Joe Ely

Joe Ely, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (died 2025)

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Born: February 9, 1947
Died: December 15, 2025
Zodiac sign: Aquarius
Birth year: 1947

About Joe Ely

Joe Ely (; February 9, 1947 – December 15, 2025) was an American singer, songwriter and guitarist. He was "one of the main movers" of Austin, Texas's progressive country scene in the 1970s and 1980s. Ely had a genre-crossing career, performing with Bruce Springsteen, Uncle Tupelo, Los Super Seven, The Chieftains, James McMurtry, The Clash, Lyle Lovett, John Hiatt, and Guy Clark. Ely's first, self-titled album, was released in 1977. Joe Strummer planned to record with Ely's band but died before that happened, which was one of Ely's greatest regrets.

Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.

The world when Joe Ely was born

Joe Ely was born in 1947. The year snapshot below places that birthday in its cultural and historical setting: the music and films people were following, the headlines shaping public life, and the everyday prices families encountered.

Culture in 1947

#1 song"Near You" – Francis Craig
Top movieMiracle on 34th Street
Top TV showHowdy Doody
Best-selling bookThe Diary of a Young Girl – Anne Frank

Headlines and milestones

Major sports momentJackie Robinson breaks baseball's color barrier
Top headlineJackie Robinson breaks Major League Baseball's color barrier
Technology milestoneTransistor invented at Bell Labs
Defining fadFlying saucer mania
Notable inventionPolaroid instant camera
World population2.47 billion

United States snapshot

U.S. leaderHarry S. Truman
Sports championNew York Yankees (World Series)
Also wonPhiladelphia Warriors (BAA)
U.S. population144.1M

1947 versus 2026

These figures put everyday life in Joe Ely's birth year beside the site's latest United States snapshot.

Measure	1947	2026
Gas	$0.23	$3.45/gal
Average home	$7,800	$435,000
Average income	$4,700	$67,500
Minimum wage	$0.40	$7.25/hr (federal)
Movie ticket	$0.40	$11.95
Postage stamp	$0.03	$0.73
Population	144.1M	341 million

Sources and editorial standards

This profile combines a biographical source with structured birthday and historical context. Sources recorded for this profile: Wikipedia, MusicBrainz, Wikidata. See our editorial policy for sourcing, corrections, and review standards.

Read the source biography on Wikipedia. Wikipedia text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.