The legendary singer, songwriter and guitarist, JJ Cale passed away on July 26, 2013 but the legacy he left behind is a treasured one for fans that has and no doubt will continue to inspire upcoming artists as well as rock icons around the world. Rolling Stone has stated that "his influence is immeasurable," a point reinforced by the fact that a genre-spanning list of stars including Neil Young, Eric Clapton, Lynyrd Skynyrd, John Mayer, Johnny Cash, Captain Beefheart, Santana, The Allman Brothers, Jerry Garcia, The Band, Chet Atkins, Freddie King, Beck, Band of Horses, Jose Feliciano, George Thorogood & The Destroyers, Waylon Jennings, Clarence Gatemouth Brown, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, Bobby "Blue" Bland, Lee Fields, Widespread Panic, John Mayall and many more have covered his timeless music.
Eric Clapton has proclaimed that JJ Cale is one of the single most important figures in rock history. Cale’s influence on Clapton has been profound and, after years admiring Cale’s work and covering several of his songs such as “After Midnight” and “Cocaine”, the two guitar giants finally collaborated for the first time in their careers on the 2006 original album, The Road to Escondido. That project earned Cale his first Grammy® for Best Contemporary Blues Album and his first RIAA Certified Gold Award. At the time, Clapton said, “This is the realization of what may have been my last ambition, to work with the man whose music has inspired me for as long as I can remember.”
............................................................................................................
Biography
John Weldon Cale was born on December 5, 1938 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. He grew up in Tulsa, Oklahoma and cited Chet Atkins, Les Paul and Chuck Berry as some of his earliest influences. He was often quoted as saying, “In trying to imitate them, I missed it. And I came up with my own kinda thing.” His “own kinda thing,” which played a pivotal role in establishing the laid-back groove known as the “Tulsa Sound,” illuminated the idea for rock greats at the time that the high volume, acrobatic guitar playing that developed in the 1960s and 1970s might be gainfully cast aside for a more subdued, yet highly substantive sound. In his 2003 biography, Shakey, Neil Young stated about Cale’s playing:

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.


Cale began playing local Tulsa clubs in the 1950’s surrounded by other natives like David Gates (Bread) and Leon Russell. After moving to Los Angeles in the mid-60’s, he recorded his iconic song, “After Midnight”, that would later be made famous by Eric Clapton. In 1970, Clapton’s version of “After Midnight” reached #18 on the Billboard charts and became a catalyst for Cale’s career. Cale stated about that crucial event, “I had already given up on the business part of the record business and had moved back to Tulsa and had gotten me a job playing with some friends of mine. When Eric cut that song it opened up a bunch of doors and I drove over to Nashville and that’s when Naturally was done. Naturally was Cale’s debut album released in 1971, and it achieved commercial success with one single, “Crazy Mama”, breaking into the Billboard Top 25 while the tracks “Call Me the Breeze”, “Bringing It Back”, “Crazy Mama” and “Clyde” were covered by Lynyrd Skynyrd, Kansas, The Band and Waylon Jennings, respectively. After Naturally, Cale recorded another fifteen albums, including the Clapton-Cale collaboration The Road to Escondido, plus the new posthumous album Stay Around.

свернуть