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Progressive country pioneer Joe Ely, whose influence stretched deep into rock music, has died at the age of 78.<\/p>\n
Rolling Stone<\/em><\/a> reported that Ely passed at home in New Mexico as a result of Lewy Body Dementia, Parkinson\u2019s and pneumonia.<\/p>\n In 1972 Ely formed the Flatlanders with Jimmie Dale Gilmore and Butch Hancock, although they received little attention until they\u2019d broken up and gone on to individual success. They reunited periodically, releasing more music until 2009\u2019s Hills And Valleys<\/em>, after which their unreleased 1972 material was delivered in 2012 as The Odessa Tapes<\/em>.<\/p>\n READ MORE:\u00a0<\/strong>16 Country Rock Artists You May Have Overlooked<\/a><\/p>\n By 1977, Ely had established himself as a solo artist, starting with his self-titled debut album and continuing with\u00a0Honky Tonk Masquerade<\/em> the next year. After befriending Joe Strummer<\/a> while touring with The Clash<\/a>, Ely was present during recording sessions for their groundbreaking 1979 album London Calling<\/em><\/a>, and performed backing vocals on the 1982 Combat Rock<\/em> hit \u201cShould I Stay or Should I Go.\u201d<\/p>\n Ely opened for the Rolling Stones<\/a> on their 1981 Tattoo You<\/em> tour. He later appeared alongside Bruce Springsteen<\/a> onstage, and the Boss inducted him into the Austin City Limits Hall of Fame in 2016. He also guested on Ely\u2019s 2024 album Driven To Drive<\/em>.<\/p>\n Under the name the Buzzin’ Cousins, Ely recorded the song “Sweet Suzanne” with John Mellencamp<\/a>, Dwight Yoakam and John Prine. It was nominated for a Country Music Association Award in 1992. He won a Grammy in 1999 for Los Super Seven\u2019s self-titled record.<\/p>\n Ely’s most recent release was 2025\u2019s Love And Freedom<\/em>.<\/p>\n \u201cBetween the three of us Flatlanders, we probably had a thimble full of ambition,\u201d Ely told Acoustic Guitar<\/em><\/a> in 2017. \u201cThe whole thing was about seeing what could be done \u2013 seeing different ways to write a song. We just kind of followed that throughout our lives.\u201d<\/p>\nJoe Ely Hoped to Unite People in Difficult Times<\/h3>\n