Lubbock lost a favorite son on December 15, 2025. Singer, songwriter, guitarist, and performer extraordinaire Joe Ely passed away. Ely is one of those musicians who grew up and began performing in Lubbock. As his career took off, he performed with the likes of ZZ Top, The Clash, Bruce Springsteen, Bobby Keys, Jesse “Guitar” Taylor, and Linda Ronstadt. He is part of the “chain reaction” of musicians throughout Lubbock’s history: starting with Tommy Hancock and Buddy Holly, there is a string of incredible performers who have risen from the West Texas plains to build careers they likely never imagined. Mac Davis, the Maines Brothers Band, Amanda Shires, Kimmie Rhodes, Josh Abbott, William Clark Green, and Flatland Cavalry, to name just a few – Lubbock is the common ground in each of their stories.
The Lubbock Cultural Arts Foundation manages the Texas Music Friendly designation for the City of Lubbock and wanted to create a retrospective of Joe to educate those who may not be familiar with his music and to develop a tribute for those who are.
A single blog seemed a lovely way to honor Ely initially, but we would soon see we underestimated his impact on the music industry. What began as a simple project for an intern and a willing volunteer morphed into a staggering amount of data and stories, which are invaluable to Lubbock’s music history and heritage.
People who have participated in sharing their deeply personal memories of Joe include, thus far, Chris Oglesby, Bruce Jagger, Cary Banks, Davis McLarty, Don Boles, Jay Boy Adams, Jimmie Dale Gilmore, Lloyd Maines, Richard Bowden, Roy Pierce, and Steve Moss. The work of interviewing and capturing these memories lay at the feet of Chuck Luck and Abi Avitia, who have taken this project on as a labor of love – for their work and time, LCAF is incredibly thankful.
With such deep content, we feel it is too rich not to share with you and give each friend, musician, and storyteller their own unique space to weave their tales of Joe. We hope you enjoy this series of blogs. We will start with our first effort of sharing these great perspectives with artist Chris Oglesby’s memories of the man he called the “greatest performer on Earth”.
Chris Oglesby
As a Lubbock High School student, Chris Oglesby’s (author of Fire in the Water; Earth in the Air: Legends of West Texas Music ) musical world centered on The Nelsons with Lubbock legends John Sprott, Sean Frankhauser and Donny Allison. This up-and-coming band took second in MTV’s Basement Tapes competition and went on tour. That spark led Chris to Fat Dawgs one night to see The Nelsons. Fat Dawgs was a small bar on 4th Street. This off-the-beaten-path venue is where he found Joe Ely again.
Chris says, “Anybody who’s seen Joy Ely knows he is the greatest performer they’ve ever seen.”
Chris describes Joe as one of the “greatest performers on earth”. His performances were electrifying, engaging, and unlike anything else. Chris continues, “Everyone says that when Joe Ely performs, he performs all out every single time, no matter how many people are there, he just gives you a show.”
He was backed by monster players like Lloyd Maines on steel guitar and Bobby Keys (who would play sax with the Rolling Stones).
Joe had such magnetism that when he walked out on stage, the crowds would surge forward and press against the stage. The show itself would be a ferocious blur of volume and total commitment. It didn’t matter the size of the audience, Joe always delivered, always gave 100% of himself.
He was not only popular in the U.S., but also in Europe. Chris joked in his interview that when he would visit Europe and tell people he was from Texas, they would immediately ask about J.R. Ewing (from the TV show Dallas) and Joe Ely. Chris continued that for people who never saw Joe perform, they might not recognize his name, but for those who saw him perform, they were instantly hooked and never forgot him.
As a musician, Joe commanded enormous respect. He was gifted at recognizing talent and finding amazing guitar players and instrumentalists to surround himself with. He played with the likes of The Clash, Keith Richards, and countless guitar greats, including David Holt, David Grissom, Charlie Sexton, and Ian Moore. Joe not only performed but was a gifted songwriter.
He was supportive of other up-and-coming songwriters, and later in his career, he attended a small gathering in Lubbock and witnessed a local favorite performing one of Ely’s songs called “Indian Cowboy”. The performer mistakenly introduced the song as written by another musician, and Joe was gracious and told the young man what a wonderful job he did performing the tune – he did not utter a word to embarrass or admonish the artist.
Joe was kind, calm, and a very thoughtful person when off the stage – his stage persona was bigger than life. Oglesby reflected that the beauty of being from a smaller town is the ability to accomplish things which people in larger communities might not be able to and to be deeply influenced by those who come before. Through walking the same hallways and driving the same streets as earlier musicians, some of that magic of place can rub off.
Oglesby reflected that there will never be another Joe Ely; his magic will live on forever through this music. His observations are shared by many – thank you for taking the time to read and share the stories his friends have told us. We are glad you are along for the ride.
*We want to expose you to Ely’s music through these as well as the great stories offered by those who share their memories of Ely. Enjoy Indian Cowboy.
Chris Oglesby: Oglesby is an artist and writer. Oglesby’s book Fire in the Water; Earth in the Air: Legends of West Texas Music explores the music magic of Lubbock, TX. Lubbock Symphony Orchestra later commissioned a full symphony with lyrics by Oglesby, “Fire in the Water; Earth in the Air: A Symphony of Songs”. A graduate of Lubbock High and Texas Tech, his father was Coach Gerald “Corky” Oglesby, and his mother was a college English professor and early Board member of Ballet Lubbock. While earning his bachelor’s degree and Doctor of Jurisprudence from Texas Tech University, he immersed himself in Lubbock’s musical nightlife and its people.
**Photos submitted by Chris Oglesby:
- “Colin Gilmore, Joe Ely, & Chris Oglesby; Texas Book Festival 2006, photo by Pearly Oglesby”
- “Joe Ely, Sharon Ely, & Chris Oglesby; Gruene Hall, TX” photo by Pearly Oglesby