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.
After Midnight
J.J. Cale Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
We're gonna let it all hang out
After midnight
We're gonna chug-a-lug and shout
We're gonna 'cause talk and suspicion
Give an exhibition
Find out what it is all about
We're gonna let it all hang out
After midnight
Gonna shake your tambourine
After midnight it's gonna be peaches and cream, hmm
We're gonna cause talk and suspicion
Give an exhibition
Find out what it is all about
After midnight
We're gonna let it all hang out
We're gonna 'cause talk and suspicion
Give an exhibition
Find out what it is all about
After midnight
We're gonna let it all hang out
After midnight
We're gonna let it all hang out
J.J. Cale’s song “After Midnight” is a song about letting loose and having a good time. The lyrics talk about staying up late and enjoying oneself with friends. The first verse sets the tone with “After midnight, we’re gonna let it all hang out” and “After midnight, we’re gonna chug-a-lug and shout.”
The lyrics seem to be about breaking down social norms and expectations, with “We’re gonna ‘cause talk and suspicion, give an exhibition” indicating a desire to be noticed and to stand out. This may be seen as rebellious or irresponsible behavior, but the phrase “Find out what it is all about” suggests that there is something to be gained from breaking the rules and enjoying oneself.
Overall, the song celebrates the joy of being carefree and enjoying life, even if it may not be “appropriate” or “proper.” The repeated refrain of “After midnight, we’re gonna let it all hang out” emphasizes the idea that the time to let go and have fun is after conventional hours.
Line by Line Meaning
After midnight
Late at night
We're gonna let it all hang out
We're going to be uninhibited and let loose
After midnight
Late at night
We're gonna chug-a-lug and shout
We're going to drink a lot and make noise
We're gonna 'cause talk and suspicion
We're going to do things that may attract gossip and suspicion
Give an exhibition
We're going to put on a show or display
Find out what it is all about
We're going to discover or experience something new
After midnight
Late at night
Gonna shake your tambourine
We're going to have fun and dance
After midnight it's gonna be peaches and cream, hmm
Things will be wonderful and pleasant later at night
We're gonna cause talk and suspicion
We're going to do things that may attract gossip and suspicion
Give an exhibition
We're going to put on a show or display
Find out what it is all about
We're going to discover or experience something new
After midnight
Late at night
We're gonna let it all hang out
We're going to be uninhibited and let loose
After midnight
Late at night
We're gonna let it all hang out
We're going to be uninhibited and let loose
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: John W. Cale
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@leenbardawil4764
After midnight
We're gonna let it all hang out
After midnight
We're gonna chug-a-lug and shout
We're gonna cause talk and suspicion
Give an exhibition
Find out what it is all about
After midnight
We're gonna let it all hang out
After midnight
Gonna shake your tambourine
After midnight, it's gonna be peaches and cream hmm
We're gonna cause talk and suspicion
Give an exhibition
Find out what it is all about
After midnight, we're gonna let it all hang out
After midnight, we're gonna let it all hang out
We're gonna cause talk and suspicion
Give an exhibition
Find out…
@harry6555
Everyone in the world loves JJ Cale - he was multi-talented - humble - creative and cool and he left the world with no fanfare - RIP JJ Cale
@kathleenbrandli694
I couldn't agree more, But you gotta admit, Lynyrd did a great job of covering CALL ME THE BREEZE...!
@joelhenderson9393
Not sure bout that? Me and alm my friends love JJ.
@flyingfishsurf
This man is NOT in the Rock 'n Roll Hall of Fame. Travesty. He is one of the most outstanding contributors to the great American Songbook.
@jeffbyrnes3686
flyingfishsurf Well said. Agreed!
@crystallynngrove4004
I couldn't agree more!! 👏
@dkmcleod100
at the Grammies in '84, tho, there was a limo with vanity plates reading "BB-JJ-ZZ"..!
@brianm2881
The RnR HoF is a crooked organisation anyway. JJ Cale is too cool for it.
@Jw-un8oh
Brian In Fingal
Thank you! Was about to comment that.
@lenghia9730
The simplicity of the sounds mixing and the instruments, all together create a vibe that to me is inreplacable❤