SIDETRACKS & DETOURS 3 1 2026: Joe Ely, Raul Malo & Brian Wilson

SIDETRACKS AND DETOURS 3 / 1 / 2026

2025 stole away with

Joe Ely & Raul Malo

MAVERICKS AND MUSICIANS ALL

My co-writing buddy in Sidetracks & Detours , Peter Pearson, and I have fallen into the habit of sharing any news Americana that we find on line or social media which we feel the other might have missed. Although the answer is usually yep, seen that, the practce is simply a mechanism designed to ensure we each have as wide a reference book as possible from which to contruct our articles. Thus it was, however, that I learned the sad news that 2025 has stolen away Americana artists, Joe Ely and Raul Malo.

Peter e mailed this week me to say

Just learned Joe Ely has died.-78. I was- until I heard about his diagnosis -hoping he might still appear over here. I remember his gig at  The Hop and Grape when he toured the Letter to Laredo Album. A fantastic night. Contrast that with the first time I saw him there circa 1979. I think there might have been no more than a dozen of us in a stand up room at the University. He delivered a great performance in spite of the attendance. I think it was probably only Manchester subscribers to Omaha Rainbow that were there.

This came days after the the death of Raul Malo at only 60. A great acoustic performer as well as Mavericks frontman.

As these deaths occured around the change of the year it seems appropriate to place the following two articles as soon as possible to register teir passing.

RAUL MALO

Raul Malo (left) has died, at the ridiculously young age of 60.  The son of Cuban emigrants who could sing virtually anything with ease and conviction will no longer grace us with his heavenly tones, having succumbed to severe complications from colon cancer that he publicly disclosed in June 2024.  So it is perhaps fortunate that he leaves an extensive and important body of work, both with The Mavericks and solo. In total, there are 14 group albums, including 3 live albums and one Christmas album, and 11 solo outings, including the two collaborations,  Los Super Seven and The Nashville Acoustic Sessions. He also lent his talents to a number of other artists’ albums. Over the years, he proved to be an excellent songwriter but was especially adept as an interpreter of many artists’ songs, and he invested every song he covered with a certain gold dust, whatever the style.

He was born in Miami to Cuban immigrant parents and in his teenage years played in local bands, in mostly punk or pop venues. He had learned to play the guitar, though his guitar playing skills developed as time went on until he produced a signature sound on most of the later albums, a deep baritone guitar sound that was quite distinctive. He met Robert Reynolds, who played bass locally and together with a friend of Reynolds’, Paul Deakin, they established The Mavericks in 1989. A year later he let loose his formidable vocal chops on their self-titled album that was met with critical acclaim and is probably the most out and out country album that y recorded. Tracks like ‘Mr Jones’ and ‘A Better Way’ used classic country chords, Miami-style, with Malo’s voice (which had little or no country twang) soaring over the instrumentation. The nearest equivalent to Malo’s voice was Roy Orbison, with whom he was often compared (see video below – apologies for first 90 seconds but it is worth the wait! – on a song that he sang live many times but never recorded)

They were signed to MCA Nashville and even with their second album, began to show signs of a slight move away from the classic country of their first album. “From Hell to Paradise” was mostly country, with covers of Harlan Howard and Hank Williams songs, and refined re-recordings of the two above-mentioned tracks from their first album, but included songs which traced back his roots, about abused children (‘Children’) and the story of their parents’ migration from Cuba (the title track, with its iconic line “this 90 mile trip has taken 30 years to make”).

Now on a roll, their third, and most commercially successful, album was “What a Crying Shame”, a more sophisticated production on which most of the songs were co-writes lending the album a vibe that mixed their country roots with something of a pop sheen.

“Music for All Occasions” followed, and then “Trampoline” (with its standout Dance The Night Away), each album increasingly moving away from a purely country sound to include soul, pop, and particularly Latin influences. On every album, Malo’s voice was invariably the talking point, and during a break in recording as a band, Malo performed solo (with an orchestra) many songs from The Great American Songbook, a period of time that cemented his reputation as one of the great vocalists of his generation. As they moved towards more Latin and pop sounds, country music basically left them and their run of nominations for Grammys, ACMA and CMA awards dried up, but Malo’s voice maybe proved to be more suited to the new sounds that the group were producing.  In 2000, as success diminished somewhat and disputes arose between the band members, with each other and with their record company, the decision was made to disband and Malo embarked on a solo career which took his music in several different directions.

He released a run of albums during the 2000s that demonstrated, if it was not already known, his ability to tackle and succeed in virtually any musical style, starting with “Today”, in which his Roy Orbison comparisons were probably at their height on an album of largely 1950s/1960s pop-oriented songs with some country influences . “You’re only Lonely” was a spectacular covers album, “After Hours” had a late night appeal with jazzy interpretations of country classics, “Lucky One” was a melange of styles while “Saints and Sinners” was much more Louisiana-style roots music. He even delivered a Christmas  album, an album of children’s songs, a country collaboration called “The Nashville Acoustic Sessions”, and an instrumental album that demonstrated his guitar and arrangement skills: he reformed The Mavericks with original members Paul Deakin and Robert Reynolds, along with the extraordinary talents of pianist Jerry Dale McFadden and (their fourth) guitarist Eddie Perez in 2012 (a temporary comeback that yielded a greatest hits album and a well-received, though commercially unsuccessful, self-titled studio album had been attempted in 2003 but they broke up again a year later).

So began another run of timeless albums varying in style, their popularity regenerated by a fan base that had tracked Malo’s solo albums, hoping no doubt for a proper band re-uniting. “In Time” was all Malo writes or co-writes including one of their most-played tracks ‘Back in your arms again’, and the group’s first track in Spanish (apart from the tail end of the track ‘From Hell to Paradise‘). Any semblance of classic country had disappeared from their sound, but their various roots music qualified as americana and their next album ‘Mono’ was nominated for a Grammy for Best Americana Album; they recorded a highly regarded album entirely in Spanish (Malo had included Spanish language songs on a number of his solo albums and this album addressed his Cuban roots); they recorded live albums and finally, in 2024, the superb “Moon and Stars”, one of their most critically acclaimed albums. They appeared to be on a significant roll, incredibly popular even if not commercially so successful, and then came the announcement of Malo’s diagnosis.

During COVID Malo released an album of songs recorded at home due to lockdown restrictions that, despite its lo-fi recording technique, once again demonstrated the range of his singing voice, As lead singer, significant instrumentalist and songwriter of The Mavericks, there is no question that the group operated in his own image and whether it will continue is debatable. His voice was the main instrument of the band. We should rejoice in the body of work that includes such a range of musical styles – country, rock’n’roll, Tejano, pop, soul, Tex-Mex, lounge, jazz and so on.  He is gone far too soon and leaves a wife of 34 years, Betty, and three children to whom we send our condolences.

JOE ELY

To thousands of fans and music lovers, he was the Bruce Springsteen of Texas, the country icon of punk, the rock ‘n roll heart of country, and the envy of any singer, songwriter, and guitar player out there that knew their stuff. He was never confined by a particular genre. Indeed, he seemed to cover every genre all at the same time, on nearly all his albums, or to be more precise, perhaps, even in every song: That applies to his own compositions as well as those songs he plucked from  one genre and transported them to another. He was a brilliant and sought-after collaborator, being an incredibly accomplished solo artist who always contributed..

He was someone who made it through 78 years in the belly of the dingy brothel that is the American music industry with every stitch of his dignity and integrity in tact. He was Joe Ely, (left) and news of his passing pierces the soul like a dagger, only to be tempered by the flood of fond recollections of his music and performances.

Joe Ely was born on February 9th, 1947 in Amarillo, and became the embodiment of music from West Texas. This includes country and rock song-writing as an strong imperative, Tejano when it’s called for, all combined in a tornadic energy that could give birth to Buddy Holly, Waylon Jennings, Terry Allen et al

There were few if any musical scenarios where Ely was outmatched. He could hang with The Clash, and sang background on the band’s iconic “Should I Stay Or Should I Go?” He was part of the Hispanic supergroup Los Super Seven with Freedy Fender, Flaco Jiménez, and even won a Grammy award with them in 1999. He performed with bands like Uncle Tupelo and The Chieftains, to “The Boss” Bruce Springsteen himself.

But it all started back in Lubbock, with two fellow West Texas musicians, Jimmie Dale Gilmore and Butch Hancock. Together, they were The Flatlanders (right). They recorded an album back in 1972 before breaking up shortly thereafter. But the damage had been done. The mystique would follow the three throughout their careers as they would continue to collaborate, even if it really took until 2002 for them to officially reform.

Though everyone wanted to play with Joe—and he was the last to want the spotlight to himself—his solo career was strong. Ely released 21 total solo albums, starting in 1977 with his self-titled release, up to Love and Freedom released on February 7th, 2025. He never really hit the big time, but he refused to slip through the cracks. He might have not been a superstar to the gen pop, but many of his fellow musicians got goosebumps to see him perform, or if so lucky, take the stage with him.

Joe Ely was a Texas music institution. The music scene in Lubbock and Austin, the sound of Texas country, the swagger it all comes with can be traced back to Joe Ely resolutely. In 2016, Ely was named the official “Texas State Musician.” In 2022, he was inducted to the Austin City Limits Hall of Fame. He was also part of the 2025 American Music Honors, administrated by Bruce Springsteen’s Archives & Center for American Music.

Earlier this year ahead of his new album, word came down that Joe was in sever decline.

According to an official release from his family, Joe Ely passed away on Monday, December 15th “from complications of Lewy Body Dementia, Parkinson’s and pneumonia. His beloved wife Sharon and daughter Marie were at his side at their home in Taos, New Mexico.”

Joe Ely is gone, and the story of The Flatlanders now reads, “And then they were two.” But as sure as the West Texas wind numbs the face when it turns from the North, the legacy of Joe Ely will howl on.

My own abiding memory of Joe Ely is that he who intoduced me to Tex Mex food, way back in the nineties when I met him somehwere on a Yorkshire road to conduct an interview with Tom Russell, Andrew Hardin, and Joe himself who were touring the UK together. Joe had somehow managed to find the ingredients and was somehow making fahitas and jalapinos that were hot, hot, hot !!! As we ate Joe Ely told me new legends, lies and lullabyes about Texas music and folklore. Every time I have a TExMex meal I hink of Joe and his stories.

Only a fortnight or so after the death of the two artists above the almost closed year of 2025 gathered up another incredible musician. Brian Wilson was the leader of The Beach Boys, who created some songs that were as profound as those by The Beatles. At a time in my life (I´d have been about 14) when I could decide to follow The Beatles down to Penny Lane or Strawberry Fields I couldn´t help but run off down to the beach with Wilsdons and freinds as soon as they said ¨´Let´s Go Surfing Now´. I couldn´t sur and i never landed on those beaches but I much enjoyed Sloop John B, Wouldn´t It Be Nice and Good Vibrations that took me to the American Musaic I still love today.

BRIAN WILSON

Brian Wilson, one of the founding members of The Beach Boys, has died at the age of 82. He was their chief songwriter during the band’s most productive and popular period

Wilson grew up in a musical family: his mother played piano and his father was a member of a barbershop quartet. In his early teenage years, Brian was already writing songs and playing the piano. In 1961, he formed The Beach Boys with his brothers, Carl Wilson (1946–1998) and Dennis Wilson (1944––1983), and his cousins, Mike Love and Al Jardine. The band’s first hit, Surfin’, came the following year and helped define the California era of catchy songs about chasing girls and living life at the beach, all with layered harmonies.

Not only was Brian Wilson the group´s songwriter, singer-pianist but also  the creative force behind many of the band’s most famous songs, including God Only Knows, Wouldn’t It Be Nice, and Good Vibrations. He also produced the band’s records, bringing in new sounds and techniques that were ahead of their time.

The 1966 album,  Pet Sounds, was a defining album of the era and is now considered, alongside Seargent Pepper´s Lonely Hearts Club Band, by The Beatles, as one of the most influential in pop music history. Its layered production techniques and complex arrangements drew aspirant followers in their wake, but only Queen, a generation later, were able to almost touch the high bar set by the two aforementioned albums..

Wilson started work on an ambitious project called Smile, the intended follow-up to the hugely successful Pet Sounds. However, the album was never completed due to his declining mental health and other factors and was only released well into this 21^st Century.

Wilson’s struggles with his mental health led to his role in the band being severely diminished by the late 1960s, until he played barely any role at all. By the 1970s he was barely present, and by the ’80s he wasn’t a part of the band at all. During this time, his business and creative relationship with psychologist Eugene Landy (1934–2006) stirred controversy, due to Landy’s insistence on taking a portion of Wilson’s copyrights and royalties. Landy was often credited as a co-writer on Wilson’s new work, despite having little to no involvement.

Despite the situation, Wilson continued to make music, both as a solo artist and with other collaborators. He released a self-titled album in 1988, which was well-received by critics. Around this time, he met Melinda Kae Ledbetter (1946–2024) at a Cadillac dealership in California. The pair began a relationship. Landy ordered Brian to cut ties with her, but after an investigation, a 1991 court order barred Landy from contacting Wilson, their controversial partnership was severed, and Wilson and Melinda married in 1995. The pair adopted five children.

Melinda Wilson is credited with helping Brian get the care he needed, and in turn re-starting his musical career, including writing new music and touring. Wilson also collaborated with artists such as Van Dyke Parks, Jeff Beck (1944–2023), and Burt Bacharach (1928–2023). In 2004, he released “Brian Wilson Presents Smile,” a reimagining of the “Smile” project that he had started decades earlier. The album received critical acclaim and cemented his status as a musical legend.

He briefly reunited with the Beach Boys for a 2012 tour, and in 2016 did a world tour for the 50th anniversary of Pet Sounds.  Wilson continued to perform until 2022, when health concerns cut a tour short. Shortly thereafter, his daughter, Carnie Wilson (of the band Wilson Phillips) said her father would not be touring again.

Over the course of his career, Wilson sold millions of records, was nominated for nine Grammys (winning two), and was inducted into numerous Halls of Fame, including the Songwriters Hall of Fame and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, among many other accolades. He released two memoirs, Wouldn’t It Be Nice: My Own Story, which he later disowned, and I Am Brian Wilson: A Memoir.”

He is widely considered a great genius of 1960s music and popular music overall.

The first chapter of

SONGWRITERS AND INVISIBLE ANGELS

by Peter Pearson & Norman Warwick

will be published tomorrow,

SUNDAY 4TH JANUARY 2026