J.J. Cale

<<< Listen Now >>>

         

Singer + guitarist & songwriter J.J. Cale is an enigmatic character, a performer whose life-style, interests and music seem to be born out of another time. He has constantly shunned publicity, grants few interviews and any time devoted to talking about himself is short-lived. Born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma USA, on December 5, 1938, he was raised and went to school in Tulsa, others floating around the local Rock & Roll scene at that time included Russell Bridges, who reinvented himself as Leon Russell, Carl Radle and Jimmy Karstein, who later joined Cale's band. Everyone ended up in Los Angeles.
The rootsy rocker spent some mid-'60s time in the Sunset Blvd. clubs with Tulsa buddies; for J.J. Cale, L. A. meant some solid studio experience and during this time he wrote and recorded "After Midnight" around 1965; some five years later Eric Clapton turned the trick with it, in fact this was the first Rock & Roll Hall of Famer/Grammy-winner's U.S. top 20 hit.
In 1967 Cale came to Nashville to work with Audie Ashworth. Once settled into a comfortable situation, he began rerecording with some of his Oklahoma friends and some fine Tennessee musicians.

In December of 1971 J.J. Cale released his debut solo album, "Naturally" on Hollywood-headquartered Shelter Records; the record included "Call Me The Breeze" which Lynyrd Skynyrd later covered, a new version of "After Midnight", which reached #42 on the U.S. Pop Singles chart and "Crazy Mama"; the latter tune became his first Top 40 entry at #22 sending the album into the U.S. Pop chart at #51.

His second album, released in 1972, was "Really", it reached #92 on the Pop chart and featured the single "Lies" which nearly cracked the Top 40.

"Okie" followed in May 1974, this album offers further insight into the temperament, style and methods of J.J. Cale; it was recorded under the casual conditions that Cale obviously finds the most desirable for his type of music; however, it failed to break into the U.S. Top 100 oddly.

After Cale moved to Nashville in 1975, he and Ashworth set up their own studio, Crazy Mama's, in Ashworth's house. His fourth album, "Troubadour", appeared September 1976, reaching the #84 position on the U.S. Official chart, the record was Cale's most energetic effort to date and present among the 12 tracks were some Caribbean rhythm influences, most notable was "Hey Baby" which scraped the lower reaches of the Pop Hot 100 Singles chart; this LP also contained "Cocaine" which Eric Clapton covered on his "Slowhand" album a year later.

The next album, "5", didn't appear until August 1979, it only reached #136 on the Pop chart and failed to generate a hit single; radio ignored Cale's version of "Sensitive Kind" but Santana covered it and took it half-way up the Hot 100.

J.J. Cale finally left Nashville and moved back to California in 1980; the final Shelter album, "Shades", was issued one year later, it made a mid-chart appearance peaking at #110 on the U.S. Top 200 LPs & Tapes list.

Not long thereafter Denny Cordell wound up Shelter Records; Cale's new label Phonogram International subsequently acquired his 6 Shelter albums from Cordell.
In 1982, the first album on Phonogram's Mercury label, "Grasshopper", was released, it was a fine, varied album, which did very well in Europe, especially with the single "City Girls", though not as well in the U.S. where it failed to make it past #149 on The Billboard Top 200.

Its successor, "#8", released in 1983, sold modestly and if nothing else, was remarkable for the fact that Cale had finally allowed a photograph of himself to go on the front of the album.

It wasn't until 1989 that J.J. Cale signed a new deal with Silvertone Records in England. Silvertone's first album with Cale was "Travel-Log"; he toured to support the album which got entered #131 on the American Billboard Top 200 chart.

In November 1992 Cale issued his tenth album, titled with impeccable logic "Number 10".
Two years later he signed with Virgin Records who released "Closer To You"; one more album on Virgin, "Guitar Man", appeared in the summer of 1996.

In 2002 he returned to the road after a long lay-off and in June 2004 Sanctuary Records issued his thirteenth studio record, "To Tulsa And Back".

After years of admiring each other's musical masterworks, J.J. Cale and Eric Clapton teamed up to create an original album together called "The Road To Escondido" which also earned him his first Grammy Award; the CD, which featured 14 songs including the heritage-Rock radio hit "Ride The River", debuted at #23 on The Billboard 200 chart upon its November 2006 release.

"Roll On", J.J. Cale's first batch of new solo material since 2004's "To Tulsa And Back", arrived February in 2009; the disc, which incledes the previously unreleased title-track recorded with Eric Clapton, made a mid-chart appearance in U.S. peaking at #113.

J.J. Cale biography is an exclusive of 100xr.com

more J.J. Cale photos, news and other stuff HERE »

Naturally

(1971)

1. Call Me The Breeze
2. Call The Doctor
3. Don't Go To Strangers
4. Woman I Love
5. Magnolia
6. Clyde
7. Crazy Mama
8. Nowhere To Run
9. After Midnight
10. River Runs Deep
11. Bringing It Back
12. Crying Eyes

 

Really

(1972)

1. Lies
2. Everything Will Be Alright
3. I'll Kiss The World Goodbye
4. Changes
5. Right Down Here
6. If You're Ever In Oklahoma
7. Ridin' Home
8. Going Down
9. Soulin'
10. Playing In The Street
11. Mo Jo
12. Louisiana Women

 

Okie

(1974)

1. Crying
2. I'll Be There (If You Ever Want Me)
3. Starbound
4. Rock And Roll Records
5. The Old Man And Me
6. Everlovin' Woman
7. Cajun Moon
8. I'd Like To Love You Baby
9. Anyway The Wind Blows
10. Precious Memories
11. Okie
12. I Got The Same Old Blues

 

Troubadour

(1976)

1. Hey Baby
2. Travelin' Light
3. You Got Something
4. Ride Me High
5. Hold On
6. Cocaine
7. I'm A Gypsy Man
8. The Woman That Got Away
9. Super Blue
10. Let Me Do It To You
11. Cherry
12. You Got Me So Bad

 

5

(1979)

1. Thirteen Days
2. Boilin' Pot
3. I'll Make Love To You Anytime
4. Don't Cry Sister
5. Too Much For Me
6. Sensitive Kind
7. Friday
8. Lou-Easy-Ann
9. Let's Got To Tahiti
10. Katy Kool Lady
11. Fate Of A Fool
12. Mona

 

Shades

(1981)

1. Carry On
2. Deep Dark Dungeon
3. Wish I Had Not Said That
4. Pack My Jack
5. If You Leave Her
6. Mama Don't
7. Runaround
8. What Do You Expect
9. Love Has Been Gone
10. Cloudy Day

 

Grasshopper

(1982)

1. City Girls
2. Devil In Disguise
3. One Step Ahead Of The Blues
4. You Keep Me Hangin' On
5. Downtown L.A.
6. Can't Live Here
7. Grasshopper
8. Drifters Wife
9. Don't Wait
10. A Thing Going On
11. Nobody But You
12. Mississippi River
13. Does Your Mama Like To Reggae
14. Dr. Jive

 

#8

(1983)

1. Money Talks
2. Losers
3. Hard Times
4. Reality
5. Takin' Care Of Business
6. People Lie
7. Unemployment
8. Trouble In The City
9. Teardrops In My Tequila
10. Livin' Here Too

 

Travel-Log

(1990)

1. Shanghaid
2. Hold On Baby
3. No Time
4. Lady Luck
5. Disadvantage
6. Lean On Me
7. End Of The Line
8. New Orleans
9. Tijuana
10. That Kind Of Thing
11. Who's Talking
12. Change Your Mind
13. Humdinger
14. River Boat Song

 

Number 10

(1992)

1. Lonesome Train
2. Digital Blues
3. Feeling In Love
4. Artificial Paradise
5. Passion
6. Take Out Some Insurance
7. Jailer
8. Low Rider
9. Traces
10. She's In Love
11. Shady Grove
12. Roll On Mama

 

Closer To You

(1994)

1. Long Way Home
2. Sho-Biz Blues
3. Slower Baby
4. Devil's Nurse
5. Like You Used To
6. Borrowed Time
7. Rose In The Garden
8. Brown Dirt
9. Hard Love
10. Ain't Love Funny
11. Closer To You
12. Steve's Song

 

Guitar Man

(1996)

1. Death In The Wilderness
2. It's Hard To Tell
3. Days Go By
4. Low Down
5. This Town
6. Guitar Man
7. If I Had A Rocket
8. Perfect Woman
9. Old Blue
10. Doctor Told Me
11. Miss Ol' St. Louie
12. Nobody Knows

 

To Tulsa And Back

(2004)

1. My Gal
2. Chains Of Love
3. New Lover
4. One Step
5. Stone River
6. The Problem
7. Homeless
8. Fancy Dancer
9. Rio
10. These Blues
11. Motormouth
12. Blues For Mama
13. Another Song

 

—J.J. Cale & Eric Clapton—

The Road To Escondido

(2006)

1. Danger
2. Heads In Georgia
3. Missing Person
4. When This War Is Over
5. Sporting Life Blues
6. Dead End Road
7. It's Easy
8. Hard To Thrill
9. Anyway The Wind Blows
10. Three Little Girls
11. Don't Cry Sister
12. Last Will And Testament
13. Who Am I Telling You?
14. Ride The River

 

Roll On

(2009)

1. Who Knew
2. Former Me
3. Where The Sun Don't Shine
4. Down To Memphis
5. Strange Days
6. Cherry Street
7. Fonda-Lina
8. Leaving Iin The Morning
9. Oh Mary
10. Old Friend
11. Roll On
12. Bring Down The Curtain

 

J.J. Cale discography - an exclusive and detailed creation of 100xr.com
The section contains all of J.J. Cale albums released to date
with original cover art and complete track-listing

Bookmark 100xr.com for future visits