From the Austin City Limits Website:

Joe Ely's unofficial fan club reads like a list of the entertainment world's elite. Members of U2 danced in their chairs when they caught his act in Ireland. Ely sang "Amazing Grace" in three-part harmony with Willie Nelson and Bon Jovi. He crossed paths with Linda Ronstadt and recorded what Ely refers to as a "great slow, drunken country waltz" duet. Ely grew up in the dusty Texas towns of Amarillo and Lubbock. He put his first band together when he was 13, and before he finished high school he grabbed his guitar and hit the road for eight years, following in the paths of his literary idols Jack Kerouac and Henry Miller. Jumping freight trains from town to town, he ended up stranded in New York City. He found work with a group of Austinites who were producing a rock and roll theater show and followed them to Europe. Later, back in Texas, Ely joined forces with two now-legendary songwriters, Jimmie Dale Gilmore and Butch Hancock, and formed the country-folk group The Flatlanders. Ely finally settled in Austin and established himself as a true Texas rocker with his debut album Joe Ely. He went on to record seven more critically-acclaimed albums, reinforcing his solid presence in the international music scene. Renowned for the energy of his live performances, Ely credits his band (bassist Jimmy Pettit, drummer Davis McLarty, and electric guitarist David Grissom) for inspiring his music.

On Austin City Limits, Lone Star Joe Ely showcased his latest work, the critically acclaimed Letter To Laredo, featuring the lilting flamenco guitar of Dutch musician Teye Winterp. From the Marty Robbins' favorite "Gallo del Cielo" to Ely's own love story "Ranches and Rivers," he delighted the audience with his fresh takes on familiar themes. An intelligent and well-read man, Ely vividly described faraway lands in songs such as "Run Preciosa," inspired by the works of Spanish poet Garcia Lorca. Ely credits his West Texas upbringing for his musical style and tastes. "It goes back to when I was 10-years-old," he said, "my daddy put me to work in a used clothing store where a lot of Mexican laborers would come. It was right down in a part of town where there was tons of music that would come up from Mexico....So I really grew up with a great love of the kind of rancheros and conjunto kind of norteno [northern] music that came from the ranches, the working class music of Mexico." From the West Texas flatlands to the Netherlands, Ely has garnered a loyal, international following. The nomadic musician may sing of a romantic world of days gone by, but he keeps a keen eye on the future. Since the early 1980s he's kept all his songs on a computer and now maintains a World Wide Web site to keep fans apprised of his comings and goings. This Renaissance man in cowboy boots never misses a beat.

http://rapidshare.com/files/48607519/Joe_Ely_Austin_City_Limits.rar