Billy Eli writes tight, lean songs played with an inviting groove His songs of love, longing, the road, and getting by are, in his words, sometimes happy, sometimes sad.
His first album, “Something’s Going On,” released in 1994, garnered strong reviews, a cult following in Europe, and a couple of years of enthusiastic touring to happy crowds, But shortly after the release of that album, his twins were born, including a son who was diagnosed with autism at the age of three. Billy’s decision to stick close to home because of his son’s needs , followed by marriage and the acquisition of two stepchildren, one with cerebral palsy a few years later, kept his performing career to a limited number of shows a year. He continued to write and record, releasing two albums in 2000 and 2003. In 2011 he released his fourth album and went back to touring full time. That album, “Hell Yeah!” spent 16 weeks on the Root-Rock chart, reaching as high as number 14, and was listed at #67 on the Top 100 Roots-Country albums of 2011.
His current release, “The UnExplainable Billy Eli,” pulls painfully raw emotions from his gut and turns them into haunting, affecting, melody-driven songs. The themes begun in his earlier work continue here, deeper, stronger, and with the sense of urgency that comes when you begin to sense the downhill side of the journey.
A more personal, darker take on Eli’s recurring themes of loss, regret, and moving on, these 11 tunes include collaborations with producer Doug Robinson, Ken Stringfellow (Posies, REM), and Rosie Flores (the Rockabilly Filly). Eli’s honky tonk roots are still evident in many of the tracks, but there are also haunting melodies and memorable stories.