Psychedelic ROCK icon ROKY ERICKSON dead at 71

03 June 2019

Roky Erickson, frontman with ‘60s psychedelic rock pioneers the 13TH FLOOR ELEVATORS, has died at the age of 71, his family confirmed. No cause was given.

Underappreciated during the four-year period in which they released three studio albums and one live LP, the Texan band’s reputation had been re-evaluated afterwards. They’re probably best known for 1966 singles 'You’re Gonna Miss Me' and 'Reverberation (Doubt),' while Erickson’s song 'If You Have Ghosts' was notably covered by Swedish band GHOST in 2013.

Erickson was arrested in 1969 for possession of marijuana and spent three years in a prison hospital for the criminally insane, where he was exposed to electric shock therapy from which friends say he never recovered. Afterwards he struggled with his mental health for years, and at one point brother Sumner Erickson was assigned to be his legal guardian.

He continued to make music as his health allowed, releasing 18 studio albums with his bands THE ALIENS and THE RESSURECTIONISTS, and as a solo artist. His work was celebrated on 1990 tribute album Where the Pyramid Meets the Eye, which featured ZZ TOP, PRIMAL SCREAM, Julian Cope, R.E.M. and others.