A singer/songwriter who was active for nearly 20 years before receiving any significant recognition. During those two decades, Gelb released an abundance of material at the helm of his group, Giant Sand, presenting a highly original take on Southwestern roots and garage rock, but suffered from inadequate promotion and distribution from a number of independent labels.

By the late 1990s, however, people finally began to take notice of a group of musicians gathering in Tucson, Arizona. Gelb and Giant Sand had spawned a number of side projects including OP8 (Giant Sand plus Lisa Germano), Calexico and the Friends of Dean Martinez.

Howe Gelb formed the first incarnation of Giant Sand (then, the Giant Sandworms) in 1980 with longtime friend Rainer Ptacek. The group underwent numerous personnel changes until 1988, when Gelb had settled briefly on a trio of bassist Paula Brown (his first wife who had joined in 1987) and drummer John Convertino. While Gelb and Brown parted ways in 1989, Convertino eventually made up one third of Giant Sand's most consistent lineup.

The final ingredient came in 1991 with the addition of Joey Burns, recording several albums that alternated pulsating rock with dusty acoustic etchings. In the years that followed, the story of Giant Sand's extended family grew increasingly complex. Convertino and Burns launched their duo project Calexico and co-founded the Friends of Dean Martinez. Gelb laid relatively low, releasing live and outtake material and occasional contributions.

By the late 1990s, Gelb was becoming less reliant on Giant Sand as an outlet and launched his own Ow Om label. He spent a great deal of the early 2000s touring and working on collaborations with others, including M. Ward.