Voting Station

Roky Erickson

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Vocalist

The Resume

    (July 15, 1947-May 31, 2019)
    Born in Austin, Texas
    Birth name was Roger Kynard Erickson
    Singer, songwriter, guitarist and harmonica player
    Member of the 13th Floor Elevators
    With the Elevators, recorded the single 'You're Gonna Miss Me' (1966)
    Solo recorded the albums 'Roky Erickson and the Aliens' (1980), 'The Evil One' (1981), 'Don't Slander Me' (1986), 'Casting the Runes' (1987), 'Openers' (1988), 'Beauty and the Beast' (1993), 'All That May Do My Rhyme' (1995) and 'True Love Cast Out All Evil' (2010)

Why he might be annoying:

    He dropped out of high school a month before graduation rather than cut his hair to conform with the dress code.
    He abused heroin, LSD and other hallucinogens.
    He began speaking gibberish in the middle of a concert, and was subsequently diagnosed as a paranoid schizophrenic (1968).
    His career has been frequently interrupted by mental and legal troubles.
    He became convinced his body was inhabited by a Martian, and had a statement that he was an alien officially notarized (1982).
    He became obsessed with the mail, spending hours going over his junk mail, and was eventually arrested for mail theft (1989).
    He lost his teeth to years of neglect.

Why he might not be annoying:

    He and the other members of the 13th Floor Elevators were repeatedly harassed by the police over their advocacy of illegal drugs.
    When he was busted for possession of a single marijuana joint, he was threatened with a ten-year prison sentence (1969).
    To avoid prison, he pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity, which resulted in his spending three years in a state hospital for the criminally insane, where he was subjected to forced electroshock treatment.
    His life gained some stability after his younger brother Sumner became his legal guardian (2001).
    For the tribute album 'Where the Pyramid Meets the Eye,' his songs were covered by artists such as REM, the Butthole Surfers and ZZ Top.
    'Trouser Press' wrote, '[His] genius lies in an uncanny ability to turn his psychic struggles into compelling music that, at its best, is both profoundly unsettling and strangely accessible.'

Credit: C. Fishel


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    In 2023, Out of 8 Votes: 12.50% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 4 Votes: 25.00% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 81 Votes: 59.26% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 81 Votes: 51.85% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 208 Votes: 54.33% Annoying
    In 2018, Out of 1 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 3 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2016, Out of 43 Votes: 62.79% Annoying
    In 2015, Out of 51 Votes: 74.51% Annoying
    In 2014, Out of 7 Votes: 57.14% Annoying