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Psychedelic pioneer Roky Erickson of The 13th Floor Elevators is no more. He died on May 31, at the age of 71.

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.’

Roger Kynard Erickson was born in 1947, and was among the most influential musicians originating fom Austin, Texas. He was a founding member of The 13th Floor Elevators, whose two first albums ‘The Psychedelic Sounds Of The 13th Floor Elevators‘ (1966) & ‘Easter Everywhere‘ (1967) are considered among the landmarks of psychedelic music. Personal favorites ‘You’re Gonna Miss Me‘ & ‘Roller Coaster‘ are two of the tracks that have shaped my music taste, if not life.

The Elevators disbanded pretty soon, and a few years after as  Roky Erickson And The Aliens, the psychedelic Guru released his debut in 1980. Under this moniker, but also as just like Roky Erickson, he released numerous releases leaving his eternal landmark in the psychedelic music chapters.

Jump on that Roller Coaster, Roky is gonna lift you up….. And, to divert one of your tracks, we defo are gonna miss you, “crazy harmonica man”!

Christos Doukakis

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