J. J. Cale

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J. J. Cale

Background information
Birth name	John W. Cale
Born	December 5, 1938 (1938-12-05) (age 69)
Origin	Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA
Genre(s)	Cajun Blues Swamp rock
Occupation(s)	Singer-songwriter
Instrument(s)	Guitar, piano, keyboards, bass guitar, drums
Years active	1958–present
Website	www.jjcale.com

J. J. Cale (born John W. Cale on December 5, 1938, in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma) is a Grammy Award-winning American songwriter and musician best known for writing two songs that Eric Clapton made famous, "After Midnight" and "Cocaine", as well as the Lynyrd Skynyrd hit "Call Me The Breeze". Some sources incorrectly give his real name as "Jean Jacques Cale". According to keyboard player, Rocky Frisco, "The 'Jean Jaques' crap was created by a drunk French 'journalist' who got thrown out of the venue and made a lot of crap up to pretend he had done an interview". In fact, a Sunset Strip nightclub owner employing Cale in the mid-1960s came up with the "J.J." moniker to avoid confusion with the Velvet Underground's John Cale.^[1] In the 2006 documentary, To Tulsa and Back: On Tour with J. J. Cale, Rocky Frisco tells the same version of the story mentioning the other John Cale but without further detail.

Cale is one of the originators of the Tulsa Sound, a very loose genre drawing on blues, rockabilly, country, and jazz influences. Cale's personal style has often been described as "laid back", and is characterized by shuffle rhythms, simple chord changes, understated vocals, and clever, incisive lyrics. Cale is also a very distinctive and idiosyncratic guitarist, incorporating both Travis-like fingerpicking and gentle, meandering electric solos. His recordings also reflect his stripped-down, laid-back ethos; his album versions are usually quite succinct and often recorded entirely by Cale alone, using drum machines for rhythm accompaniment. Live, however, as evidenced on his 2001 Live album and 2006 To Tulsa And Back film, he and his band regularly stretch the songs out and improvise heavily.

Many artists, including Eric Clapton^[2]^[3] , Mark Knopfler^[3], Neil Young^{[citation needed]} and Bryan Ferry^{[citation needed]}, have noted Cale's influence on their music; several artists in addition to Clapton have made hits of Cale songs, and many more have covered them. Cale has often noted that he writes and records songs primarily so that other artists will cover them, but given the texturally sparse but fine craftsmanship on his albums, this sentiment is far from universal. His most covered songs include "Call Me the Breeze", "Sensitive Kind", "After Midnight", and "Cocaine".

Cale is also well known for his longstanding aversion to stardom, extensive touring, and even continual recording. He has happily remained a relatively obscure cult artist for the last 35 years.

The release of his album, To Tulsa and Back in 2004, his appearance at Clapton's Crossroads Guitar Festival, and the 2006 release of the film documentary, To Tulsa and Back: On Tour with J. J. Cale, have brought his understated discography and songwriting to a new audience. This mainstream exposure continued into late 2006 with the release of a collaborative album with Eric Clapton, The Road to Escondido, which won "Best Contemporary Blues Album" at the 50th Grammy Awards in 2008.

1 Discography
2 Cover songs
3 References
4 External links

[edit] Discography

1958 Shock Hop/Sneaky[45 - as Johnny Cale]
1960 Troubles, Troubles/Purple Onion[45 - as Johnny Cale Quintet]
1961 Ain't That Lovin You Baby/She's My Desire[45 - as Johnny Cale Quintet]
1966 A Trip Down The Sunset Strip (with the Leathercoated Minds)
1971 Naturally
1973 Really
1974 Okie
1976 Troubadour
1979 5
1980 Shades
1982 Grasshopper
1983 Number 8 with Steve Ripley, Jim Keltner...
1984 Special Edition (a compilation of hits from previous albums)
1990 Travel Log
1992 Number 10
1994 Closer To You
1996 Guitar Man
1997 Anyway the Wind Blows
1998 The Very Best of J. J. Cale
2000 Universal Masters Collection
2001 Live
2004 To Tulsa and Back
2006 Collected (with Bonus Tracks) (Dutch release only)
2006 The Road to Escondido
2007 Rewind: The Unreleased Recordings

[edit] Cover songs

Songs by Cale have been covered by the following artists:

Asha Puthli: "Right Down Here", "Lies"
Brad Absher: "The Sensitive Kind"
Chet Atkins: "After Midnight"
The Band: "Crazy Mama"
Band of Horses: "Thirteen Days"
The Barcodes: "Don't Go To Strangers"
Tom Barman (dEUS): "Magnolia" & "After Midnight"
Jimmy Boyd: "Will I Cry"
Brother Phelps: "Any Way the Wind Blows"
Captain Beefheart: "Same Old Blues"
Larry Carlton: "Crazy Mama"
Johnny Cash: "Call Me The Breeze"
Eric Clapton: "After Midnight", "Cocaine" (on Slowhand), "I'll Make Love To You Anytime", "Travelin' Light", "Any Way the Wind Blows" (with Cale on The Road to Escondido)
David Allen Coe: "Call Me The Breeze"
Clyde Cotton Band: "River Runs Deep"
Randy Crawford: "Cajun Moon"
Daddy's Favorite: "Let Me Do It To You"
Deep Purple: "Magnolia"
Dr. Feelgood: "No Time"
Dr. Hook: "Call Me The Breeze", "Clyde"
Jose Feliciano: "Magnolia"
Bryan Ferry: "Same Old Blues"
Fistula: "Cocaine"
Jerry Garcia Band: "After Midnight"
Clarence Gatemouth Brown: "Don't Cry Sister"
Waylon Jennings: "Call Me The Breeze", "Clyde, Louisiana Women"
Kalinov most: "Sensitive Kind" (with original Russian lyrics, as "Devochka letom" - "Girl in Summertime")
Kansas: "Bringing It Back"
Freddie King: "Same Old Blues"
David Kitt: "Magnolia"
Christine Lakeland "Borrowed Time", "Ain't Love Funny"
Lefay: "Cocaine"
Lynyrd Skynyrd: "Bringing It Back", "Call Me The Breeze", "Same Old Blues"
John Mayall: "The Sensitive Kind"
Sergio Mendes: "After Midnight"
moe.: "Call Me The Breeze"
Maria Muldaur: "Cajun Moon"
Nazareth: "Cocaine""
Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers: "Thirteen Days", Call Me The Breeze "
Poco: "Cajun Moon", "Magnolia"
Phish: "After Midnight", "Ain't Love Funny"
Toni Price: "Like You Used To"
The Radiators: "After Midnight, "Crazy Mama", "Magnolia"
Ramshackle: "Lies"
Redbone: "Crazy Mama"
Johnny Rivers: "Crazy Mama", "Don't Go To Strangers"
Santana: "The Sensitive Kind"
Merl Saunders with Jerry Garcia: "After Midnight"
Seldom Scene: "After Midnight"
Chris Smither: "Magnolia"
Spiritualized: "Call Me The Breeze" performed and recorded as "Run"
George Thorogood and the Destroyers: "Devil in Disguise"
Pat Travers: "Magnolia"
Widespread Panic: "Ride Me High" (on Live in the Classic City), "Travelin' Light" (live on Light Fuse, Get Away and studio version on Space Wrangler)
Bob Wilber Quintet: "After Midnight"
Wire: "After Midnight"
Bill Wyman and The Rhythm Kings: "Anyway The Wind Blows"