Bio Full Biography »

The 1990 compilation of the Flatlanders' entire recorded history wasn't called More a Legend Than a Band for nothing. Although the Lubbock, TX-based group had the worst business luck this side of Badfinger and never did manage a full-fledged release of their unique take on traditional country music during their early-'70s existence, the three key members -- Jimmie Dale Gilmore, Joe Ely, and Butch Hancock -- went on to become three of Texas' most respected singer/songwriters. Lubbock, a smallish college town in the middle of the cotton-growing flatlands of the West Texas panhandle, is both a fiercely traditional bastion of conservative values and, thanks to the surprisingly good liberal arts departments at Texas Tech University (and a relative lack of outside artistic influences), a place where creatively minded people can develop a unique and original style all their own. The Flatlanders embodied both sides of this dichotomy, which is what made their music so endlessly fascinating. Th...