May 22, 2024 – Today, GRAMMY Award-winning singer-songwriter Joe Ely has announced his new album Driven to Drive, due out August 2 via Rack ‘Em Records / Thirty Tigers. With twenty-three albums and several million miles under the West Texas native’s belt, Driven to Drive is Ely’s first road album, featuring a collection of songs inspired by his travels from different eras of his illustrious career which spans five decades. Along with the announcement, he has shared the official video for the album’s first single “Odds of the Blues” (feat. Bruce Springsteen). The video was directed by Matthew Eskey and pulls from home video footage shot by Joe Ely, his wife Sharon and their families over the years. 

Stream “Odds of the Blues” (feat. Bruce Springsteen)

Pre-order Driven to Drive

“I got the idea for the song from hanging out at an all night after hours joint on the edge of east Lubbock called TV's… there was always a dice game in the back room, the pool table had a bad lean, and the jukebox mainly played old blues songs,” explains Joe Ely about the origins of “Odds of the Blues.” “I wrote the song later when I put my studio together in Austin. I asked Bruce recently if he would like to sing with me on this song and he said he’d love to. We’ve been long lost friends for a long time. One of my memories of us singing together was in Dublin, Ireland when we both got on stage with Jerry Lee Lewis and Shane MacGowan and sang ‘Great Balls of Fire.’”

Self-produced by Ely, Driven to Drive stitches together recordings over several decades at Spur Studios, his home recording facility outside of Austin, assisted by musician/neighbors Joel Guzman on accordion, keyboardist Bill Guinn, singer Eddie Beethoven, fiddler Richard Bowden, guitarist Jeff Plankenhorn and engineer Pat Manske who added percussion. Movement in these songs is measured in many ways: cars, sixteen-wheelers, motorcycles, Greyhound buses. There are pedal-to-the-metal anthems ginning down a straight strip of two-lane blacktop; a lazy meander on the Gulf blues highway; a tale of going on the lam on the Interstate; stories of getting from here to there, and songs about going nowhere at all.

Driven to Drive is the follow-up to Ely’s critically acclaimed 2022 album Flatland Lullaby, which the Associated Press hailed as a record “for anyone who has ever been a kid.” In addition to his revered solo work, he is one-third of the iconic Texas-based trio The Flatlanders along with Butch Hancock and Jimmie Dale Gilmore. In 2021, the band released Treasure of Love, their first album in over 12 years that garnered widespread praise from press including Rolling Stone, American Songwriter and The Austin Chronicle, who raved in their five-star review, “Perfect in vision, voice, harmony – not to mention timing – Treasure of Love delivers quintessential Flatlanders.”

“I’ve been traveling all my life in search of whatever I find,” says Ely. “Revisiting some of my studio files, I noticed there were a lot of songs I had written on the road about traveling. I had recorded them in my studio every time I got off the road. I compiled a selection of songs like that from different eras. That’s Driven to Drive.”

Over the course of his long and eclectic career – as a songwriter, performer, collaborator, and author – he has altered and expanded the meaning of Texas music while taking those sounds and this place around the world. Driven to Drive is a reflection of this tireless roadwork, taking stock of the many trails he’s blazed.

Driven to Drive Tracklist:

1. Drivin’ Man

2. Odds of the Blues (feat. Bruce Springsteen)

3. For Your Love

4. Watchin’ Them Semis Roll

5. Didn’t We Robbie

6. Nashville Is A Catfish

7. Ride Motorcycle

8. San Antone Brawl

9. Slave to the Western Wind

10. Gulf Coast Blues

11. Driven to Drive

12. Jackhammer Rock

november 24, 2023

Earlier this year Joe worked with @SoundwavesArt and artist Tim Wakefield to create artworks from the sound waves of “Musta Notta Gotta Lotta.” Joe signed a limited edition of prints and all the profits went to our friends at @simsfoundation, who provide mental health and substance use recovery services to musicians, music industry professionals and their families. There are a couple prints left in stock, so we’re re-releasing them for the holiday season to give The SIMS Foundation a fundraising boost. You can get one of the final prints here:

november 23, 2023

“This week on the Music Crossroads of Texas we will travel back in time to May 1982 with music from artists who performed on Joe Ely's third annual Tornado Jam. This week’s show is the first of two highlighting the concert. You will hear music from the Planets, the Maines Brothers, and more.

“Join host Curtis Peoples Collective for the #MusicCrossroadsofTexas every Thursday at 11AM on KNCH 90.1 FM. Stream on NPR apps and our website .”

November 4, 2023

Finishing new songs with Pat Manske and Jeff Plankenhorn at The Zone Recording Studio in Dripping Springs, Texas!

“There are Texas legends, then there is Joe Ely. He belongs in a class all his own. He personifies a whole era of Texas music, and there’s no more perfect candidate for the ACL Hall of Fame.” - Austin City Limits executive producer Terry Lickona

“that’s a beauty” - bruce springsteen

” it’s one of his best and a great vocal performance. It’s inspiring. ”

- linda Ronstadt

Joe Ely's New Single Dedicated To World Peace

On June 30

AUSTIN, TEXAS – Rack ‘Em Records / Thirty Tigers will release “Lay A Little Grace On Me,” the new single from iconic Lone Star singer / songwriter Joe Ely, on June 30.

“Lay A Little Grace On Me,” which Ely says is “a little song of inspiration dedicated to world peace,” began when Ely was in his early 20s, then initially recorded as a possible addition to either of his acclaimed albums Panhandle Rambler or Satisfied at Last.

“It just didn’t seem the right time for the song,” says Ely, explaining that his wife Sharon recently rediscovered the recording in some tapes from 2014.“We played it and it just kind of blew us away because it’s so fitting to these times.”

“Lay a little grace on me / Lead me away to a brand new day / Far from my enemy / The darkest of night / Shines like the light / Lay a little grace on me”

Recently, Ely has been working with his old pals Jimmie Dale Gilmore and Butch Hancock. As the famed Flatlanders, the acclaimed trio appeared in May before a near capacity crowd at JazzFest in New Orleans.

On July 2 – 4 they will appear at The Last Rodeo, a special 3 day event at Rancho Nicasio in Nicasio, California. ( https://www.ranchonicasio.com/bobletters.htm for more information).

Earlier this year, Ely’s career-defining first albums – Joe Ely, Honky Tonk Masquerade and Down on the Drag – became available on vinyl for the first time in more than 40 years, re-released by uDiscover Music.Last fall, Thirty Tigers released Ely’s long awaited children’s album, Flatland Lullaby, which was greeted by tremendous acclaim.

From the moment he made his debut in the 1970s, Ely has blended rock-and-roll sensibilities to hardcore honky tonk and become one of the most recognizable and respected artists to hail from the Lonestar state.

Growing up on the vast and empty plains of West Texas, his legend was forged onstage with relentlessly riveting live performances, hammered out over thousands of shows and countless touring miles from Lubbock to London and back again the long way around. He has been embraced as a kindred spirit by artists as diverse as Bruce Springsteen, Linda Ronstadt, Tom Petty and The Clash. Over his four-decade career, he’s been at the forefront of Outlaw Country, Alt-Country, Texas Country and Americana, and has been recognized as one of the best songwriters of his generation.

“There’s no mistaking a Joe Ely album,” wrote noted Dallas Morning News critic Mario Tarradell. “His stinging, road-hued voice commands lyrics about life, love and the wandering spirit. When you listen to his music, you’re enjoying the essence of Joe Ely. That’s the essence of Texas Music.”

Thirty Tigers is a Nashville based entertainment company, founded in 2001 by Grammy Award-winning producer David Macias and Deb Markland. In just over a decade, Thirty Tigers has gone from two employees working out of David’s guest bedroom to thirty employees, most of whom now work out of our Wedgewood-Houston office in Nashville, Tennessee. Thirty Tigers also has offices in Los Angeles, New York, North Carolina and London. Our collective experience in the music industry ranges from record retail to the film industry to major labels.

 THE FLATLANDERS BBQ on the Lawn 2023

– The Last Rodeo July 2, 3, & 4

“The Flatlanders haven't been out on tour since 2019,

and this is our only West Coast engagement this year. 

 It's always a treat when we are able to get together.

Thanks to Angela Strehli and Bob Brown for making this happen.

Come join us for this very special event if you can. “

- THE FLATLANDERS

THE FLATLANDERS were founded in 1972 by three musical childhood friends that grew up together in Lubbock, Texas. They are one of the last iconic American bands, intact, of their era. Often referred to as a Super Group, they have performed together so rarely, that a compilation recording released in 1990 was titled More a Legend Than a Band. Their last appearance in California was in 2019 at Hardly Strictly.

They have played at Rancho Nicasio twice before but not since 2009. (Some of you may have seen Jimmie Dale Gilmore teamed up with Dave Alvin here last year.) They are among the most memorable musical shows we have put on in our 25 year history.

We are flying Butch, Joe and Jimmie out with their band from Texas for this exclusive 3 day 4th of July weekend party.

It is our pleasure and privilege to host these guys and their families for a long awaited reunion. Angela grew up with them in Lubbock as well!

This will be their only West Coast event.

“A lot of groups our age are either dead or not speaking to each other anymore … but every time we come back to it, we feel that same magic we felt when we first started playing together.”

- Jimmie Dale Gilmore

There’s more than one way to take the stage to kick off a set. 41 years ago tonight, and just three months after opening for the Rolling Stones in Tempe, AZ, Joe rides into the Dixie Club on a horse. Joe fan, Jack Morgan, was there that night and graciously shares,

“I was from San Angelo which back then seemed really remote from the rest of the world, especially the music world. Somehow, Joe Ely had come to my attention, and I quickly bought Honky Tonk Masquerade, which was great. Then I heard somehow (this was long before social media was a thing) that Joe was going to perform at the Dixie Club. I showed up the afternoon of the night they were going to play, and a friend and I helped them load in so they could set up and get their sound check. The Dixie Club had one of those stages that rose up slightly from the dance floor height, and had a white picket fence in front of the stage. They had some enormous speakers that were too big for the club, but that was all right by me. That night I came back with my film camera, as this was long before digital cameras. I had never seen Joe perform live, so this was a treat. The nightclub was a country venue, and while Joe never got too far from his country roots, this was the era of MUSTA NOTTA GOTTA LOTTA, and the band was really hot. The first set was killer, and I took all the pictures I could ‘til I ran out of film, and then they took a break.

After the break the band came back to the stage and began laying down a very heavy groove. Thing is, Joe was missing. About that time I hear a clip-clop-click-clop and turned to see what was going on. Joe was on the back of a horse that came through the front door, and out to the dance floor. Dancers quickly got out of the way and Joe and the horse went out to the middle of the floor. Then the horse reared up, depositing Joe on the dance floor. Joe hopped right up and ran for the stage. He vaulted over the white picket fence, grabbing the microphone and started singing the song the band had been playing. In my life of going to rock concerts, Pink Floyd and many others, this was the single oddest, coolest event I’d ever seen at a performance. Joe didn’t make a lot out of it; he just kept playing and singing. The Dixie Club has long since been torn down, but that night lives on in the memory of several dozen people who were there to witness it.”

Jack adds to the backstory, "Turns out Bandera trick roper Kevin Fitzpatrick happened by and saw that Joe was performing. They got together on the band's break and unloaded Kevin's horse from its trailer and Kevin clued Joe in on how to get the horse to rear up--tug on his mane."

Again, special thanks to Jack Morgan for taking the time to write this up and share with the group!  Only Joe and only in Texas…  (Photographer unknown)

CAREER-LAUNCHING SOLO ALBUMS FROM LEGENDARY TEXAS SINGER-SONGWRITER, JOE ELY :

“JOE ELY,” “HONKY TONK MASQUERADE,” AND “DOWN ON THE DRAG”

RETURN TO VINYL AFTER MORE THAN 40 YEARS

ALL LPS REMASTERED FROM ORIGINAL TAPES

ALBUMS WILL ALSO MAKE THEIR DEBUT IN HD AUDIO ACROSS DIGITAL PLATFORMS

AVAILABLE FEBRUARY 17 VIA MCA NASHVILLE/UMe

Los Angeles, CA – January 30, 2023 –

In 1977, Joe Ely boldly emerged from West Texas, establishing himself as one of country’s most exciting songwriters and fiercely rebellious new voices. With his unique blend of hardcore honky-tonk, Tex Mex, rockabilly, and rock ‘n’ roll swagger, Ely was well on his way to becoming one of the genre’s most recognizable and respected artists. At the core of this foundational period was a trio of broadly-acclaimed albums: “Joe Ely,” (1977), “Honky Tonk Masquerade” (1978), and “Down on the Drag” (1979).

Now, more than four decades and thirty-plus albums later, MCA Nashville/UMe and Ely have partnered to celebrate these long-out-of-print titles with three special reissues.

Set for release on February 17 and available for pre-order today, “Joe Ely,” “Honky Tonk Masquerade,” and “Down on the Drag” will all return to vinyl for the first time since 1980.

Housed in replicas of their original jackets, each album has been meticulously remastered from their original analog tapes by GRAMMY®-winning engineer Dave Donnelly and pressed on 180-gram vinyl.

All LPs will also be reissued on digital platforms – and available for the first time in stunning 192/24 HD audio.

“It was exciting for me to make these first three albums in the beginning,” says Joe Ely. “Now I’m really glad MCA and UMe chose to remaster and rerelease these albums this year and they’ll once again be available on vinyl.”

Pre-order

“Joe Ely,” “Honky Tonk Masquerade,” and “Down on the Drag”

ALL ALBUMS AUTOGRAPHED BY JOE

While “Joe Ely” introduced the singer-songwriter to the world, the 30-year-old Lubbock native had built a following in his home state long before his first album dropped. After co-founding The Flatlanders in his early 20s, alongside Jimmie Dale Gilmore and Butch Hancock. Ely embarked on a solo career, assembling a backing band that included steel guitarist Lloyd Wayne Maines, guitarist Rick Hulett, and bassist Gregg Wright. By the time Ely signed to MCA, his band had expanded by eight members – all of whom joined him at Chip Young’s Tennessee studio to record their first album.

Released at the height of the outlaw country music craze, Ely’s eponymous 1977 debut announced its namesake as the scene’s most exciting new voice. Featuring all original material (penned by Ely, as well as his former Flatlanders bandmates), the album offered up a variety of memorable western ballads, including “She Never Spoke Spanish to Me,” “Tennessee’s Not The State I’m In,” and “If You Were a Bluebird.” Other highlights include the rollicking tracks, “Suckin’ a Big Bottle of Gin,” and album closer “Johnny Blues,” both bolstered by the legendary Muscle Shoals Horns.

Following a busy schedule of touring around the U.S., U.K., and Europe, Ely and his band returned to the studio to record their follow up, “Honky Tonk Masquerade.” Long considered a masterpiece by critics around the globe, Ely’s sophomore album cemented him as a force in the industry. Melody Maker declared that “Honky Tonk Masquerade will establish Joe Ely as the most exciting and talented country rock artist around today. Bar none.” Village Voice’s Robert Christgau, the “dean of American rock critics,” exclaimed, “Ely’s emotional openness seems neither sentimental nor contrived. He balls the jack with irrefutable glee and sings the lonesome ones so high and hard he makes the next room sound 500 miles away.

In short, there hasn’t been anything like this since Gram Parsons.

Spanning a variety of styles, “Honky Tonk Masquerade” showcased the breadth of Ely’s talents, particularly through introspective numbers like “Boxcars,” “Tonight I Think I’m Gonna Go Downtown,” and “Because of the Wind.” Featuring such fan favorites as “Fingernails” and the title track, “Honky Tonk Masquerade” has since appeared on several rankings, including Rolling Stone’s “50 Essential Albums of the 70s” (hailing it as “the decade’s most sure-footed country-rock collaboration”) and the encyclopedic “1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.”

As the decade turned, Ely’s star would only continue to rise, as he played sold-out shows across the world, recorded with The Clash and launched Lubbock’s popular Tornado Jam festival. And yet, these were still the early days of his lengthy and highly influential career. Today, Ely remains one of the great prides of Texas and one of Americana’s most admired acts, with a solo catalog that boasts more than 20 studio and live albums, including 2020’s “Love in the Midst of Mayhem.”

Additionally, Ely continues to tour and record with The Flatlanders, who released their latest album, “Treasure of Love,” in 2021, while he earned a GRAMMY® for his work with Los Super Los Super Seven, a supergroup featuring members of Los Lobos, Ozomatli, and Calexico.

Outside of the studio, Ely is also an accomplished author, who has published two novels. Among his many honors, he has received a Lifetime Achievement Award for Live Performance from The Americana Music Association and was a 2016 inductee into the Texas Heritage Songwriter Associations Hall of Fame. That same year, Ely was named the Official Musician for the State of Texas, following in the footsteps of Willie Nelson, Lyle Lovett and Billy F Gibbons. In 2017, he became the first musician to be honored by the prestigious Texas Institute of Letters.

Ely will close the 48th season of Austin City Limits with a Hall of Fame tribute to him

recorded live at ACL’s 8th Annual Hall of Fame honors on October 27, 2022.

The musical salute features performances from Ely as well as revered Lone Star musicians and his longtime collaborators in The Flatlanders, Jimmie Dale Gilmore and Butch Hancock, along with fellow Texans Rodney Crowell and Marsha Marcia Ball. The hour-long special episode includes a memorable induction by renowned Texan author Lawrence Wright along with historic highlights from the influential Texas legend’s eleven appearances on the ACL stage. The show will broadcast on February 25th on PBS stations.

click here for more info

Honky Tonk Masquerade

Track List

Side A

Cornbread Moon

Because Of The Wind

Boxcars

Jericho (Your Walls Must Come Tumbling Down)

Tonight I Think I'm Gonna Go Downtown

Side B

Honky Tonk Masquerade

I'll Be Your Fool

Fingernails

West Texas Waltz

Honky Tonkin’

Joe Ely’s Flatland Lullaby

Listen to preview song "Love and Happiness for You"

RELEASE DATE OCTOBER 21, 2022

PRE-ORDER NOW

Joe Ely has released a whole lotta records over the last 50 years, but not even half as many albums as he’s made. By the renowned Texas roots rock and Americana legend’s own reckoning, nearly every album in his official catalog has at least one alternate version — sometimes even his favorite version — tucked away in his vault. There are also piles of live recordings spanning his entire career, scores (if not hundreds) of stray songs in all stages of completion, and even entire albums never released in any version — many back-burnered, perhaps, for no better reason other than Ely’s insatiable creative wanderlust, his attention known to turn on a dime every time a new idea or sound flitted across his mind. But happily for fans the world over, ever since 2007, Ely’s made a concerted effort to release a steady stream of pearls from that vault on his own Rack ’Em Records label. And this October — the same month as Ely’s induction into the Austin City Limits Hall of Fame — he’s finally sharing what might well be the mother of them all: Flatland Lullaby.

Now, to clarify: Flatland Lullaby is not necessarily what anyone, least of all Ely himself, would ever call a “big" record. So go ahead and exhale if for a moment there you were thinking it was going to be, say, some kind of previously never-even-heard-about, full-on collaboration with the Clash, or even another treasure chest full of long-lost Flatlanders gold along the lines of 2012’s The Odessa Tapes. That said, though, Flatland Lullaby really is a gift objectively more special by far than anything else released from Ely’s archives to date, because this one comes straight off the very top shelf of the family reserve. It’s the kind of passion project that could have only ever come into focus when the initial target audience extended no farther than the man’s nearest and dearest — namely, his daughter Marie. 

“It’s basically a little lullaby album that I did for her when she was 2 or 3 years old,” says Ely. He started recording it in his Austin home studio in 1984 and gave it to his toddler the following Christmas, with no real thought at the time — or for years thereafter, really — of ever releasing it to the public. Or at least not the whole public. “All of the neighbors’ kids would borrow it,” he recalls with a laugh, “and we’ve kind of passed it around to different friends over the years, too — anytime they were bringing a new child into the world and wanted some songs to play, or when their kids were having kids.” 

But of course, Ely would invariably hear back from a lot of those folks that it wasn’t just kids who really enjoyed the record, and little Marie (yes, the baby girl whose picture is now framed on the cover) never outgrew it, either — and not just for purely sentimental reasons. It was Marie, now an established photographer, filmmaker, and visual artist, who perhaps more than anyone has encouraged her father for years to share it with the world — knowing as well as he always has that it was never just a fun little album made for a child not yet old enough to talk. In fact, out of all the records that Ely has ever made — released or not — Flatland Lullaby may well be the one that’s tickled and sung to his muse on and off again the longest. 

“I’ve just really liked it from the very beginning, which was back when the Flatlanders [Ely, Jimmie Dale Gilmore, Butch Hancock, and a whole happy mess of other hippie/artist/musician friends] all lived in this house together on 14th Street in Lubbock in 1971 and ’72,” Ely says. “We kind of had a rule at the time that was, ‘anything goes,’ which as far as songwriting went meant that you could start with any kind of story. I mean, you could write a song from like, a dandelion’s point of view, you know? And I remember Jimmie’s daughter had the first part of this song that she showed me, wondering if I could play it on the guitar for her. It went, ‘Oh the gypsy lady reads the palms as the sun goes down, and the earth turns around and around and around ....’  So was the first part of that song that got connected to any kind of melody or rhythm or anything, just that quick little catching of a verse, and after that we started adding to it and it just grew and grew over the years. We might add one line at a time, or maybe half a verse, just carving out little pieces here and there and recording it however we could as we went along. Sometimes it took years to get a verse down! And a lot of the other songs came along that way, too. So it was just kind of a labor of love that I kept coming back to, all through the ’70s and then into the ’80s, when I had my own studio. That was when I was able to really go through all of our old notes and everything to see and hear where we’d been and what we’d done, and figure out whatever seemed to be the next step.” 

The birth of Joe and Sharon Ely’s daughter in 1983, two years after the couple’s move from Lubbock to Austin, of course had a lot to do with his determining what that next step would be. But so too did Ely’s experience making the original version of his fifth solo album, Hi Res, coloring way outside the lines of his acclaimed rockin’ roadhouse honky-tonk wheelhouse to play mad audio scientist with his brand new Roland drum machine, Apple II computer, and Alpha Centauri keyboard/synth rig. MCA would have none of that and insisted on having the album re-recorded with a full band, but the better-late-than-never release of Ely’s first pass (as 2014’s B484) revealed just how ahead of his time he was in the electronic music field — and not out of the blue, either. Because more than a decade earlier, before even the Flatlanders, Ely just happened to have had the opportunity to work with noted German composer, opera conductor, and early Moog synthesizer enthusiast Eberhard Schoener. 

“About six months before the Flatlanders started up, I had been over in Europe playing music as part of a production called Stomp (And Now the Revolution) by this theater troupe from the University of Texas, and that was when I met Eberhard, who lived in Munich and led the Nürnberg opera,” says Ely. “He ended up inviting me and another guy from Stomp to work on this project with him for the Museum of Modern Art in Munich; he wanted to mix synthesizers with acoustic guitars, and we put together a piece that became this kind of ambient, avant-garde record called A Day’s Lullaby. Anyway, that whole experience was a big inspiration for me, and a lot of those sounds really stuck with me.”

Now more than 50 years later, you can very much hear the sonic imprint of that time and place in Ely’s life and career all over Flatland Lullaby. Ely actually started writing the opening song, “Milkmaid,” way back when in the German town of Mosbach, and in fact the entire album has as much of an old-world European vibe as it does one suggesting Lubbock or anywhere else in Texas. 

“I just used a lot of different sounds that I had collected all through the years,” Ely says. “I really wanted the album to have an ethereal feeling — kind of like a distant memory,” And though it’s also packed with fun — with not one but two relentlessly catchy songs inspired by vintage cartoons (“The Cats and the Rats” and “Old Mr. Ghost”) and even a joyride in Woody Guthrie’s “Car Car” (with Ely and Jimmie Dale Gilmore both taking turns at the wheel) — there’s a delightfully haunting and surreal, creepy undercurrent running throughout, too, as might befit a Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale or perhaps a Tim Burton film. “I’ve always loved those kind of cartoons that have a darker side to them,” says Ely. “And kids seem attracted to that kind of stuff, too! You know, ghosts and scary things like, ‘Who’s in the closet?’” 

And as for who’s in the mix, well — in a word, everybody. For an album that he at one time intended to never be heard much outside of his own happy home, Ely wasn’t shy in rounding up a Hall of Fame-worthy roster of Lubbock and Texas music all-stars to help out. In addition to fellow Flatlanders Gilmore (who sings on the record) and Butch Hancock (with whom Ely co-wrote Flatland Lullaby’s title track), other musicians and singers who contributed to the sessions over the years include Kimmie Rhodes (singing on her own co-write with Emmylou Harris, “Love and Happiness for You”), guitarists Mitch Watkins and David Grissom, steel player Lloyd Maines, fiddle player Richard Bowden, violinist Gene Elders, mandolin player Paul Glass, drummer Davis McLarty, and bassists Jimmie Pettit and Roscoe Beck. 

Around a decade ago, Ely started toying with the idea of turning the whole record into an animated film, going so far as to write a treatment and produce a two-minute sample video with artist Mike Shapiro. “It was just an experiment, really, and we kind of had to put it aside because it started getting in the way of finishing the album,” he says today. “But we might pick that back up again ... someday.”

For now, though, Ely’s just happy to have finally put the finishing touches on the weirdest, loveliest little album he’s ever made. And just in time to share it with a world that’s never needed the comfort of a good “Flatland Lullaby” more.

written by:richard skanse

Austin City Limits Announces New Class of Hall of Fame Inductees Honoring

Sheryl Crow & Joe Ely




All-Star Celebration Confirmed for October 27, 2022

The Flatlanders, the iconic Texas-based trio of Butch Hancock, Joe Ely, and Jimmie Dale Gilmore announced their first album of newly recorded music in more than 12 years. Treasure of Love released on July 9YJ via Rack'em Records/Thirty Tigers. The band released the album’s first single “Sittin’ On Top of the World,” which is well known by fans of The Flatlanders to be one of their most notable show closers.

Treasure of Love is now available ORDER ORDER FOR EU RECORD STORES

“Perfect in vision, voice, harmony – not to mention timing – Treasure of Love delivers quintessential Flatlanders.” (5 Stars) - Austin Chronicle, Raoul Hernandez

WATCH THE OFFICAL VIDEO FOR “SITTIN’ ON TOP OF THE WORLD” VIA YOUTUBE:

"Sometimes you're sitting on top of the world, the next minute you are face down on the bottom. Just like life. (And the very next minute you are at the top again),” said Butch Hancock about the song. "Because better to sit on top of it. Rather than carry it. It’s a song that once you have it in your head you have to sing it,” added Joe Ely.

“Love In the Midst Of Mayhem”

CD’S ON SALE NOW

“I LOVE Joe’s new record. It’s perfect, every single song. Please let him know, it is helping me 

to get through all of this. His voice is great and the lyrics, oh wow!” - Jo Rae Di Menno 

“It’s put together straight from the emergency we have right now,” says Ely friend and acclaimed artist Terry Allen. “Every song is about love, for love, to love and with love… love when we need it most.  Love in the Midst of Mayhem is not just a joy to listen to, it's a necessity.”

 ‘Love In The Midst of Mayhem’

“His name is Joe Ely. He comes from Lubbock, Texas. His boots are old and beaten. They’d look mighty lonesome without him standing in them”

These are the opening lines of a long bio that Joe Ely’s first record label MCA used to introduce Ely to the world in 1977 on the eve of his debut album. Those ‘old and beaten boots’ have since built a stable of work of better than 20 albums - a diverse catalogue of song which has consistently earned critical praise, has never been afraid to explore and prides itself on blurring the lines of musical genre. One thing is very clear, and every fan and follower will tell you the same, those ‘boots’ have fronted some of the best and most talented bands to ever hit the concert stage night after night. They have also toured with or shared the stage with Merle Haggard, The Kinks, Chuck Berry, Tom Petty, The Rolling Stones, Roy Brown, Linda Ronstadt, Paul McCartney, Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band and more. Yet the ‘boots’ have never chased fame, and one of the most loyal fan bases in music is just fine with that.

After countless soles, Joe Ely and his boots are back. Fresh off his 40th Anniversary celebration concert of the recording of his first live album, “Live Shots”, Joe Ely was just settling in to get to work on his next batch of projects and gigs, when the coronavirus pandemic (or “pandamint” as Joe calls it) took grip. After seeing the worldwide scope of the pandemic, initial frustration about cancelled projects and gigs quickly turned into a question of, “What can I do to help?” Knowing they would be confined to their home for an undetermined amount of time, Joe and his wife Sharon jumped on the opportunity to review music, files, and notes of Joe’s work thru the years of songs that had not yet found a home. “I went digging in places I hadn’t visited in a long time,” says Joe. What they found was a treasure trove of love songs, several of which speak of compassion for your fellow person.

The new album, “Love in the Midst of Mayhem” is a collection of ten of these songs. “The album popped up quickly, but, at the same time, it was a long time coming”, says Joe. “When putting together an album, I typically try to go with a story. This time I went with feeling. I see people out of work, out of food, and I see medical workers and others on the front lines putting their lives in danger everyday. I also see the beauty of the human spirit at work too. The time was right.” Whether you are slow waltzing with your loved one after dinner to “You Can Rely on Me”, or moved by the simplistic brilliance of “A Man and His Dog”, this album is sure to make you look inside.

“I hope we all kind of see where we are today, and realize that we need to come together to pull out of this. We need to turn fear into a positive thing to put the world back together. I hope people will listen with open eyes and an open ear.” Yes, Joe Ely and his boots are back – just in time, too.

Bio by Ed Gray

Love in the Midst of Mayhem

Release Date: July 3, 2020

Rack ‘Em records

    Fresh off his 40th Anniversary celebration concert of the recording of his first live album, “Live Shots,” Joe Ely was just settling in to get to work on his next batch of projects and gigs, when the coronavirus pandemic (or “pandamnit” as Ely calls it) took grip. 

    After seeing the worldwide scope of the pandemic, initial frustration about canceled projects and gigs quickly turned into a question of, “What can I do to help?” 

    Knowing they would be confined to their home for an undetermined amount of time, Joe and his wife, Sharon, jumped on the opportunity to review music, files, and notes of his work thru the years of songs that had not yet found a home. 

    “I went digging in places I hadn’t visited in a long time,” says Ely. 

    What they found was a treasure trove of love songs, several of which speak of compassion for your fellow person.

“Joe has made a beautiful album. It’s put together straight from the emergency we have right now. Every song is about love, for love, to love and with love… love when we need it most. Love in the Midst of Mayhem is not just a joy to listen to, it’s a necessity.”

— Terry Allen, Santa Fe, NM, 2020

“Joe Ely shows us all the way through the pandemic with ‘Love In The Midst of Mayhem.’  The ten songs that Ely chose to let us hear is a message of love and encouragement to all of us, straight from the heart and hands of a superior songwriter.”

—John Michael Antonio, Americana Highways

Musicians

Mitch Watkins (guitar) • Rob Gjersoe (guitar) • Bradley Kopp (guitar) • Roscoe Beck (bass) • Glen Fukunaga (bass) • Gary Herman (bass) • Jimmy Pettit (bass) • Davis McLarty (drums) • Pat Manske (drums) • Steve Meador (drums)  • Joel Guzman (keyboards, accordion) • Reese Wynans (keyboards) • Bill Ginn (drums) • Joe Ely (vocals, guitar, drums)

Tracks

1. Soon All Your Sorrows Be Gone (4:28)

2. Garden of Manhattan (5:35) 

3. A Man and His Dog (2:37) 

4. There’s Never Been (3:18)

5. Your Eyes(3:20)

6. All You Are Love (2:21) 

7. Cry (4:37)

8. Don’t Worry About It (4:10)

9. You Can Rely on Me (2:52)

   1. Glare of Glory (5:01)

      All Songs written by Joe Ely, except “All You Are Love,” written by Ely, Jimmie Dale Gilmore and Butch Hancock

Love in the Midst of Mayhem

Soon All Your Sorrows Be Gone

They say that the world is hard

Oh but I know it’s true

Full of pain and misery

Grief and sorrow too

But in between those darker days

In the space that it belongs, my love

Your heart and soul, overflow

And soon all your sorrows be gone

They say the earth came from chaos,

Lightning hail and rain

The sea, they say, is a pool of tears

And a song is a poets’ pain

But when the storms are over

If you can just wait that long, my love

Your heart and soul, overflow

And soon all your sorrows be gone

CH

Heart and soul and your sorrows be gone

Overflow and you’re never alone

Heart and soul and your sorrows be gone

Overflow and you’re never alone

Sometimes I get up early and watch the day unfold

And see the people with all their cares

Of weighing silver with gold

Sometimes I stay up late at night 

Until the roar of dawn, my love.

Your heart and soul, over flow

And soon all your sorrows be gone

Heart and soul and your sorrows be gone

Overflow and you’re never alone

Heart and soul and your sorrows be gone

be gone

Overflow and you’re never alone

But soon I must be going like a windblown sail

Across the seas they takes me

From places I have failed

But if you listen patiently

And if you listen long, my love

Your heart and soul, overflow

And soon all your sorrows be gone

Heart and soul and your sorrows be gone

Overflow and you’re never alone

Heart and soul and your sorrows be gone

Overflow and you’re never alone

A Man and His Dog

There is a man and his dog in the alley

They’re sharing a bite to eat

A cardboard sign it leans in the doorway and reads:

I ain’t homeless, I am free

Busy people walk by on their lunch break

They look but they just don’t see

With a phone in their ear

They can’t even hear

The sounds that might set them free

A police siren screams down the alley

A cop gets out with a slam of his door

He said a man woh matches your description

Just robbed the West Side Cash and Carry Store

You’re mistaken, I’m afraid said the old man

Me and my friend, we have no needs

We take life as it goes, like a flower when it grows

Leaves behind only petals and seeds

SOLO

There is a dog all alone in the alley

Lookin’ for a scrap to eat

A cardboard sign has fallen in the doorway

No one even bothers to read

Garden of Manhattan

She walks in the garden of Manhattan

She plants her seeds among the weeds 

Where the dreamers all come to fatten

In the Garden of Manhattan

In the Garden of Manhattan

She looks to the In the Garden of Manhattan

To the skies of glass where dreamers pass

On the ferry across from Statten

To the Garden of Manhattan

To the Garden of Manhattan

Look yonder comin’ there’s a halo of light

With an angel who’s riding

Through the canyons on a chariot of fire

See there she’s coming, coming to relieve us 

No one would believe us just like it said in the Bible

She talks to the Garden of Manhattan

With her wagon full of bags she offers her rags

To the people all dressed in satin

In the Garden of Manhattan

In the Garden of Manhattan

She sleeps in the Garden of Manhattan

In a cardboard box on the stairs, like rocks

She dreams in Greek and Latin

In the Garden of Manhattan

In the Garden of Manhattan

Look yonder comin’ there’s a halo of light

With an angel who’s riding

Through the canyons on a chariot of fire

See there she’s coming, coming to relieve us

No one would believe us just like it said in the Bible

She waits in the Garden of Manhattan

She waits in the wind for her ship to come in

But the hatches have long been battened

In the Garden of Manhattan

SOLO

She dreams in the Garden of Manhattan

On an island in the blue

She looks through the ruins

For what the hurricane has not flattened

In the Garden of Manhattan

In the Garden of Manhattan

There’s Never Been

There’s never been a story told

That no one would believe

Like there’s never been a hand to hold

That no one would receive

There’s never been a season yet

That never had an end

There’s never been a reason yet

For lovers to pretend

There’s never been a baby born

Without the  eagle flyin’

Like there’s never been a love been torn

Which out one heart a dyin’

There’s never been a season yet

That never had an end

There’s never been a reason yet

For lovers to pretend

There’s never been a soul to know

A life without a fall

Like there’s never been a love to grow

Where each did not give all

There’s never been a season yet

That never had an end

There’s never been a reason yet

For lovers to pretend

Your Eyes

Your eyes give me a window

Through which the light shines on my world

They reflect the sun that beams the truth

As winds to sails unfurled

The show me there’s no darkness

When love is in the air

They give me understanding

Not to keep but always share

I see your eyes, Bright shining eyes

Your eyes call for a melody

It rises to clouds on high

Inspired by flutes and steel guitars

Cascading as they fly

To give me hope when none is near

Beyond these earthly bounds

And let them settle without fear

On softer, sacred grounds

I see your eyes, Bright shining eyes

All You Are Love

It might not mean much to you babe, 

But it means the world to me

Just a simple touch of your hand 

Tells me what love can be

In moments like this when you are near

And I can see so far

What ever you say, 

What ever you seem

I love you for all you are

All you see all you feel

All you are, Love

Somewhere between your heart and mine

Windows open wide

They let the light in

With songs in the wind

That send me to your side

Whenever I find you I’m lost no longer 

Wanderin’ so far

Wherever I go whatever I do

I love you for all you are

All you see all you feel

All you are, Love

Cry

Cry, my baby cry

Let the rain fall from your eyes

You should have thought about the consequence

Of a love that never made no sense at all

Listen to the rain

Cry, my baby cry

It’s not for you 

To justify

That’s the way it goes you give your soul

To the one who knows he can’t control you at all

Listen to the rain

Solo

Cry, my baby cry

Let the rain fall from your eyes

CRY

Listen to the rain

Listen to the rain

Don’t Worry About it

Don’t Worry About it don’t don’t even try

No reason to fight it no reason to lie

Don’t worry about it it ain’t worth the sigh

Don’t worry about it just close your eyes

They told you all the world was watchin’ you

That everything you did was their affair

And now you see the fear they hid from you

Was covered by the smoke from their despair

Don’t Worry About it don’t don’t even try

No reason to fight it no reason to lie

Don’t worry about it it ain’t worth the sigh

Don’t worry about it just close your eyes

You Can Rely On Me

I don’t know how to go about

To telI you I love to show you I care

Whenever you need me

I’ll always be there…

You can rely on me

I have whirled all over this world

And I can’t deny

No river that flows

Nothing as pure

As the love you can show…

You can rely on me 

On me, on me 

You can rely on me

Some night when you’re low

Come look out your window

The moon will be risin’ and you’ll be surprised

The light will surround you and fill you inside

You can rely on me

You can rely on me 

On me, on me 

You can rely on me

You can rely on me

Glare of Glory

Once I lived my life in the Glare of Glory

Alone on the stage, just a song and a story

I drank the wine-colored starry night

And fell from the sky in the morning light

I swallowed my pain with the flood light dying

Stood in the rain my eyes were crying

I was the fool who painted rainbows

I was betrayed by the thorns on the rose

Hey, Hey, take me, take me back

Hey, Hey, take me, take me back

Here we go!

Now I see the light, love has found me

I opened my heart I let it surround me

I can’t believe I was so blind

I couldn’t see, it was there all the time

I’ll never regret the hand that was dealt me 

I walked the sands hot enough to melt me

If any one wonders what kept me goin’

If they don’t know by now, it ain’t worth knowin’

It was love

It was beauty

It was Passion

It was whiskey

It was grace 

There for the askin’

It was words

It was music

It was pain

It was Texas 

It was Manhattan

It was Spain

This is a Carnival, didn’t you know that!

We don’ know no one

Swing like a pendulum

Walking on air who cares

Who cares, who really cares