Happy birthday, Joe Ely! (February 9, 1947.) Texas troubadour, honky-tonk rock and roller. Singer-songwriter, heir to Buddy Holly, contributor to the progressive country sound that put Austin on the map as the alternative Nashville. And member of the hottest trio in Texas, The Flatlanders.

Clicking Joe's image connects to his "take-no-prisoners" run of "Musta Notta Gotta Lotta." Kick it, Cats and Kittens!  (Guitar-slinger, David Grissom on lead and Lubbock sax man Bobby Keys, "resting" from his regular gig with the Rolling Stones.)

Solo Joe connects to a Butch Hancock song, "Wishing for You."

It was hard selecting these songs. For every one I chose, I had to by-pass 10!

Rockin' and rollin' on "Fingernails!" (Recorded at Buddy Holly Park in Joe's hometown of Lubbock, Texas.)

Click to see and hear Joe sing "Hard Livin."

("Oh, pick it, Joe.")

"Lord of the Highway"
("With your fan belt slippin' and your bare tires squealin'
Every time you hit the road you think you're rich
You're lord of the highway but the way you been drivin'
Sends them hitch-hikers divin' for the ditch ...")

Joe co-founded the Flatlanders with Butch Hancock and Jimmie Dale Gilmore in 1970. They lived a small town commune life in Lubbock, Texas, writing songs and investigating philosophies of various kinds. They tried and failed to make a dent in Nashville in 1972, only to be “rediscovered” in the late 1990s.

Joe, Jimmie Dale, and Butch sing Butch's song, "If You Were a Bluebird."

The Flatlanders rock a slow boogie with Jimmie Dale's "Dallas" with white-haired Bill Kirchen (Comander Cody's Band - wrote "Hot Rod Lincoln") and virtuoso slide man, Robbie Gjersoe, in Golden Gate Park, San Francisco.

"I Had My Hopes Up High"
" ... Well, the first ride I got was in a dynamite truck
The driver kept a-tellin' me his bad luck
As we swerved around the curves I began to shout
Hey-ey mister would you let me out? ..."

Bonus vid: "16 Tons" Joe Ely Band Live in Texas Gruene