Legendary 13th Floor Elevators singer and psych pioneer Roky Erickson has just passed away.
Erickson, who founded and frontd the 13th Floor Elevators died at age 71, but a cause of death is yet to be confirmed.
“Roky Erickson, an heroic icon of modern rock & roll and one of the best friends the music ever had, died in Austin, Texas today,” a representative said in a statement to Pitchfork.
Erickson never wavered from that path, and while he faced incredible challenges at different points in his life, his courage always led him on to new musical adventures, one he continued without compromise his entire life. The family asks for privacy while they deal with the loss of a son, brother, husband and father.
Among other contemporary rock legends, Erickson always stood out, as a cut above the rest. In 2008, he performed a series of reunion concerts. They featured support from Texas psych band the Black Angels.
In 2015, 13th Floor Elevators reunited at Austin’s Levitation festival – the first time members of the original lineup had played together since 1967.
Read the full statement:
“Roky Erickson, an heroic icon of modern rock & roll and one of the best friends the music ever had, died in Austin, Texas today.
Born there on July 15, 1947, Erickson had a visionary zeal rarely seen in 1965 when he co-founded the 13th Floor Elevators.
The band’s original songs, many written with lyricist Tommy Hall, coupled with Erickson’s super-charged vocals and guitar sparked the psychedelic music revolution in the mid-1960s, and led to a new role of what rock could be.
Erickson never wavered from that path, and while he faced incredible challenges at different points in his life, his courage always led him on to new musical adventures, one he continued without compromise his entire life.
The family asks for privacy while they deal with the loss of a son, brother, husband and father.”
Watch Roky Erickson’s video for ‘Two Headed Dog’:
