '79 but not yet releasing it until December. Peter Tosh, Robert Fripp, Canned Heat, Country Joe and The Fish and Big Mama Thornton also played and it was MCed by original Woodstock MC Wavy Gravy. Taking the stage Joe told the audience “We brought some cheap gasoline with us and we’re selling it at the side of the stage for 50 cents a gallon”. They then charge into a largely pre- London Calling set, an hour of high octane punk rock energy, built around the songs and singles from 1977 and 1978- I'm So bored With The USA, Complete Control, London Calling, Jail Guitar Doors, (White Man In) Hammersmith Palais, Drug Stabbing Time, Police And Thieves, Stay Free, Safe European Home, Capital Radio, Clash City Rockers, What's My Name, Janie Jones, Garageland, Armagideon Time and Career Opportunities. Joe Ely joins them for Fingernails and then the obligatory ending of White Riot. It is fast and loud and close to the edge and at times almost out of control, the pedal well and truly pushed down to the floor. The set has been widely bootlegged and the recording is pretty rough and ready. If you want the entire set it's here but these four are among the best in terms of sound and listenability (if you accept that it's a bit like listening to The Clash on a transistor radio in the next room- but maybe that adds to the authenticity of the experience).

Stay Free

Capital Radio

Garageland

Armagideon Time