J. J. Cale

J. J. Cale ( born December 5, 1938 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, as John Weldon Cale, † July 26, 2013 in San Diego, California ) was an American musician and composer. He is one of the founders of the Tulsa sounds, classified somewhere between rockabilly, blues, jazz and country. He often played all the instruments of his recordings themselves

Life

Cale grew up in Tulsa, Oklahoma State. The name J. J. (written without spaces and often without points ) was an artist name that was given to him in his early years as a musician by a club owner of " Whisky a Go Go" in Los Angeles, as it is already the musician John Cale (ex -Velvet Underground) gave. Mistakenly, even in reputable sources (for example, in the All Music Guide to the Blues ) birth name of JJ Cale with " Jean Jacques " is specified. This name was a French journalist brought into play, which he then in some biographies of JJ Cale was called.

Typical of Cale are short, sparingly orchestrated songs. The lyrics are often laconic and were carried forward without any pathos, so that his music for typical skirt is too quiet. For the details of the music are very carefully worked out. Eric Clapton described in an interview this style: " ... really, really minimal ... it's all about finesse. " (Such as " ... really very minimalist, the basics are the subtleties. " )

Cale could be for the production of a plate often characterized several years and has in his music called Laid-back style ( leaning back, relaxed). That means that they quickly played his well-measured solos behind the actual beat of each piece. The Laid-back style reminiscent of the style of Billie Holiday, which inspired him to Cale's own statements.

J. J. Cale and Eric Clapton released the album together, The Road to Escondido, the 2008 Grammy for Best Contemporary Blues Album ( Best Contemporary Blue Album ) was awarded in November 2006.

On July 26, 2013 J. J. died Cale in La Jolla, San Diego, after a heart attack.

Reception

J. J. Cale, the rather shunned publicity and only its own big hit had ( Cocaine, 1977 No. 22 in the Federal Republic of Germany, # 2 in Switzerland, # 5 in Austria ) is highly regarded in music circles for his compositions. The instrumental piece Okie was used as the theme song in the former SWF3 Radio Club with Frank Laufenberg. J. J. Cale was particularly well known through numerous interpretations of his songs by other musicians, like the cover versions of After Midnight and Cocaine by Eric Clapton.

Discography

Albums

  • Naturally (1972 )
  • Really (1973)
  • Okie (1974 )
  • Troubadour (1976 )
  • 5 (1979)
  • Shades ( 1980)
  • Grasshopper (1982 )
  • # 8 (1983 ) with Jim Keltner and Steve Ripley
  • Special Edition ( 1984)
  • Travel- Log ( 1990)
  • Number 10 (1992 )
  • Closer to You ( 1994)
  • Guitar Man (1996 )
  • Anyway the Wind Blows: The Anthology (1997)
  • The Very Best of J. J. Cale (1998)
  • Universal Masters Collection ( 1999)
  • Live (2001)
  • To Tulsa and Back (2004)
  • The Road to Escondido (2006) with Eric Clapton
  • Rewind: Unreleased Recordings (2007)
  • Gold ( 2007)
  • Roll On ( 2009) ( DE # 32)
  • The Silvertone Years ( 2011)
  • Breezin 'At The Cafe ( 2013)

Cover versions (selection)

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