Roky Erickson is an American psychedelic rock musician, singer-songwriter, guitarist and harmonica player from Dallas, United States. Born Roger Kynard Erickson in 1947 and dying in 2019, he is best known as a founding member of the 13th Floor Elevators, a group associated with the early use of the word “psychedelic” to describe rock music.

Career

Erickson is active in rock, garage rock, blues rock and contemporary folk, with his work spanning psychedelic rock and singer-songwriter material. He forms part of the 13th Floor Elevators line-up and is also associated with The Spades, Roky Erickson and the Aliens, Roky Erickson & Evil Hook Wildlife E.T., Roky Erickson & Blieb Alien, and Roky Erickson and the Resurrectionists. He also appears in connection with Roky Erickson & The Explosives.

Background

He is from Austin, Texas in some accounts of his career, and his life and work are marked by severe personal and legal difficulties. In 1969, the 13th Floor Elevators are arrested for possession of marijuana, and Erickson is held at Rusk State Hospital for the Criminally Insane, where he is reported to receive electroshock therapy and Thorazine among other treatments. His brother Sumner Erickson later becomes his legal guardian in 2001, after which an improvement in his condition is reported and he returns to live performance.

Documentary

A documentary titled You're gonna miss me covers his life, including his schizophrenia, his incarceration for possession of a joint, and his family background.