Rock

JJ Cale Took it Easy

March 12, 2018
2 Min Read

Two of the biggest stars in modern music — Neil Young and Eric Clapton — are fans of JJ Cale, who died in July 2013. Cale’s site offers a quote from Young’s autobiography:

Most of the songs and the riffs – the way he plays the fucking 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.

Clapton’s feeling for Cale is proven simply by the fact that the two made an album together. It stands to reason that Clapton can pick and choose his collaborators at this point. The Rosebud Agency, which represents Cale, has a very interesting video featuring Cale and Clapton discussing the project. Rosebud, by the way, has a great roster of clients.

Here is Cale’s fan club page and the beginning of Cale’s Wikipedia profile:

JJ Cale (also J.J. Cale), born John Weldon Cale[1] on December 5, 1938, in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma,[1] is a Grammy Award-winning American singer-songwriter and musician. Cale is one of the originators of the Tulsa Sound, a loose genre drawing on blues, rockabilly, country, and jazz influences. Cale’s personal style has often been described as “laid back”. Continue Reading..

Above is Devil in Disguise. Cale is accompanied by Christine Lakeland. Below is After Midnight and Call Me the Breeze, featuring Cale and Clapton. The second song, which starts at about the 5 minute mark, is particularly noteworthy. The performance was at the 2004 Crossroads Guitar Festival in Dallas. Here is the post from a few days after Cale died.

(Homepage photo: Louis Ramirez)

Tags

Our New Things: Links to Music Sites and Info on Analog Tech and Vinyl

TDMB has focused on music and musicians. We will continue to do that, of course. We're also expanding our coverage to include vinyl and analog equipment.

More specifically, we'll look at this huge and interesting world from the perspective of music lovers who want a better experience, not committed non-audiophiles.

Check out is some of what we've written so far:

-- Assessing the Value of Vinyl Records: An Overview

-- 7 Quick Tips on Optimizing Your Turntable Cartridge

-- Why Vinyl Records Continue to Thrive

-- Finding the Best Amplifier

-- Finding the Best Phono Preamp

-- What Speakers Do I Need for My Turntable?

Check out more articles on analog equipment and vinyl.

The site also is home to The Internet Music Mapping Project, an effort to list and describe as many music-related sites as possible.

Our Music

--A Tribe Called Quest to The Dick Hyman Trio (In other words, A to H)

--Indigo Girls to Queen Ida (I to Q)

--Radiohead to ZZ Top (R to Z)

Reading Music

The stories of the great bands and musicians are fascinating. Musicians as a group are brilliant, but often troubled. The combination of creativity and drama makes for great reading.

Here are some books to check out.

Duke Ellington brought class, sophistication and style to jazz which, until that point, was proudly unpolished and raucous. His story is profound. The author, Terry Teachout, also wrote "Pops," the acclaimed bio of Louis Armstrong. Click here or on the image.

🎼🎺🎻🎹🎷🎶🎵


What else is there to say? Here is the story behind every song written by The Beatles. Click here or on the image.

🎼🎺🎻🎹🎷🎶🎵

The Grateful Dead don't get enough credit for the profound nature of its lyrics. Many of the band's songs are driven by a deep and literate Americana ("I'm Uncle Sam/That's who I am/Been hidin' out/In a rock and roll band" and "Majordomo Billy Bojangles/Sit down and have a drink with me/What's this about Alabama/Keeps comin' back to me?").

David Dodd's exhaustive study tells the story, song by song. Click here or on the image.

Full Disclosure

As an Amazon affiliate, this site earns a commission on every purchase made. All prices remain the same to you.