Joe was born December 21, 1955, in the Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany. His father, a native Texan, returned back to Texas upon his retirement from the United States Army when Joe was 10 years old.

The family settled on the banks of the Pine Island Bayou just outside of Beaumont, Texas. Little Joey spent many nights out in his backyard listening to music that seemed to float along on top of the bayou's moonlit current. The music originated from a beer joint simply named the F...