In the annals of Austin music history, few acts parallel the mythic status of the 13th Floor Elevators, the Sixties trailblazers heralded as founders of psychedelic rock. Their success – and sanity – revolved around the labor of Clementine Hall, the so-called “sixth Elevator” and guardian angel over the rough-and-tumble group.
After moving from San Francisco to study English at UT-Austin, Hall met now ex-husband and founding Elevators member Tommy Hall, and the pair married in 1964. After the rock outfit formed in 1965, Hall spent her early 20s attempting to keep the Elevators out of trouble while simultaneously raising two children. In an intimate 2004 interview with the Chronicle, the matriarch said she was “married to a rock & roll band.”
“They would stay over an entire weekend high on LSD and just jam, jam, jam,” said Hall. “So, I was the one who provided food, bought the blankets to cover the asleep. The one who tried to clean house around them, which was damn near impossible.”
This year’s iteration of the annual Roky Erickson Ice Cream Social – on Saturday, July 15, from 7 to 10pm at Tweedy’s Bar – will serve as a release party for a tribute record highlighting 82-year-old Hall’s lyrical contributions to the group. The idea for the two-song, 7-inch vinyl can be traced to Freddie Steady Krc of fiery power-pop group the Explosives, which was sometimes fronted by Erickson. Krc intends on raising awareness of Hall’s impact.
After meeting through Erickson in 2007, Krc and Hall became fast friends. When Hall, now back home in California, fell on hard times, Krc brainstormed a plan of action to support the Elevators heroine.
“I go out to San Francisco on tour fairly frequently, and I always try to go see Clementine,” says Krc. “The last time I talked to her, she said that she was needing financial help.
“We suggested trying to do something on GoFundMe, and she said, ‘Oh, no, I don’t want charity.’ That’s when I got the idea – well, it wouldn’t be charity to sell records.”
Though it’s disputed amongst members, Hall said she came up with the band’s full name and later added the 13th Floor for her lucky number, in the 2020 book 13th Floor Elevators: A Visual History. On how her musical contributions to the band began, Hall offered in 2004: “I wasn’t a songwriter. I was working on a novel. Roky said, ‘You’re pretty articulate. Why don’t you write lyrics to some of my songs?’ I said I didn’t know how Tommy would feel about that, but Tommy said, ‘Roky’s working on a tune that I’m not interested in. Why don’t you see what you can do with that?'”
Their ensuing collaborations became two Elevators classics: “Splash 1,” off of the group’s seminal 1966 The Psychedelic Sounds of the 13th Floor Elevators, and “I Had to Tell You” from 1967’s Easter Everywhere. Krc re-recorded both tracks alongside a full band of seasoned Austin music veterans, including Asleep at the Wheel’s Floyd Domino, percussionist Mike Buck, Explosives bandmember Cam King, progressive country innovator Layton DePenning, and fiddle virtuoso Howard Kalish. Originally co-written and co-performed by Erickson and Hall, both singles are covered as duets by Krc and Austin blues guitar slinger Eve Monsees.
“If you really get to know the Elevators, and you know how Tommy, Roky, and Stacy Sutherland wrote, you can see that ‘Splash 1’ and ‘I Had to Tell You’ are very unique lyrically,” explains Krc. “There’s just something a little bit different about them that sets them apart, and that’s Clementine’s beautiful lyrics.”
Produced in collaboration with the Austin Museum of Popular Culture and longtime Elevators scholar Paul Drummond, the vinyl will debut alongside a live tribute set from Krc, Monsees, and friends. The 7-inch (with a psychedelic cover designed by Austin artist Billie Buck) runs at an affordable $15, while $100 deluxe versions containing Hall’s handwritten lyrics are available for superfans. All proceeds go directly to Hall.
For the foreseeable future, the record will only be available at Antone’s Record Shop, where co-owner Monsees prioritizes putting a spotlight on underappreciated local artists.
“For us at Antone’s, we take a lot of pride in promoting Texas music and supporting artists that we feel are very important,” says Monsees, who flawlessly interprets Hall’s soprano on both tracks. “We make a conscious effort to always have the Elevators’ music in the store, and Clementine is definitely part of that family, even though her name may not be the first one that people think of.
“Growing up in Austin, I was really fortunate to have people around me who mentioned the Elevators when I was just starting to pick up a guitar,” she continues. “Clementine is someone whose name doesn’t necessarily come up as frequently, so it’s important to not only help her out financially, but bring some awareness and credit to someone who’s often overlooked.”
This article appears in July 14 • 2023.