Open Mike II: R.I.P. J.J. Cale

This picture (by Gijsbert Hanekroot) should go in the blank white space*

He was known to the public at large as the writer of Eric Clapton's hits "After Midnight" and "Cocaine." But then, he never wanted to be known to the public at large.

Oddly, people cover "Call Me the Breeze" on Lynyrd Skynyrd tribute albums...even though Lynyrd Skynyrd's version was a cover of J.J. Cale.

He was called J.J. rather than the name he used in the first half of his life, John, to avoid confusion with the Velvet Underground's John Cale.

Neil Young once said, "Of all the players I ever heard, it's gotta be Hendrix and J.J. Cale who are the best electric guitar players." Eric Clapton said simply that J.J. Cale was the person he most admired.

If you're unfamiliar with him, download "Naturally" from iTunes, his 1971 debut effort for Denny Cordell and Leon Russell's Shelter Records. You'll either be hooked or you won't be—Cale was laid-back to a fault, and sounded just like an old black man even when he was a young white man. The modality is country blues, the riff on it unique.

I adore the song "Magnolia." But "Clyde" no less, really.

My favorite of his albums is probably Shades, with its cover reminiscent of a pack of Gitanes. Most people have a favorite album, one or another, often the one they got to know first.

Late in life he said, "If it weren't for Eric Clapton, I'd be selling shoes now."

He died of a heart attack on Friday, age 74. On jjcale.com it says, "Donations are not needed but he was a great lover of animals so, if you like, you can remember him with a donation to your favorite local animal shelter."

You know what's playin' Chez TOP today on the downstairs system. J.J. Cale on scratchy old vinyl. Perfect art.

Mike
(Thanks to Steve Rosenblum)

"Open Mike" is a series of off-topic essays by Yr. Hmbl. Ed. that appear here on Sundays.

*But I don't want G*tty climbing up my a**.

Original contents copyright 2013 by Michael C. Johnston and/or the bylined author. All Rights Reserved. Links in this post may be to our affiliates; sales through affiliate links may benefit this site.

TOP's links!

(To see all the comments, click on the "Comments" link below.)
Featured Comments from:

Andrew Molitor: "Cale's a perfect metaphor for a lot of what I think about photography. Some of his best recordings are just some session players he grabbed from someplace and a drum machine. You don't need a bunch of gear to make great music. You don't even need good gear. You didn't even need gear capable of making particularly high fidelity recordings. What you need, what you can't escape from, is some great music. Extending this to photography is left as an exercise for the student!"

Hans Muus: "Don't know where to begin—there are so many Cale songs that I love. 'Crazy mama,' on the first album (Naturally), will always be one of my favourites (note the beautiful, archetypical wah-wah slide guiter by Mac Hayden that fits in so well with the groove that J.J. Cale is laying down). And I was there  at the (single) concert Cale gave in 1974 in Amsterdam where the backstage picture by Gijsbert Hanekroot was taken that TOP is linking to! J.J. Cale, sitting on a chair, half of the time with his back to the auditorium, seemed a little shy. The show lasted exactly sixty minutes—we were actually surprised it was over so fast. To my (young) mind, there were quite a few old blokes in his band—but they all played marvelously, including the almost invisible master himself. (In the Europe of that time, rock music was pretty much a youth-only thing.)

"In later years, my musical friends and I have practiced hours and hours on end trying to emulate the typical Cale sound. It is all about laying down the right groove, in which each single instrument involved does very little individually, but what it does has to be just right. A true joy when it happens (not very often...) and a thing of beauty when you hear it practiced by J.J. Cale and his friends.

"I hope he has not suffered much and may rest in peace. Been listening to his music (LPs and CDs) for the past two days to no end."

Comments

[hugh crawford]

Would not the "blank white space" be more appropriate to John Cage ?

(or Paul Taylor, best dance review ever , google it)

[richardplondon]

What a shame. A comment Eric Clapton made in a TV documentary comes to mind (sorry, I have to paraphrase) - with JJ Cale, it is all about finesse... my own success has come from doing what he does, only overplaying it.

"5" has long been a favourite album of mine. But the song I called up on reading this news, is "Artificial Paradise" from the album Ten. A neat, pat little gem - made with throwaway mastery, of the sort Django Reinhardt might have appreciated.

[Thomas Caverly]

JJ Cale, one of the best. He will be missed. R.I.P.

[Paul Amyes]

Cueing up the tracks on iTunes now. I was switched on to his music by a friend when I was a teenager and have been a huge fan ever since. I was given an opportunity to see him play live and turned it down due to work commitments thinking there'll be another opporunity but there never was.

[Grant Tomlinson]

Mike, I've been playing Troubador and Special Edition constantly since I heard the news.

A couple of English girls introduced me to his music in the 80's ... not the least of the reasons I remember them fondly.

[Jack]

Thank you for remembering JJ
He was from Tulsa, as is my wife. She is not as good a player as he was, but no one else was.
One of my favorites is the obscure Pack My Jack.

[...With James Burton, Elvis's onetime guitarist. "Shades" is probably my favorite J.J. album...it has such a "live" feel. "Play it, James!" --Mike]

[Alan Anderson]

The author of this blog also had a tribute to Cale..Also Sippican is an interesting read..has great kids..

http://sippicancottage.blogspot.com/2013/07/the-search-for-authenticity.html#links

[David Graham]

From the local library, last week I checked out "The Road to Escondido" by Clapton and Mr. Cale. Still playing it and sent a recording to my son at FSU, who appreciates my eclectic tune choices. Anyway, I still love Skynyrds' version of "Call me the Breeze". Saw it live.

I will now have to purchase one of the afore mentioned albums.

[Armand]

He is one of my fav musicians. He will be missed but his soul lives on. RIP.

[Nadan F.]

I bought his album "Okie" in 1976 and were many problems (I'm from Croatia) until I found what is meant "Cajun Moon". R.I.P.

[Paul Marriner]

Cale's music plays in my truck about 80% of the time, it never gets tired.

Paul

[Bob Poe]

the Cale is dead. long live the Cale.

[Andrea B.]

Yeah, I just felt real bad when I learned he was gone. Loved his stuff for years & years. Godspeed on your new journey, JJ.

[Frank Hamsher]

Saw J.J. Cale around 1972-73 in a little place in Campbell California. It might have had seating at tables for 20 with 10 stools at the bar. I had the album "Natural" at home and had already just about worn the grooves off. Natural now resides with 16 more of his albums in my Itunes.

My memory hazy, but I seem to remember paying a $10 cover charge and getting a free beer in exchange. We agonized over buying a second beer as we were poor college students at the time.

Like a previous commentator said, the set was short but perfect. It took a couple of songs to realize that the guy sitting in the back corner of the stage crouched over his guitar and not looking at the "crowd" was the man we had come to see!

Vale J.J., you will be missed.

[Steve Dunleavy]

I think Cale was quoted somewhere, saying he never intended to be a performer - those first records were really intended to be demos, with the purpose of selling the songs to other musicians. Never saw the man live - but I've been hooked since his first album.