From Tulsa To Escondido: Remembering J.J. Cale
If there ever was a musician’s musician, a man who didn’t receive as much fame and acclaim despite his obvious genius; a man who could by nature transcend Rock and Roll and converge the boundaries, dissonance, and intricacies of genres like the Blues, American Folk, Country, Jazz, Rockabilly and Rock and Roll, to amalgamate them into his own unique sound and ‘probe the highlands’, as Jim Morrison so (stoned)immaculately wrote in one of his poems, there could be no other musician who could weave a dance around your ears with smooth & slippery electricity to groove to other than J.J. Cale.
J.J., who had such an intimacy with the electric guitar, with his own cool, smooth, polished and swift guitar playing style, has contrived to contribute much to American music in an unconventional yet unique way.
You could draw up some similarities to the impact Elvis and Sinatra had on mainstream music in the ’50s to J.J.
However, in his case, he slipped right under the hook and grasp of mainstream success to slide away nonchalantly, and elusively, completely under the radar, despite his brilliance and unmatched skill on the electric guitar.
Cale brought his exquisite technique and expansive range of style to the forefront of the Rock and Roll scene in the ’60s and ’70s.
He stayed true to his sound and style of playing throughout his career, but unlike Sinatra and Elvis, he did so unerringly solemnly and silently without being outspoken and without the ruckus, or the stardom.
In remembering the legend on his birthday like this (December 5th), in this short post, I’m paying my tribute to him, however insignificant it may be in the vast abyss of tributes.
But his influence on my music and guitar playing style is much more significant; no, way more significant.
That is the inherent, unspoken effect of one musician influencing another. It’s something that J.J. seems to do effortlessly and might I add substantially and is something he has done throughout his lifetime.
Such is the man, such is his music, and such is his legacy.
J.J. Cale is probably the most essential, inspiring, and influential artist to come from the United States for every kind of guitar player out there who has ever heard his music, yet so few have heard of him and acknowledged his greatness, except all those who have paid close attention to his obvious genius.
He’s the man who brought the cool finesse and clean sound to Rock and Roll through the years that have since rolled on by and he never compromised on his classic, eclectic, and trademark sound.
The originator and pioneer of the ‘Tulsa Sound’ which is a niche, loose genre drawing on Blues, Rockabilly, Country, and Jazz, J.J. Cale’s discography of 15 studio albums spans five decades of the smoothest sh*t you have ever heard. All his albums showcase his own brand of Tulsa-rooted electric & smooth Rock and Roll.
His remarkable sound stands out distinctly in the vast ocean of what we now refer to as Classic Rock and is perhaps the smoothest sound in Rock and Roll history(I’m not even f*cking kidding).
Born John Weldon Cale, on 5th December 1938 in Tulsa, Oklahoma, he adopted the stage name J.J. Cale to avoid confusion between the Velvet Underground guitarist John Cale and himself.
Although he wantonly averted the limelight throughout his lifetime, he is heavily regarded by a diverse range of the greatest musicians today as one of the most influential artists to have ever wielded the electric guitar.
The greats such as Mark Knopfler, Neil Young and Eric Clapton, describe him as “one of the most important artists in the history of rock“.
In Neil Young’s 2003 biography ‘Shakey’, he says, “Most of the songs and the riffs — the way he plays the f***ing guitar is so… great. And he doesn’t play very loud, either — I really like that about him. He’s so sensitive. Of all the players I ever heard, it’s gotta be Hendrix and JJ Cale who are the best electric guitar players… musically, he’s actually more than my peer, because he’s got that thing. I don’t know what it is.”
Personally, as a guitarist and musician(and I write too, while going through a pack of smokes), J.J.’s influence is pivotal to me. He’s someone whose sound I want to recreate and incorporate in my guitar playing, while trying to replicate elements of his touch.
His guitar playing style is unique and something I try to learn from and copy because the end product(sound-wise at least) is just so cool & satisfying to play. I turn to J.J. for inspiration while trying to develop my skills and play that six string as close to him as possible.
Irrespective of what I’m doing, having J.J.’s tunes playing on my sound system and in my playlists and grooving to it thinking, ‘Damn! J.J.’s stuff is so smooth’ is a typical weekly wind-down procedure for me.
In the documentary ‘To Tulsa and Back: On Tour with J.J. Cale‘, Cale’s guitar style is remarked by Eric Clapton as “really, really minimal” and “all about finesse“.
J.J.’s finesse and prowess on the electric guitar is widely revered by artists and musicians to this day.
His songs have gone on to be widely covered and played by artists across the spectrum. The song ‘Cocaine‘ popularised by Eric Clapton was originally written and performed by J.J. Cale. ‘Call Me the Breeze‘ went on to be covered by Lynyrd Skynyrd, John Mayer, Johnny Cash, and more. While ‘Magnolia‘ was also covered by Beck, Iron & Wine, José Feliciano, Ben Bridwell and John Mayer and Eric Clapton.
Perhaps J.J. Cale’s most noteworthy ‘in the limelight’ moment which I dare say he repulsively expunged, came towards the tapering end of his career in 2008 in the form of a Grammy award for his album ‘Road To Escondido‘ with Eric Clapton. “Easy come, Easy go“, just like he would have liked it.
In an NPR interview about ‘The Breeze‘(A Tribute Album to J.J. after his passing), Clapton discussed Cale’s unique playing style and his influence on him:
“I wanted to… try to find a way to make it minimal, but still have a great deal of substance. That was the essence of JJ’s music to me, apart from the fact that he summed up so many of the different essences of American music: rock and jazz and folk and blues. He just seemed to have an understanding of it all… I regard him as one of the roots of the tree of American folklore… Making this record was a way for me to say thank you for all the inspiration over the years. I suppose at some point I started to feel mildly outraged that he hadn’t got the recognition that, at least I thought, he should have had.“
Although he didn’t push as much product as Clapton or garner anywhere near Clapton’s fame and success, his influence, lyrics and playing style remain exemplary, classic and a much sort after specialty to every musician and music fan who has heard his music, irrespective of their age.
Cale passed away on 26th July 2013, a tragic loss of a humble genius, but his smooth, sombre guitar sounds linger, roar and ‘hang out‘ through the midnight just like he sings on the song ‘After Midnight‘. After his sad demise, Rolling Stone stated that “his influence is immeasurable“.
J.J. Cale remains a virtuoso who was highly underrated by mainstream media until very late on in his life. His albums though, echo the classic Tulsa sound and his impeccable flowing guitar playing style. His effect on listeners remains appreciable and his music is something to cherish in the years following his demise.
On his official website it reads: “Even though Cale received great recognition from his contemporaries and, as time went on, other rising stars, his nature was to always avoid the spotlight. JJ Cale was absolutely one of a kind in the music business. His impact was immeasurable but, as he intended, his personal life remained very much below the radar. Cale enjoyed being the person who focused on the crafts of writing, engineering and production rather than the pursuit of commercial success.“
“While he has now passed on, we are fortunate that he left behind music that has and will continue to comfort us the rest of our lives. And Cale’s broad influence will surely be reflected in plenty of new music made by others for decades to come.“, it adds at the end of his biography.
Official website: https://www.jjcale.com/
J.J. sings in a whispery baritone similar to Mark Knopfler, who came along with his band Dire Straits years later, but his guitar-slinging though, stays true to original J.J. Cale all the while.
His voice is deep, and whiskey greased and he wasn’t a great vocalist, but don’t let that throw you off; his country-blues-rockabilly-rooted Tulsa sound makes for resounding compositions that are so full of sifting rhythms and slippery guitar licks that you can never want the end of them.
Cale’s music is simplistic yet profoundly effective and his style of playing the guitar is classy and never fails to get you grooving.
His albums ‘Naturally’, ‘Troubadour’, ‘Okie’, ‘5’, ‘Grasshopper’ and ‘To Tusla and Back’ have been in my collection and on repeat for years now, not to mention the epic ‘Road To Escondido‘ with Eric Clapton.
Nuff said, now on to the music…..
Here is a handpicked Spotify playlist by me of my favourite tracks by J.J.
Below is the link to his posthumous album “Stay Around” released in April 2019
Here is an essential live performance of J.J. and Leon Russel recorded at Paradise Studios, LA in 1979
Here is his final album “To Tulsa And Back” in a YouTube playlist on his official channel
Here is a song by JJ that I dig a lot called ‘Devil in disguise’
And finally here’s ‘After Midnight’ live
J.J. Cale might have passed away but his legacy, everlasting inspiration, and expansive repertoire, live on in the form of his music.
And solely because of J.J.’s influence on me and my music, my life and all the good times I’ve had because of his music, I intend on going a nice long drive with my girl from Tulsa to Escondido with J.J.’s music rocking on the stereo.
Let’s make that a trip………
From Tulsa to Escondido
Remembering J.J. Cale
