His songs have been performed by a number of other musicians including "After Midnight" and "Cocaine" by Eric Clapton,"Cajun Moon" by Randy Crawford, "Clyde" and "Louisiana Women" by Waylon Jennings, "Magnolia" by Jai, "Bringing It Back" by Kansas, "Call Me the Breeze" and "I Got the Same Old Blues" by Lynyrd Skynyrd, "I'd Like to Love You, Baby" by Tom Petty, "Travelin' Light" and "Ride Me High" by Widespread Panic, "Tijuana" by Harry Manx, "Sensitive Kind" by Carlos Santana, "Cajun Moon" by Herbie Mann with Cissy Houston, and "Same Old Blues" by Captain Beefheart.
Cale was born on December 5, 1938, in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. He was raised in Tulsa and graduated from Tulsa Central High School in 1956. Along with a number of other young Tulsa musicians, Cale moved to Los Angeles in the early 1960s, where he first worked as a studio engineer.
The Leathercoated Minds was a 1966-67 psychedelic studio-based band masterminded largely by Snuff Garrett and J J Cale. The band produced one album, A Trip down the Sunset Strip, co-produced by Cale and Garrett
Finding little success as a recording artist, he later returned to Tulsa and was considering giving up the music business until Clapton recorded "After Midnight" in 1970. His first album, Naturally, established his style, described by Los Angeles Times writer Richard Cromelin as a "unique hybrid of blues, folk and jazz, marked by relaxed grooves and Cale's fluid guitar and laconic vocals. His early use of drum machines and his unconventional mixes lend a distinctive and timeless quality to his work and set him apart from the pack of Americana roots-music purists."
Some sources incorrectly give his real name as "Jean-Jacques Cale". In the 2006 documentary, To Tulsa and Back: On Tour with J.J. Cale, Cale talks about Elmer Valentine, co-owner of the Sunset Strip nightclub Whisky à GoGo, who employed him in the mid-1960s, being the one that came up with the "JJ" moniker to avoid confusion with the Velvet Underground's John Cale. Rocky Frisco tells the same version of the story mentioning the other John Cale but without further detail.
His biggest U.S. hit single, Crazy Mama, peaked at #22 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1972. During the 2006 documentary film To Tulsa and Back Cale recounts the story of being offered the opportunity to appear on Dick Clark's American Bandstand to promote the song, which would have moved the song higher on the charts. Cale declined when told he could not bring his band to the taping and would be required to lip-sync the words to the song.
Cale died on Friday, July 26, 2013, at Scripps Hospital in La Jolla, California, after suffering a heart attack.
Hold on Baby
J.J. Cale Lyrics
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She likes to boogie in the kitchen, likes to boogie 'round town
Hold on baby, hold on baby
Hold on baby, you're moving too fast for me
Talking about that woman, she's up early in the morning
Making love with me before the break of dawn
Hold on baby, hold on baby
Hold on baby, you're moving too fast for me
Every night about twelve o'clock
She starts making love to me till I think I'm gonna drop
Hold on baby, hold on baby
Hold on baby, you're moving too fast for me
She's a fine-looking woman, she's fine, no doubt
Everything I need but she's wearing me out
Hold on baby, hold on baby
Hold on baby, you're moving too fast for me
Don't get me wrong, I'm a-tellin' you right
Since I met her I get no sleep at night
Hold on baby, hold on baby
Hold on baby, you're moving too fast for me
The lyrics of J.J. Cale's song Hold on Baby are about a fine-looking woman who likes to boogie and make love. The singer feels that she is moving too fast for him, as she is up early in the morning making love with him and making love with him every night till he thinks he is going to drop. Although he appreciates having her in his life, he acknowledges that she is wearing him out and that he cannot keep up with her pace. He also confesses that he hasn't been able to sleep well since he met her.
The song talks about a relationship that seems to be driven by the physical attraction the couple has. It portrays the woman as a passionate lover who enjoys spending time with her partner, getting up early in the morning to make love and making love with him every night. The singer, on the other hand, is overwhelmed by her enthusiasm and energy, feeling that she is too much for him to handle.
Overall, the song conveys a sense of admiration, exhaustion, and a struggle to keep up with a partner who has a different pace, portraying the difficulties that arise in a relationship when two people have different levels of energy and passion.
Line by Line Meaning
I've got a fine-looking woman, she's fine and brown
The singer has a beautiful woman who is of dark skin.
She likes to boogie in the kitchen, likes to boogie 'round town
His woman enjoys dancing in the kitchen and around town.
Hold on baby, hold on baby
The singer is asking his woman to slow down.
Hold on baby, you're moving too fast for me
He is finding it difficult to keep up with his woman's fast-paced lifestyle and desires.
Talking about that woman, she's up early in the morning
The woman is an early riser.
Making love with me before the break of dawn
The woman and speaker start making love very early in the morning.
Every night about twelve o'clock
The woman and speaker start having sex every night at midnight.
She starts making love to me till I think I'm gonna drop
The woman is very sexually active.
She's a fine-looking woman, she's fine, no doubt
The artist reiterates how beautiful his woman is.
Everything I need but she's wearing me out
Though the woman has everything the artist needs, her high energy is exhausting him.
Don't get me wrong, I'm a-tellin' you right
The singer is trying to clarify that he does love and appreciate his woman.
Since I met her I get no sleep at night
However, he is having trouble sleeping due to her high energy and constant desire for physical intimacy.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Abkco Music Inc.
Written by: JEFF BARRY, ELLIE GREENWICH, PHILIP SPECTOR
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind