RIP - JJ Cale - July 2013

Legendary musician JJ Cale, best known for writing “Cocaine” and “After Midnight,” both made famous by Eric Clapton, passed away from a heart attack at 74 years old.

Cale’s extensive portfolio consists of 14 albums with a number of songs covered by a wide range of artists. Cale also made considerable contributions to Clapton’s 2006 album The Road to Escondido which went on to win a Grammy in 2008. Throughout his career he wrote songs for an array of artists such as Santana, The Allman Brothers, Johnny Cash and The Band.

While most people have not heard of him, his influence cannot be understated.


The following message has been posted on his website:

Re: RIP - JJ Cale

Some songs written by JJ Cale:

John Hiatt, on his Facebook page:

Just got the news. JJ Cale died last night. Gonna miss his slow boil groovin and spare prose.
He was still doing it so well.
First time I heard " Crazy mama" I hadn't been in Nashville all that long. His voice, that hypnotic groove and then bam! Mac Gayden's
wa-wa slide solo! I don't know, something changed. The center moved. The Tulsa sound had arrived. Thanks for everything JJ Cale.

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My emphasis.

Thanks for including that, Jim. When the legends come out and speak of someone like that, you begin to realize how influential, and influenced, musicians/performers are. What a loss.

He lived in Valley Center and was an anonymous supporter of the Escondido Humane Society