Roky Erickson, The Lead Vocalist Of The 13th Floor Elevators, Dies At 71 In Austin
The Lead Vocalist Of The 13th Floor Elevators, Roky Erickson, Has Died On Friday. He Was 71 Years Old.
- Roky Erickson, has died on Friday, 31st May in Austin.
- Erickson was 71 years old.
- His brother Mikel to Bill Bentley confirmed the death news.
- The exact cause of his death is not disclosed.
- Erickson’ career was cut short because of his debilitating mental illness.
American singer-songwriter Roky Erickson, who was the founding member of The 13th Floor Elevators, is no more. He pa s sed away at the age of 71 on 31st May, Friday.
Erickson died in Austin. The exact cause of his death is not disclosed.
His brother Mikel to Bill Bentley confirmed the death news. Mikel has produced the 1990 Erickson tribute album “Where the Pyramid Meets the Eye” that included performances by ZZ Top, R.E.M., Doug Sahm, and many other stars.
He said:
Roky lived in so many worlds, you couldn’t keep up with him. He lived so much, and not always on this planet.
Erickson’ career was cut short because of his debilitating mental illness. He spent years in a Texas mental hospital.
His battle with mental illness was recorded in the affecting 2007 doc u mentary “You’re Gonna Miss Me.”
Celebrities like Natasha Lyonne, Mark Lanegan, Jeremy D. Larson, Jason P. Woodbury, and Mike Mills have offered condolences to the late singer.
Spent a lot of time with Roky in Austin once upon a time. Always such a huge fan of this legend who will be deeply missed. “At one time, I had it notarised that I was from another planet. By a lawyer.”
-Roky Erickson https://t.co/C6h4UDmQ6n— natasha lyonne (@nlyonne) June 1, 2019
Devastated to hear of Roky Erickson's pa s sing. One of the reasons I began singing. A huge inspiration and giant in the history of rock. I used to call him every day in the 80's, he would actually pick up once every couple months and talk horror films with me. Such a loss. RIP pic.twitter.com/6HE4HHsZnS
— mark lanegan (@marklanegan) May 31, 2019
All the cultural notoriety that went to Jim Morrison should have belonged to Roky Erickson
— Jeremy D. Larson (@jeremydlarson) May 31, 2019
I don't think any one person invented psychedelic rock, but if someone did, it was #RokyErickson. RIP. pic.twitter.com/UmaaRu9eI6
— Jason P. Woodbury (@jasonpwoodbury) May 31, 2019
Well, f** K. R.I.P., Roky. #RokyErickson #IWalkedWithAZombie
— Mike Mills (@m_millsey) May 31, 2019
Roky Erickson, who was born Roger Kynard Erickson on 15th July 1947, started his professional career in 1964. He was keenly interested in music from a very young age. He started playing piano at the age of five and took up guitar at ten.
In the later 1965, Erickson co-founded the band, the 13th Floor Elevators where he and bandmate Tommy Hall were the main songwriters.
During his musical career that spanned over half a century, Erickson had released several albums like The Evil One, All That May Do My Rhyme, Casting the Runes, Easter Everywhere, Don’t Slander Me, Halloween, Bull of the Woods, Never Say Goodbye, and many others.
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