Roky Erickson, Psych Rock Pioneer And Leader Of The 13th Floor Elevators, Dead At 71

Gabriel Olsen/Getty Images – Roky Erickson

Roky Erickson, former lead singer and songwriter for the 13th Floor Elevators as well as a prodigious solo performer, died today (May 31) in Austin, Texas, at 71.

Erickson’s death was confirmed to Variety by his brother, Mikel.  No cause of death was given. 

To say he was a practitioner of psychedelia would be an understatement. Erickson and the 13th Floor Elevators were pioneers of psychedelic rock inspired by his favorite horror and sci-fi movies, marked by loud, revved-up guitars and influenced by LSD and mental illness that caused him to be hospitalized multiple times in the 1970s and ‘80s.

Despite his challenges, Erickson mounted a successful touring career in the 2000s that continued into this year, with two shows, billed as “Roky Erickson – Performing Easter Everywhere plus other 13th Floor Elevators Classics” in April at The Chapel, a 500-capacity independent venue in San Francisco. He’d performed a well-received set at the city’s Hardly Strictly Bluegrass festival the previous October.

See: Roky Erickson’s Hardly Strictly Bluegrass performance

That festival appearance was part of an October-November tour for Erickson that included a traditional, for him, Halloween show at the 13th Annual NY Night Train Haunted Hop in Maspeth, Queens., which sold 1,998 tickets and grossed $49,135. Other stops on that final tour included the Black Cat in Washington, D.C., Teragram Ballroom in Los Angeles, The Roxy Theater in West Hollywood, Calif.; The Casbah in San Diego, Lee’s Palace in Toronto and Lincoln Theater in Chicago.

In its early heyday, 13th Floor Elevators released four albums including classics The Psychedelic Sounds of the 13th Floor Elevators  and Easter Everywhere between 1966 and 1969 before breaking up in part because of Erickson’s increasing drug intake and bouts with mental illness. He reportedly spent several years in and out of Austin and Houston psychiatric hospitals, and underwent involuntary electroshock therapy.

The band’s signature hit, “You’re Gonna Miss Me,” recorded in 1966, is considered a garage ro, masterpiece and was featured on Lenny Kaye’s 1972 compilation Nuggets. It’s also the title of a 2007 documentary depicting Erickson’s mental health struggles.

In between hospitalizations, Erickson released solo singles carrying on his favorite themes: “Red Temple Prayer (Two Headed Dog),” “The Interpreter,” “Starry Eyes,” “Bermuda,” and “Don’t Slander Me” among them, as well as albums including a reissue of Roky Erickson and the Aliens.

 “Erickson had a visionary zeal rarely seen in 1965 when he co-founded the 13th Floor Elevators,” a statement from Erickson’s management to Austin360.com read. “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.”