A country music pioneer who collaborated with Bruce Springsteen has died. Joe Ely died Monday at his home in New Mexico after a battle with Lewy Body Dementia, Parkinson’s disease and pneumonia, his family announced via Facebook. He was 78.

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Bruce Springsteen has always been a vocal fan of Joe Ely, the progressive Texas country legend who mixed country music with rock on albums like Honky Tonk Masquerade, was a member of the cult favorite band the Flatlanders, and even toured with the Clash. Ely died Monday at 78 after a long illness.

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The Flatlanders founder succumbed to complications of Lewy Body Dementia, Parkinson's disease and pneumonia at his New Mexico home.

Joe Ely, a Grammy-winning country artist and Texas music legend, has died. He was 78. Ely died at his home in Taos, New Mexico from complications of Lewy Body Dementia, Parkinson’s and pneumonia, according to a Dec. 15 post on Ely’s official Facebook page.

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Ely's estate announced in a statement on Facebook that he died from complications of Lewy Body Dementia, Parkinson's and pneumonia. Born in Amarillo in 1947 and raised in Lubbock, the ACL Hall of Famer became a leader among Lubbock artists to settle in Austin in the 1970s and 80s, where he became a fixture in the city's vibrant live music scene.