The nation lost one of it's wonderfully cracked geniuses on Friday. Roger Kynard "Roky" Erickson passed away at the age of 71.
Roky first came to (somewhat) national fame as the singer of the 13th Floor Elevators when their single, "You're Gonna Miss Me" reached number 55 on the US pop charts in 1966. The album the song was taken from their debut The Psychedelic Sounds of the 13th Floor Elevators title was purported to be the first use of the word "psychedelic" to describe a band's song.
In 1967, the Elevators released their 2nd album Easter Everywhere. Hailed by many as the band's most focused and best album, when I first heard about Roky's passing, the first song that I wanted to listen was "Dust" from that album. The haunting beauty in Roky's voice is absolutely stirring.
In the years following, he was arrested for possessing a single doobie, suffered from mental illness, was subjected to electroconvulsive therapy and Thorazine treatments and declared himself space alien, almost faced jail for a second time for stealing mail and in his later years, finally got on proper meds making him a somewhat self sufficient person again. All the while, sporadically releasing records. Some of them are classics.
If you want to see a great film on Roky, check out You're Gonna Miss Me.
What are you listening to tonight?
